《The System Of Infinity》


 Chapter 92 - He Can Reunite Darkness, Light And Shadow

    ''Then what am I going to do?!'' Aiden asked as he started moving away from the place. He was doing this in case any other beast decided to attack him or worse, many of them decided to gang upon him.


    So while moving away. Aiden couldn''t help but ask the system about what was going to happen now that Infini was no longer with the system. Would he still be able to upgrade his system?


    < We should be able to find a way to do something regarding it. Though, I think that it''s possible to upgrade the system even without Infini especially when you have the system upgrade option. >


    ''Is this the option that I unlocked that day after completing my quest?''


    < Yes Aiden, this was the option you unlocked but it was useless to you back then but now you definitely need to use it. But before doing that, I think you should pool the rest of your exp to your job class. >


    ''Any suggestions?''


    < You can try maxing out your swordsman class or perhaps giving exp to both your swordsman class as well as Guider of light job class. This is a good thing to do now since both the classes can be leveled up a little and they will give you new skills and more skill points.


    ''Then I guess that''s what I am going to do.''


    [ Put 5000 exp in the sub job class: Guider of light? ]


    ''Yes.''


    After leveling up the job class, Aiden found out that he didn''t get a single new skill. So while feeling salty, Aiden decided to level up the second job class.


    < You will need to select the other job as your sub-job class before putting the exp points in it. >


    ''Ok Sera.''


    A system screen then popped up in front of Aiden''s face.


    [ Change sub-job class to swordsman? ]


    ''Yes.''


    [ Job class has been changed. ]


    [ Put the remaining 5000 exp in the sub job class: Swordsman? ]


    ''Yes.''


    After the swordsman job class leveled up, Aiden unlocked two new skills though one of them was just an upgrade from an older skill.


    [ Slash V2 ( 0 / 10 0


    - The slash created by swinging a sword in any direction.


    - Deals damage depending on the range and the p0wer put behind the swing.


    Range: 5 meters. ]


    But the second skill was something different.


    [ Star slash (5 skill points)


    Requires level 3 swordsman job class to use


    ---


    - Once activated, the user will be able to perform a five-hit combo using the sword. ]


    ''I am unlocking this.'' After unlocking the new skill, Aiden realized that he now had a good variety of attack skills for both long-range and close-range attacks.


    But one thing he didn''t have was that he was not a jack of all trades. His system was rather focused on specific job classes but that too had its own benefits.


    Where a jack of all trades would have to put a lot of effects in many jobs at once, Aiden could become an expert in that while practicing all of that time on one job.


    This meant that a jack of all traders could still use a job class and its skills, Aiden would be able to use a higher level of the same skills while having some of the other skills.


    But if the jack of all trades had a few ''lucky encounters'', everything would be completely different.


    After using the beast core, Aiden decided to continue his journey while using less of his elemental energy. Though this meant that he might reach the city of Mondstad after a month or so, he would still have plenty of strength in the meantime.


    After all, the forest was an extremely dangerous place and he couldn''t rely on Hestia or anyone else to save him.


    < Are you worried about the people in the capital though? >


    ''I don''t need to worry about father though I am not sure about mother''s condition. I am tempted to go back and tell father about what I remembered. But what if he can be controlled by that person too?''


    < Fair point host. And what about your friends? >


    ''Will is probably trying to become stronger and Alex is probably helping someone out. As for Zoe, I have no idea what she would be doing. Maybe face slapping a few people?''


    < That''s my guess as well Aiden. >


    The two of them then fell quiet as Aiden stopped continued to travel despite nighttime. This was because he could now use his light skills as well as the moon''s light.


    After a few more hours of travel, Aiden finally decided to take a break. He still had over 200 EE remaining yet he felt that he needed to recover all of it before moving forward.


    ''Sera, can you keep watch over me while I rest for some while?'' Aiden then asked as he climbed on a tree and decided to spend the night there.


    < Yes Aiden, I can. >


    ''Wake me up if you sense any danger.''


    Aiden then closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep. But neither he nor the system were aware of the person that was watching them from hundreds of kilometers away.


    < Hey god of shadow, can you hear me?


    In the silence, the Sera suddenly decided to contact the god of shadows. She didn''t receive any response for a few minutes but didn''t lose hope.


    And after a few more minutes, the god of shadows reply.


    "Is that you Sera?" He sounded younger than the time he had spoken with Aiden.


    < Yes, Zach, I am speaking directly to you. >


    "But how? You weren''t supposed to break free from Infini''s control just like the soul of my system cannot break free from me."


    < The primordial goddess of light helped me and she is connected with Aiden''s soul too. Do you realize what this means? >


    Zach remained silent for a few minutes before he spoke again.


    "This means that he can reunite darkness, light, and shadow.. I might get my original powers again and get rid of this stupid God of entertainment title. And you might be able to live again¡­"

 Chapter 93 - Kindness Is No Longer Treated With Kindness

    After resting for a few hours, Aiden woke up and slowly continued his journey. He spent most of his time in this manner and soon enough, more than a month passed by.


    Aiden saw many villages during this time and also fought many beasts but surprisingly, he never saw a B ranked or higher beast the entire time.


    Perhaps it was just because of his luck or it was because the other beasts knew that Aiden was dangerous. But either way, Aiden was not happy with this. He needed more exp to level up everything and killing high-level beasts was the best way to do it.


    < Host, you are turning into an exp beast. >


    The system randomly said one day but that''s when Aiden realized that she was telling the truth. He was indeed becoming an exp beast and this was not a good thing.


    < Don''t worry Aiden. You will soon get an obstacle when neither of your job classes nor you will level up. You can take a small break then. >


    However, Sera''s next words also felt right to him. During his time moving towards the city of Mondstad, Aiden realized many things about his powers.


    Even though putting skills points into skills and upgrading them was useful, sometimes the skills could be useful either wise.


    For example, putting skill points in the flash skill would only increase its flash time and the time for the blindness. Yet this skill would be useless against those who know how to protect themselves against such things.


    But people would say that this applied to every single skill and that was true. However, if Aiden raised the flash skill to a certain level and left it there, he could still blind a lot of people for a few seconds.


    But regardless of that, he had no idea how strong demons he was going to see in Mondstad. If what he knew was right, he might see similar levels of strength in Mondstad too.


    And thankfully, he was very close to Mondstad too.


    < I think those are the city walls. > Sera suddenly said as Aiden looked up and saw tall gray walls in the distance.


    After reaching a little closer, Aiden could see that the walls were indeed surrounding the city of Mondstad. He could see the entrance from where he was looking and he could also see the guards there.


    There were two entrances for such cities and they were the commoner entrance and the noble entrance. The names were enough to explain what both of the entrances meant.


    Since Aiden was going to hide his identity, he decided to go through the commoner entrance. He wore the mask on his face and soon changed his features.


    According to the system, the mask of the trickster could only change appearance to a certain degree and since Aiden had inherited the royal genes, there was no way that the mask can outright make him look like a village boy.


    So the only thing he could do was wear the mask and hope that he could pass as the most handsome boy in the village. This reminded him that he could add a touch of Will''s narcissism there and he would be able to fake it.


    So with this plan in his mind, Aiden walked up to the entrance and joined the commoner''s line. The line had many people from many regions coming and was completely opposite of the noble entrance.


    The noble entrance was empty and they didn''t allow anyone to pass into the city through it. That was somewhat of a foolish thing since the commoner line would have moved twice as fast otherwise.


    But Aiden knew how petty some nobles were so he decided to let it pass. After half an hour, Aiden finally reached the front of the line.


    "Name?" The guard there asked while looking at Aiden''s clothes. He was well dressed and didn''t look too bad either.


    "Kamisama, no last name."


    "So you are Kamisama?"


    "Yes."


    Aiden couldn''t help but smile internally as the guard asked him a bunch of questions. Most of them were about where he lived, who was the demon in charge of the place etc.


    But he had already prepared a list for it and managed to easily answer most of the questions.


    "Pay 10 gold coins for the entrance." The guard then asked as Aiden''s eyes widened.


    "10 gold coins?! The entrance fee is 10 bronze coins!" He protested but the guard only laughed at his words.


    "Who told you that boy? You better pay 10 coins or else pay me 5 gold coins for wasting my time." The guard said with a grin as he knew that the boy must have some money.


    Only the poorest of the poor or the richest of the rich came to the Mondstad city and this was because the city was expensive. A single gold coin could feed a family of four in a village for a month and yet it wouldn''t be able to feed a single person for a week in Mondstad.


    The guard could tell that Aiden would have at least that sort of money to be able to come in the capital. But little did the guard know that Aiden wasn''t going to comply that easily.


    "Here, either take these 10 coins and let me in or I beat your ass, take all of the money you have, and then go inside," Aiden said while holding out 10 bronze coins as the guard stared at it.


    "You serious kid? You must be one of those village prodigies and think that you can do anything here too. Sorry but this place is different. Since you have managed to annoy me, I am ready to fight you." The guard said with a grin and was ready to whoop Aiden''s ass when the latter suddenly moved forward and punched the guard''s abdomen.


    "You think that will do any- AHHHH!" The guard suddenly screamed as Aiden stood over his body.


    "I told you I would do it but you didn''t listen. Kindness is no longer treated with kindness." Aiden said with a sigh as he searched the guard''s body and took all the money he had before moving inside the city.


    As for why the guard was lying on the ground? The reason was simple.


    Aiden had just kicked his ball while having shadow-reinforced shoes.

 Chapter 94 - The City Of Mondstad

    As soon as Aiden stepped inside, he grinned.


    "How long are you going to hide for? Did you think that I would not notice you?" Aiden asked as he looked back at the entrance and heard a chuckle.


    A figure suddenly appeared in front of him and if Sera hadn''t told him about the figure earlier, he would have definitely screamed.


    "I knew that you were not like those other village people." The figure was a male who looked as though he was in his early thirties. He had salt gray hair and deep black eyes that were examining Aiden''s appearance.


    < He can see through your mask Aiden. The system has identified his threat level at S rank which means that he is an upper demon lord. Be careful. >


    Aiden''s eyes narrowed down when he heard Sera''s words. But why would someone with the power level of an upper demon lord be hiding at the entrance of the city?


    ''Unless that''s his job. Maybe that''s why the guard was that weak. People would never expect an upper demon lord to be hiding near the entrance.''


    "Anyways, would you like to become a member of the royal academy?" The man asked while raising his eyebrows as Aiden seemed dumbfounded.


    "The royal academy?" He was already an expert at hiding his surprise so the man only thought that Aiden was asking about the basics.


    "As you already know, the capital of the continent of Sephiroth is the city of Mondstad and we have an academy to train the best of the best here. I see potential in you and I want you to join the academy." The man answered as he moved a little closer to Aiden. "So, shall we go there?"


    ''He is too close. I can''t escape at this rate since he can just grab on to me while I teleport.'' Aiden then quickly thought of a plan to escape and one of the oldest tricks in the books came to his mind.


    "I just go here and I am hungry. My village was raided a few weeks ago and I had to run away from there. I will definitely join the academy but can I have some food before?" Aiden asked back as the man sighed.


    "Those raids are growing day by day. Tell me the name of the village and I will send some soldiers there to see whether some survivors remain or not. You did a good job by coming here." The man then put his right hand inside the pocket of his coat and brought out a bright silver-colored badge.


    He then bent forward and fixed the badge on Aiden''s shirt before leaning close to his ears.


    "Always keep that badge on your body and under no circumstances remove that mask. Now, go and eat whatever you want. Any restaurant here will serve you free food." The man whispered before he leaned back with a smile.


    When he saw Aiden nod, he turned back and went back to the walls. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished.


    Aiden then looked down at the badge before using his inspect skill.


    [ Badge of Mondstad academy


    - This badge can be used to track any person using a certain spell.


    - The badge can only be removed through excessive force or by the user of the spell. ]


    ''Why can''t something be normal for once.'' Aiden thought with a sigh as he decided to go into a restaurant and eat something.


    After all, while he had been traveling, he rarely got the chance to eat good food. So after finding a decent-looking place, Aiden walked in to find a fight going on.


    < Aiden, I don''t think you were ever meant to be a protagonist because you definitely don''t have plot armor and your luck is bad too. The only special thing you got was your bloodline otherwise you might have been dead by now. >


    ''Even you are roasting me Sera.'' Aiden replied as he looked at the scene in front of his eyes.


    "I am a member of the royal academy here. How dare you say that this badge is fake!" A woman was currently shouting at another woman who looked as though she was the owner of the place.


    But the woman couldn''t have been more than twenty years old and she was one of the prettiest women Aiden had ever seen.


    < Wait till you see the goddess of beauty. > Sera commented but Aiden wasn''t paying attention to her words. He was instead focusing on the shouting match that was about to happen.


    "You know that creating fake badges is a serious crime and if anyone here reports it, you will be thrown in jail for ten years. But I can probably tell that you will ask your parents to free yourself." The owner said with a smile and her hand whipped towards the other woman''s right breast.


    With a swift movement, the owner pulled out the badge on the lady''s clothes and crushed it between her fingers.


    "See it''s fake." She said while dropping it down on the ground.


    "You bitch!" The other woman was about to lunge on the owner when Aiden did a fake cough.


    Both the owner and the woman with the fake badge turned towards Aiden. The other woman looked as though she was about to launch herself onto Aiden but she stopped when she saw the badge on his clothes.


    "That was indeed a fake badge," Aiden said with a small smile as the woman picked up her belongings and bolted towards the exit. But she bumped into Aiden''s shoulder while dashing and their eyes met.


    < She looks as though she wants to rip your eyeballs out. > Sera commented as the women looked away and left the restaurant.


    But unknown to everyone, she was continuously muttering something under her breath.


    "I will make sure that the bitch dies. Let''s see who can stop me from doing it." She went towards another section of the city while saying this.


    "Can I get some good food to eat?" Back at the restaurant, Aiden was currently sitting in a corner and was ordering his food. And the person taking his order was none other than the owner of the place.


    "Anything you want to drink?" She asked in a polite tone as Aiden shook his head. But she still stood there while looking at the badge Aiden was wearing.


    "Still thinking whether it''s real or fake?" He asked with a smile as the woman nodded. "Then touch it to see for yourself."


    The woman took a deep breath before she moved towards the badge with her right hand. But before her fingers could touch the badge, a small golden barrier appeared around it and prevented her from touching it.


    "It''s real¡­" She muttered before she went away to prepare Aiden''s order. While she did that, Aiden could feel that many people were staring at him.


    This meant that the badge was more important than it looked.


    "Here is your order." The owner came back after a few minutes and have Aiden his food. But as he started eating his food, he saw that the woman was still standing beside his seat.


    "It was good," Aiden commented after finishing the food as the woman released a sigh of relief. "I wouldn''t have said anything even if it was bad you know."


    "Really?" The woman asked in a skeptical tone as she was used to people screaming at her. She had half expected Aiden to do the same thing but the latter had just remained completely calm.


    "If you still don''t believe me, come and explain about the city to me." Aiden suddenly said with a grin as he stood up.


    < Trying to make a move on her? >


    ''Well, I need someone to tell me about the city and if she is a good chef, why not? I can just eat here while I am in the city.''


    < I don''t think that badge would allow you to leave this city. >


    ''Guess I was not the only one thinking of that.''


    Aiden then looked at the woman and waited for his reply. The latter felt confused at the fact that someone from the royal academy was asking her to accompany him in exploring the city.


    But that''s when she was reminded of something.


    "You are not from the capital right?"


    "No, I am from a nearby town."


    "Then I guess it wouldn''t hurt to tell you everything about the place." The woman''s mood suddenly seemed to lift up when she heard that Aiden was not from the capital.


    The two of them then moved out of the place while the people stared at them.


    ''What a lucky person¡­'' The men thought with envy as they imagined the duo roaming around the city.


    After all, the woman was a beauty.

 Chapter 95 - I Pray That No One Reincarnates In Such Places

    "The city is divided into two sections. Beyond those walls is the second section where the nobles and the royal family live. This section is the normal section where anyone can live and where most people come looking for jobs." The woman slowly explained while pointing at a circle of high walls in the distance.


    But Aiden was not paying attention to the walls. He was instead thinking about what the woman had told him earlier.


    < How can there be a royal family here when the real thing is at the real capital? That''s what you are probably thinking. >


    ''Exactly. How can no one from the capital not know about this?'' He asked back but Sera had no reply for him.


    "Anyways, what else do you want to know about?" The woman asked while raising an eyebrow.


    "Can you tell me about the location of the royal academy?"


    "It''s situated right at the entrance to the second section of the city. You just have to show the guards your badge and you can easily move inside."


    "Thank you for your help," Aiden said with a small bow as the woman smiled and shook her head.


    "Don''t worry. I came from a small town too and this place was too overwhelming for me but I sadly didn''t have the potential to become a member of the royal academy. But since you have that opportunity, don''t waste it." She said and said her goodbye before leaving for her restaurant.


    ''I guess I should look for a library.'' Information was the key to most things so Aiden had to first learn about the history of Mondstad.


    After all, he had no idea how a continent could have two capitals and two royal families unless that place was divided into multiple kingdoms.


    But according to the books at the palace, no such thing was there on the continent of Sephiroth.


    So either those books were wrong or some sinister thing was happening in Mondstad.


    Finding a library didn''t take as long as he had thought it would. After entering the place, he just had to show his badge to the librarian and she gave him a slight nod.


    According to her, Aiden could roam the entire place and take whatever book he wants to on the first floor. The second floor of the library was only for third years of the academy and the third floor was only for high nobles.


    So after moving around the lower floor of the library, Aiden found all the history books he needed.


    After that, he sat down and started reading them as though his life depended on them. But with each page that he flipped, something new was revealed to him.


    After a few hours, Aiden closed the last book with a sigh. He went put the books in the deposit section before moving out of the library with a blown expression.


    According to the library, the entire continent had always been divided into four kingdoms with each kingdom having its own capital. The rulers of every continent were referred to as the royal family.


    Aiden''s home was called the Shadowstone kingdom with the Shadowstone city being the capital. But the books there had mentioned that there were only four major cities on the continent and one of them was their capital.


    Now, this was something that confused Aiden even more. How could the Shadowstone city not know about this and how could the Mondstad city not know about what was happening in the Shadowstone city?


    < This is indeed confusing. But I think there is only a single person who you can currently ask this about. >


    Hearing Sera''s words, Aiden glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist. He then went into an alley before touching the bracelet and establishing the connection with Aysel.


    [ Hello mother, can you hear me? ]


    Aiden waited for a few seconds but no reply came back. He sent a second message but Aysel still didn''t reply. He then stood there for a few more minutes before leaving the alley.


    ''So we should gather more information?''


    < If that''s what you want to do, I support you. Though you will have to be careful in the academy here. If what the books told us was correct, then that academy is definitely a royal academy. >


    Aiden then walked towards the entrance to the entrance to the second section. Only a single person was standing at the entrance but Aiden could tell that the single person was as strong as many demons.


    "I am here for the royal academy." That is why he walked closer to the man and showed his badge.


    "Go inside." The man said without looking at Aiden as the latter moved inside. He could see many teenagers around his age moving alongside and all of them were heading in the same direction.


    Aiden also followed them before he came in front of the building. Alongside the rest of the teenagers, Aiden moved inside the building before he saw the same man from the entrance.


    "Welcome to the royal academy of the kingdom of Mondstad. Before we proceed, I ask you all to kill the person on your right side. You have two minutes to do so." The man finished as Aiden stood dumbfounded.


    But the people around him clearly didn''t feel that as they started attacking each other. Within moments, Aiden could see many dead bodies lying on the ground and after two minutes, half of the people there were dead.


    "If you killed a single person, you pass. If you killed no one, you pass. If you killed more than a single person, you failed." The man said as he pointed at a few people in the crowd.


    They automatically left the place through the way they had come from but they deposited their badges to the guard first.


    ''That went for 1 to 1000 damn quick.'' Aiden thought with wide eyes as the man proceeded to talk more.


    "Now that''s over, all of you are members of the royal academy. You can remove that badge freely and leave the city if you want. But remember, you should be back by tomorrow or we will follow you and drag you here. Goodbye for now." The man quickly said and vanished.


    All of the teenagers then started moving out of the place and Aiden was left dumbfounded.


    ''What the fuck was that?!'' He thought while moving out of the second section.


    But before leaving, he could see a few people coming towards the bodies and some of them were crying.


    Perhaps the fallen had been their family members but Aiden didn''t know.


    ''Sera, should I leave the city now? I don''t have a good feeling about this place.''


    < I have the same feeling but you will have to travel straight without any breaks this time since they might send soldiers after you. So you can either risk that or stay here. Honestly, neither of them sounds like fun things. >


    ''I pray that no one reincarnates in such places. I thought that the Shadowstone city and my parents were messed up. But now, it looks as though the entire continent might be messed up. Heck, the entire realm might be messed up.''


    < But that''s the thing host, the gods have never seen anything like this and I can probably guess that they are laughing at this moment. Some might be cringing and wondering why your adventures are like this. But there is nothing no one can do about it except one person. >


    ''I know..'' Aiden replied with a sigh before he started looking for a place to stay the night at.

 Chapter 96 - I Am Back To Take My Revenge Bitch!

    "You are back already?" The owner of the restaurant asked as Aiden entered it again. The place was much empty than before but people were still eating there.


    "Everything starts from tomorrow and I am hungry. It''s not like I am a great cook." Aiden said with a sigh as he went into a corner and sat down. He could feel that people were staring at him but compared to these who stared at him in the palace., Aiden felt relaxed.


    But he didn''t let his guard down since there was a chance that anyone could attack him at any moment.


    < Aiden, do you remember about that woman who had a fake badge earlier? > Sera suddenly asked as Aiden gave his order and waited for his food.


    ''The one who I showed my badge to? Of course, I remember her.''


    < I think I heard her say that she would get her revenge on that woman. >


    Aiden''s gaze then landed on the owner of the restaurant before he quickly looked away.


    ''So you are saying that she might be back any time with behind her?''


    < If what you thought was correct and she is indeed a noble, it wouldn''t be hard for her to find mercenaries. She is probably mad at you too but since the people here seem to fear those from the royal academy, I don''t think that she would do anything to you. >


    ''So I should run away?''


    < That''s the least dangerous thing to do now. >


    Since Sera agreed with him on this decision, Aiden was thinking of leaving the restaurant immediately after having his dinner and not coming back later on.


    But something, or rather a certain someone, tried to stop him.


    [ Hey brat, don''t you dare run away now. ]


    Aiden blinked in confusion when he heard the voice of the god of shadows inside his mind.


    ''Wait, is that him talking to me Sera?''


    < Yes, Aiden, the god of shadows is directly talking to you. It''s possible now because you have the Oracle of Gods skill. You can directly talk with him now. >


    ''Which means that I will have another god annoying me from time to time.'' Aiden replied with a sigh as his food arrived.


    While slowly eating it, Aiden talked with the god of shadows.


    [ Tell me why I shouldn''t run away right now? ]


    [ Because of two reasons. Many gods will think that you are a coward who is afraid to take up challenges though the smarter ones know that you are doing the smart thing. But still, your image is already bad amongst the gods and you should stop trying to make it even worse.


    Because in times of need, you will need as many gods behind you as you can. The more enemies you make, the difficult it will be for you to protect yourself. As for the people around you, forget about them. ]


    [ What''s the second reason? ] Aiden asked back sharply as he looked around the place once again. He couldn''t see any hostile presence amongst the gathered people but Aiden was still wary.


    [ Men don''t turn their back on women when they need help. ]


    Aiden spat out the water he was drinking as everyone turned to stare at him again. He did a fake cough before he resumed eating his dinner.


    [ That''s the worst thing you could have said to convince me. ]


    [ Believe me, you don''t want to anger some gods and goddesses out there. The god of justice might turn his back on you and I can firsthand tell that you don''t want that to happen. ]


    [ Fine, I will believe you. But I will only intervene to a certain degree. If she can protect herself with my help, everything is well and good. Otherwise, I would be expected to protect her and I don''t want that. ]


    Aiden replied as he stood up and left the restaurant. Standing outside the place, he glanced at the walls separating the second section away from the first one.


    ''I wonder what things I still haven''t seen about the demon realm.'' He thought with a sigh and decided to go back to the hotel he had booked earlier.


    But just when he was about to do that, he saw four people moving inside the restaurant and he could see that one of them had a dagger hanging on the waist.


    ''Sera, is there a creator of this world?''


    < That''s a unique question. Why did you ask that Aiden? >


    ''I asked that because it feels as though I am not in control of my life. Everything is going swiftly for some time and then out of nowhere, I get stuck in the middle of some mess. There is no connection between them yet everything happens one after the other.''


    Aiden sighed before he moved inside the place again. Standing at the entrance, he slowly moved towards the shadows and blended in with them, and looked at the four people.


    They had taken their seats in one corner and after staring hard enough, Aiden could see that one of them was the woman from earlier.


    ''Looks like this confirms it. I am fucked up.'' Aiden thought with a sigh and like a bad action movie, the four figures stood up and took out their weapons.


    But surprisingly, no one screamed.


    "I am back to take my revenge bitch!" The woman said with a grin as the three men beside her raised their weapons and jumped towards the owner.


    "Dust on the tables and screaming in my restaurant. That is not tolerated." The owner sighed and with a quick motion, she tied her hair behind her head.


    She then raised her hands in a fighting gesture as raw purple lightning ran up her arms. The three men were now directly in front of her and one of them covered his dagger in fire.


    "This place has things that will catch fire, you idiot!" The owner shouted and as quick as lightning, pun intended, she jumped forward.


    She hit the man on the head with her right leg before using him as a stepping stone. To Aiden, it looked as though he was some kind of martial arts expert from Chinese movies.


    Within a few minutes, she had knocked out all three of the men.


    "You bitch!" The woman however was not done with her tricks as she raised her right hand and threw something in the owner''s direction.


    ''Is that¡­'' Aiden''s eyes widened when he realized what the thing being thrown was. He quickly jumped forward and before the woman could intercept the thing thrown, he caught it with his shadows.


    But the moments his shadows touched the thing, it exploded and blasted his shadows in every corner of the place. But Aiden quickly called them back before looking at the woman.


    "Those are banned in every corner of the continent," Aiden said in a sharp voice and teleported behind the woman. "Now tell me, where did you find that?"


    "Let me go!" The woman shouted as Aiden grabbed her from the behind but he was using his shadows to do this.


    His hands instead held a dagger each and were placed behind her spine.


    "You better tell me quickly or else I will shatter your spine and your heart alongside it."

 Chapter 97 - The Bomb Of Achilles

    "What was that thing?" The owner asked in a confused tone as Aiden looked around.


    "Can you please disperse everyone here first?"


    "It''s closing time anyways." She said with a shrug and looked at all of them. One by one, all of them left but many looked curious about what Aiden had said.


    It looked as though all of them had been regulars and something like this had already happened previously and they had expected the woman to react the way she had done a few minutes ago.


    Alongside them, the staff of the restaurant also left.


    "Now that no one is here expect us, tell me, where did you find that Achilles bomb?" He asked the woman as she suddenly froze in Aiden''s grip.


    "You know what that was?" She asked slowly as Aiden nodded. Her entire body remained frozen as she slowly turned her head to look into Aiden''s eyes.


    "Then please don''t tell anyone that I knew what that was." She squealed but Aiden didn''t seem to care.


    "There is no point in doing that. You will die in a few minutes so it''s better that you just tell me where you got it from."


    "What do you mean I will die?" The woman asked with a confused look as Aiden looked at her with pity.


    "The reason it is called the Achilles bomb is that it''s invincible. Anything it will touch would be completely destroyed but it will cost the user his or her life. Since you used it and it exploded, you only have five more minutes to live before you die by a horrible explosion." Aiden explained as her jaw fell down.


    "You are kidding, right? He didn''t tell me about this! He said that it will only make her paralyzed!" The woman screamed but Aiden continued to look into her eyes.


    "Who gave you that?"


    "My eldest brother and the heir of the Lilian house." The woman said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I¡­ I¡­ don''t feel so good¡­"


    Her hands went near her throat as she started gasping for breath but Aiden knew that this was just the beginning. The death the user suffered was extremely painful yet there was one thing that he could do.


    And that was to kill the woman.


    "You were lied to but there is nothing you can do about it. I will try to look into it and perhaps, I will kill your brother. At least you will have someone who might obtain your revenge." Aiden finished and with a swift motion, snapped her neck.


    The body fell to the ground as he lifted his head and looked at the owner.


    "Are you going to tell anyone that I am a killer?" He asked in a sharp tone since his next action will depend on the owner''s answer.


    But she surprised him.


    "I would be an idiot to do that when you just saved my life and it''s not like I am seeing a dead body for the first time." She said with a small smile before moving forward and closing the dead woman''s eyes.


    The two of them then stood in silence for a few seconds before the woman turned serious.


    "Since many people saw her enter this place last time, I will become a prime suspect and so will you. And unless you are interested in being mind raped by the nobles, we should probably get out of here."


    "Can you burn the body?" Aiden asked in a low tone as she nodded.


    "My name is Artemis." She suddenly said before lightning appeared around her right hand.


    Perhaps it was Aiden''s imagination but he could have sworn that he saw a few golden sparks of lightning amongst the purple ones.


    < You are not hallucinating host. I can firsthand tell that those sparks of lightning are real. >


    In front of Aiden''s eyes, the corpse of the woman was burned off by Artemis. She then stood up and looked around the place for a few seconds.


    "Let''s move out. I will shrink this place then." She then moved out of the restaurant before Aiden could say anything. With nothing else to do, Aiden followed her outside.


    The moon was currently being hidden by the clouds and it was probably some time past midnight.


    The entire street was empty and most of the shops were closed. And in the middle of the night, Artemis''s restaurant suddenly vanished.


    "How did you do that?" Aiden asked in a curious tone but he was not shocked by such a thing. After all, he had already seen more shocking things than this.


    "This place is a portable restaurant and I can shrink it anytime. By the way, we should probably leave before the patrol unit finds us." The woman replied as she slowly started moving towards the entrance.


    Aiden on the other hand looked at the badge on his chest and wondered whether he should take it with him or drop it.


    < It will definitely be a valuable piece of information but we would die if you take it. >


    ''You are right Sera.''


    Aiden then threw the badge high in the air before he slipped into the shadows and started following Artemis.


    The two of them stopped at the entrance of Mondstad city. Aiden then used his shadow teleport to bypass the security and exit the city.


    But both of them knew that it would be not an easy thing to escape. So the moment they stepped outside, they started running away from the city.


    "Do you think anyone would follow us?" Aiden asked Artemis since she would know much more about the city than he did.


    "My guess? They will send at least ten people to investigate so we should put as much distance between them and us as we can. This is going to be hectic." Artemis sighed as the two of them kept moving away.


    Aiden on the other hand was questioning his life decisions.


    ''How did I go from exploring the continent to running away with a woman who I only met a few hours ago?''


    < Should I tell you about everything that happened? >


    ''Go ahead Sera.. It''s going to be a long night anyway.''

 Chapter 98 - Ambushed In The Forest

    "Damn it! They already caught up." Artemis muttered as both she and Aiden could hear movement behind themselves.


    They quickly jumped down the tress and decided to stealthily walk o the ground. Aiden hid using his shadows while Artemis could only rely on her skills to hide.


    ''Wish I could hide the two of us like Will does.'' Aiden thought with a sigh as he remembered the way Will could hide people using his light element. That was a really useful skill to have.


    Artemis suddenly stopped moving and lifted her index finger to her lips. Moments later, five people just moved above and had left the duo alone.


    But Aiden and Artemis stood still for a few minutes in case it was a trap but after waiting for almost fifteen minutes, they realized that that the five people had passed away.


    "Shall we move ahead now?" Aiden whispered as Artemis nodded and they set out again.


    "Where do you think we should go? They might check the nearby villages and towns so there is no point in doing that."


    "I know a place where we can go. Just follow me." Aiden then took the lead as he swiftly moved towards the Shadowstone city.


    But while doing that, a random question entered his mind.


    "Why are doing all this?" he asked Artemis without looking back at her face. The latter remained silent for a few minutes before responding.


    "It''s because you somehow remind me of who I was in the beginning. My village was attacked by another village when I was ten years old and that''s when I had seen what war meant. I had matured quite early on and because of that.


    I was taken by the opposite village as a slave since they had won the war. My parents and half the people of my village had been massacred. Though the Mondstad city was completely unaware of this." She suddenly fell quiet as they continued to move.


    Aiden understood to quite some extent how she felt since it wasn''t normal to open up about her past self to a complete stranger.


    And that was why Aiden changed the topic.


    "I am a spy." He suddenly said and heard Artemis chuckle.


    "I could tell that much and if I had to say, we are probably heading towards the Shadowstone city. But why did a spy like you decide to run away with me when you could have just killed me and remained there? Did you get charmed by my beautiful looks?" Artemis said in a teasing tone.


    "As if." Aiden''s eyes unconsciously looked back as he carefully looked at Artemis''s body for the first time.


    She had shiny silver hair that fell down to her waist. Her eyes were the same color and seemed to shine a little in the dark. Now that Aiden had a light element related job class, he could see everything more clearly.


    < She has a D cup in case you were curious. I can give you her three sizes if you want though. >


    ''¡­''


    Aiden was grateful that he was moving in front of Artemis and not behind her or otherwise she would have seen the weird expression on his face. But Aiden couldn''t do anything since Sera had caught him off guard.


    < As if your gaze wasn''t moving there. >


    ''It wasn''t. But now I feel that it would.'' He replied with a sigh and looked forward.


    The duo traveled like this for a week before they met their first hurdle.


    "They have surrounded the entire village," Artemis said with a grim expression as they encountered many guards in the first village.


    Artemis and Aiden had been able to drink and eat because of her collapsible restaurant or otherwise they would be forced to seek out beasts whose meet could both hydrate them and give them enough nutrition.


    "Let''s take a different route," Aiden replied and they started traveling again but to get to the Shadowstone city as early as possible, they had to cross a few villages, and somehow, all of them had tight security.


    ''Is it because I told that man about the raids or perhaps it''s because they know who I am?'' Aiden thought silently before he realized that he was still wearing the mask of the trickster.


    He had gotten so used to it that he had forgotten to take it off. And Artemis had no idea how he looked like.


    Perhaps the man with the gray hair had told about Aiden to some higher-up who knew him at the crown prince. But the possibility of that happening was quite low.


    Because even in the Shadowstone city, most people didn''t know how Aiden looked.


    "Hey Artemis, how old are you?" Aiden asked casually as they were moving away from one of the towns because of the security.


    "I am nineteen and by the way, you never told me your name." Artemis turned her head in Aiden''s direction and cocked an eyebrow.


    Aiden was finding out that this ability was quite common in the demon realm.


    "My name is Aiden." He replied with a sigh but a wave of shock went through Artemis''s body.


    "Like Aiden Locksworth Shadowstone."


    If Aiden had not mastered the ability to control his expressions, it would have been a dead giveaway. But he instead decided to tell the truth because of three different individuals.


    "Yes, I am that Aiden and the heir to the demon throne," Aiden said with a sigh as Artemis smiled.


    "You are actually telling the truth. By the way, you can take that mask off. I have always been able to see your real face." She added as Aiden raised his right hand and took the mask of the trickster off his face.


    [ Good job. ]


    [ Well done. ]


    < Good job Aiden. >


    ''Don''t you guys have something else to do? I mean I can understand Sera but are both of you this free?'' Aiden asked Hestia and the god of shadows but heard no reply. This made his right jaw twitch.


    "Aiden, I think that security in the last village was a trap." Artemis suddenly said in a sharp tone as she and Aiden could now see four symbols drawn together on nearby trees.


    "A trapping formation¡­" Aiden muttered as both of them took battle stances.


    And with that, a golden barrier suddenly erected up and thousands of daggers were launched at the two of them.

 Chapter 99 - The Formations Master

    Aiden immediately erected a banner around himself and Artemis using the shadows available and managed to block all of the daggers. After all the daggers were blocked, there was nothing left.


    However, the golden barrier was still up around the duo.


    "That is a trapping barrier. The only way to remove this is to either destroy the entire thing or just wait for someone to come here and take us. Judging from the size and the daggers that were released on us, this was probably made by someone from the capital." Artemis muttered while pointing at the golden barrier.


    The duo slowly moved closer to the barrier and examined it. It felt like a golden see-through glass but when Aiden was about to touch it, Artemis pulled his hand back.


    "That will make lightning travel through your body and you will be pushed back with a giant explosion." The silver-haired woman warned him as he sighed.


    "Then should we try attacking it or wait for someone to come here and take us as prisoners?" The prince asked with a grin as the woman could only sigh.


    "Well, it''s better than just sitting here." She replied and raised her right hand. As clear as day, golden sparks of lightning appeared across her entire arm and Aiden knew that he wasn''t dreaming this time.


    The silver-haired woman really had golden lightning.


    "If you tell anyone about this, I will personally roast you to death." Her lips curled up as she saw the teenager nod. "Then let''s start."


    Aiden summoned his shadows up to his hands before he decided to use his one with the shadows skill.


    It did cost him a whopping 500 EE but it was still worth it in the end.


    ''So he can use powerful shadow skills too. Who could have known that a child-like him would be this powerful.'' Artemis had an amused expression on her face as she saw the black-haired boy controlling the shadows to attack the barrier.


    However, his powers weren''t something mind-blowing. The beautiful woman with the golden lightning had seen many prodigies and Aiden could have ranked in the top 3 or perhaps could have gotten the first spot.


    But if she knew about his other abilities, she would definitely think that Aiden was crazy strong for his age.


    "Then on the count of three, unleash all of your best attacks." She explained and started focusing all of her lightning on one spot of her palm.


    The gathered lightning started to charge up and the hair on Aiden''s body stood up. This was how powerful the lightning was.


    ''System, why does that attack look similar to Chid- *beep*''


    Aiden was let confused when he heard the beeping sound. It was as though someone had censored his words.


    < I had to do that Aiden. We definitely don''t want the copyright god on our backs. He is so powerful that even many gods fear him. Even a hint of copying things or taking names without the original person''s permission. >


    ''I think he will be a good god to befriend then. I can copy moves without any worries and wouldn''t have to strive this hard to find original things.''


    < Sometimes basic is the right thing. >


    ''Yeah, I guess.''


    Aiden finished his quick conversation with Sera as he started focusing on the shadows around his palm.


    After some experiments, he had found out that he could increase the damage and destruction dealt by the twin beams if he held them for long enough.


    And since he was going to mix them, Artemis wouldn''t be able to find out that he could use light element too.


    "3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Attack!" Artemis gave the countdown as both of them released their attacks at once.


    Artemis hit her hand forward in the form of a punch as a golden lightning dragon was released from her hand.


    Aiden on the other hand joined both of his hands together in the form of fists and shot them forward. Two combined beams of shadow and light shot out from his hand and went behind the lightning dragon.


    The dragon hit the barrier with full force before Aiden''s beams followed it and hit the barrier too. It created a huge impact and smoke started to rise from the entire thing.


    But after the smoke cleared, the duo saw that the barrier was only cracked. But the cracks were spreading through the entire place.


    "I don''t think they had time to put a self-healing one. I think this is our chance to shatter this thing and escape. Quickly, attack it again!" Artemis shouted as Aiden created shadow spikes and attacked the barrier again.


    The silver-haired woman threw golden lightning bolts at the barrier and after two more of such attacks, it shattered.


    "Let''s go," Artemis muttered with a small smile as the two of them started moving towards the Shadowstone city again.


    ***


    Half an hour later.


    "They were definitely here." A man wearing a gray cloak muttered as he bent down and picked up a piece of golden-colored see-through mirror.


    This was the last remaining piece of the barrier that had been set up by this man. He knew that someone had been trapped inside it since he had been notified of it.


    It was the first time he had sensed someone being trapped inside his barrier after he had set multiple of them throughout the forest.


    "Sir, how are you sure that it was a demon who was trapped. What if it was just some high-level beast?" A smaller man that reached up to the shoulders of the gray coat man asked.


    The man in the coat was his superior and according to the rumors, was supposed to be the best formations master the royal family had.


    "These formations are specifically made to trap demons and notify me when that happens. If a beast walked through here, it would easily be able to pass the entire thing and nothing would happen." The gray coat man replied as he narrowed his eyes.


    ''Why does this place smell like something had burned here. Was the person a fire element user? There are common enough so¡­'' The man''s expression suddenly changed as a very wild possibility entered his mind.


    "Get to the capital as fast as you can and tell them that the hunter has been seen." The man said as he looked into the smaller man''s eyes.


    The latter didn''t ask any questions and nodded. He then turned around and rose in the air. He was a runner trained for this task and he knew that if he tried hard enough, he could reach the capital in less than two hours.


    And since his superior looked as though it was something extremely urgent, he decided to do that.


    After the shorter man had escaped, the gray-coated man looked at the remaining piece of the barrier in his hand.


    There was a reason that the royal family favored him and that was because of the fragment in his hand.


    His barriers could capture the things that happened with the people that were inside the barrier before it had been broken. And to make sure his hunch wasn''t wrong, the man decided to check the contents.


    But he was left baffled the moment he saw everything.


    It looked as though a rogue prodigy and a crown prince were running around together.


    ***


    A/N: Sorry for the hiatus guys, I just couldn''t write this novel. I wouldn''t have published this chapter today but I had the sudden motivation to write. I am once again sorry for not uploading.


    Thank you for your support and this author''s note did not cost you extra coins in case you were wondering.

 Chapter 100 - Wolf Attack

    "Our speed is getting quite slow," Artemis muttered as she and Aiden were once again running through a forest.


    "This is probably because we now have to check for formations and traps instead of just being wary of patrols." He replied the obvious answer as the two of them were only traveling during the night.


    They would sleep in shifts during the day and eat while they would continue to run the entire night. However, they knew that there was no way they could reach the Shadowstone city without being caught.


    Unless they increased their speed.


    "Artemis, I think we need to create a commotion to distract them." Aiden suddenly spoke up as the silver-haired woman raised an eyebrow.


    "And what kind of commotion can we create?"


    "Let''s go to a nearby guarded village and create a commotion there. We can also collect some maps from there and after doing that, we are moving the hell away from that place. However, we will take a completely different route where there would be fewer guards and continue going forward from there."


    "What is your age again?"


    "Fifteen."


    "That was sarcasm."


    "And I was being polite.


    Artemis sighed at the boy''s reply as she started wondering how did he know things so well. Perhaps he was a spy sent from Shadowstone city but Aiden was too inexperienced and amateurish for that.


    ''But maybe that''s the reason they sent him so people won''t feel that he is a spy.'' Artemis remembered how Aiden had told her that he was from a village and she had told him some story.


    She knew that both she and him had been lying yet they had gone ahead it just for the sake of not having arguments.


    ''At least he respects privacy.'' She thought with a small smile as Aiden started directing them towards the nearest village with the help of Sera.


    Artemis of course didn''t know about Sera and instead thought that the black-haired boy was really good at remembering maps and locations.


    She had found out about this in the days they had traveled together and Aiden had always seemed to know where the villages were and how they could avoid them.


    But the reason behind this was that Sera had noted all the villages in the area. So with the help of the system, she could guide Aiden through almost any place and all she needed was a map or a representation of the place.


    This was indeed a handy skill but when you didn''t have a map, you just needed to depend on instinct.


    And that is why Aiden wanted to go to a nearby village and gather some maps since his data was running out.


    < I guess I have officially broken the no spoon-feeding rule. >


    ''I think you broke many rules and that is still more of the milder ones.''


    < You are correct there Aiden. Now stop talking to me and focus. >


    ''But you were the one who started the talk...'' Aiden replied with a mental sigh as he suddenly felt his shadow sense tingling around his body.


    < You are the man of spiders and I don''t want us to get copyrighted. >


    ''Then why did you even mention that?'' Aiden asked back as he turned towards Artemis.


    "I think something is about to happen."


    The silver-haired woman instantly went alert since she had recognized that Aiden''s senses were on a whole other level.


    She quietly summoned her deadly golden lightning across her arm as she heard a shape whistle going through the air.


    ''Could it be?'' The woman looked as though she had just been told that her house had been sold for a penny to her son.


    Though she had neither of those, it was a good metaphor to show her reaction.


    "Aiden, have you ever fought wolf-type beasts?" She asked as the prince nodded.


    "The wolves and I are good friends." He replied with a smile as he remembered how many times he had fought the beasts in the forest of night and in the open.


    Artemis seemed satisfied with his answer as she turned her gaze towards the north.


    "Then be prepared to fight some more of these guys right now." She replied and raised both of her arms in a fighting position.


    Aiden made a shadow bow and arrows as he looked in the direction Artemis was staring at.


    And a few seconds later, howls rose from the same direction.


    < Aiden, hundreds of Tempest Wolves are coming this way and I think one of them is an A rank beast. > Sera suddenly explained as Aiden took a deep breath.


    A ranked beasts were high above his level but he knew that he could win against one if he and the golden lightning user did everything they could.


    But before that, they had to deal with the small fries.


    "Wanna make a bet to see who can defeat the most wolves?" Artemis suddenly asked as she wanted to raise the black-haired boy''s spirit up by a little.


    Little did she know that his spirit was already very high because of all the exp he was about to gain.


    Aiden was very tempted to laugh like a third-rated villain from a pathetically written cliche comedy novel but he managed to resist the urge.


    He instead notched ten arrows in his bow and aimed at the nearest wolves.


    He pulled out the string and immediately released it as ten arrows zipped through the air and hot ten wolves one by one.


    Exp notifications resounded in Aiden''s ears as he looked at Artemis with a small smile.


    "You little..." She muttered and immediately moved towards the nearest wolf and punched it.


    Her punch roasted the wolf down to shreds as she continued to do it.


    Both Artemis and Aiden knew that the whistle has belonged to a beast summoner who had called the beasts to waste their time.


    But they knew that they couldn''t run away anyways, especially when an A rank beast was amongst the crowd.


    < Aiden, the beast is slowly coming your way. >

 Chapter 101 - The Black Thunder Hawk (1)

    ''Um Sera, I don''t think that is a wolf...'' Aiden replied as the strongest amongst the pack showed himself.


    He immediately used his inspection skill to see the level of the beast and his eyes darkened.


    [ Black Thunder Hawk


    Expert Rank A Grade beast ]


    The beast was flying in the air like it was the leader of the herd. It was as big as two adult human beings combined while its wingspan was at least the size of three human beings.


    But the even more terrifying thing was that the beast was an expert rank A grade beast.


    A ranked beasts were as strong as lower demon lords and one at the expert rank could rival an upper demon lord.


    Aiden''s power level was at the lower B ranked meaning that there was no way that he could defeat such a powerful beast.


    However, he had someone else beside him.


    < Try using inspection on her. > Sera suddenly said in a hurried tone as though she was trying something new.


    The black-haired boy did what he was told and used the inspect skill on Artemis.


    He had already used it thrice in the past but he hadn''t seen her level once.


    He was expecting the same thing to happen again however something weird happened this time.


    [ Artemis


    Title: ??? (Title is too powerful for the host to know)


    Threat level: High A level, ??? (Sealed) ]


    The 15-year-old boy was left shocked when he read her details. Even though some things were deliberately hidden, he could still see how powerful she was.


    And if both of them combined their powers, there was a chance that they would be able to defeat this beast while the summoner was recovering.


    Summoning beasts, especially those at a really high level, required a person to have high reserves of element energy.


    A person 80% or more elemental energy was instantly wiped out by the summoning but to make sure that the summoned beast obeyed, the summoner would have to continue using his or her elemental energy.


    However, this also meant that once the summoner''s elemental energy was empty, the summoned beasts would enter a berserk state.


    They would attack the first thing they would see, be it friends or foes.


    Beasts in the berserk state were more dangerous than one realized. An A-grade beast could wipe out an entire village of weak demons in a single hit. This power only increased with time until the berserk state ended.


    Some beasts could break free of such a state however many couldn''t. And neither Aiden nor Artemis knew whether the hawk could break free or not.


    But the hawk didn''t seem to know that the strategic time was going on and it screeched loudly. Its black feathers were suddenly running with lightning as all of the feathers stood up.


    It looked like a lightning bird from a certain anime except its color was different. The lightning was black in color too as it suddenly hit one of the wolves below the hawk.


    The lightning then started to move from one wolf to another and started a lightning chain. All of the wolves become ignited with the black lightning as they howled together.


    < That lightning had combined with the tempest wolves and they are twice as strong as before. They can be considered high C ranked beasts right now. >


    ''Then the fight is not going to be easy.'' Aiden replied as he closed his eyes and focused on the palm of his right hand.


    He felt the elemental energy inside his body moving towards his palm. He focused on that energy as a few seconds later, he felt a cold metallic thing between his hands.


    [ Lightbringer ]


    This was the only way for Aiden to summon the sword but he knew how useful it would be in the upcoming battle.


    The silver-haired woman also realized that the sword was emitting a dangerous aura but she decided to reveal her weapon too.


    The hawk was no pushover and Artemis knew that she would have to take it head-on. However, she would have to work with Aiden in complete sync.


    "You ready kid?" She asked while raising an eyebrow in the black-haired boy''s direction as he nodded.


    "You know, you are barely five years older than me." He pointed out as the beautiful woman smiled.


    "And that is why you are a kid in my eyes." The duo then turned to look at the lightning-charged wolves and the black hawk.


    "You clear the right and I will take care of the left. If that giant bird attacks you, I trust you to take the right decision." Artemis told the battle plan to Aiden as she closed her eyes and raised both of her hands forward.


    The moon was shining on the battle clearly and some of the moonlight fell on her hands. And a few seconds later, a bow dropped in her hands.


    The bow was a sleek golden-colored bow with silver-colored outlines. It had a pattern of different phases of the moon drawn all around it in order.


    ''Inspection.''


    [ ??? (Black rank) ]


    Aiden''s eyes widened when he read the rank of the bow. The bow was worth more than the entire continent or perhaps multiple continents.


    And that was just because of the rank it had.


    ( A/N: Weapon ranks are: copper, silver, gold, ruby, diamond, and black. Black because it''s the demons'' favorite color. )


    Black ranked weapons were weapons that only gods owned and there were only two such items on the demon realm.


    One of them belonged to Drake while the second one belonged to the king of Astaroth.


    But in front of Aiden, Artemis was holding a bow with the same rank. The former however decided to put away the questions he had and focus on the battle.


    ''And this might be a black rank weapon too.'' The black-haired boy looked at the weapon that Hestia had given him.


    If only his inspection skill showed more information about the weapon.


    < Don''t worry Aiden. The thing will change with future system updates. >


    As soon as Sera, finished speaking, a system notification appeared in front of Aiden.


    [ System exp full. System needs to be updated. ]


    ''And how are we supposed to update the system?'' Aiden remembered that Sera had told her that it was Infini''s job to do upgrades


    But the goddess wasn''t there so Aiden had no idea what would happen next. However, Sera had some good news.


    < I will tell you about that after this battle. >


    Aiden suddenly had newfound motivation as he learned that there was a way for him to upgrade his system.


    Though he was sad that all the exp notifications he would now gain were useless. They would just get collected and his exp bar wouldn''t move forward at all.


    It would have been a fun thing to obtain all the exp and level further.


    The hawk suddenly released another screech and the wolves howled together. The entire pack started moving at once as the duo took a deep breath.


    "Let''s go," Artemis said and the two of them dashed forward.


    The silver-haired woman summoned her lightning and spread it out towards her entire body. This increased her entire speed in the way Will used his lightning.


    Aiden used his shadows to move from one place to another and after he was in the range of using his sword, he used the flash skill.


    All over the battlefield, all of the wolves howled at once. It was as though all of them were blinded.


    "Unless¡­"


    If all of the wolves were connected with the lightning, did all of them get affected by a single move?


    ***


    Ever wanted to see how the characters introduced in the story look like?


    Join my discord server and see for yourself.


    Here is the link: https://discord.gg/TXwtUHQfnf

 Chapter 102 - The Black Thunder Hawk (2)

    < Aiden, I think your theory is right but I don''t think it would work if you tried to kill one of them. > Sera suddenly replied as the black-haired boy grinned.


    ''Then let''s test.'' With pro skills, he went ahead and sliced the wolf''s head off.


    But all the other wolves were still standing straight. The black-haired boy sighed at this as he started killing one wolf after the other.


    He would retreat a little when flash''s effects would run off before using the skill again and killing the beasts.


    Artemis on the other hand was what someone would call a one-man army. Arrow after arrow was appearing in her bow, each one charged with golden lightning.


    The moment the arrow would hit a wolf, the golden lightning would toast it. But if a wolf got too close to her, she would use her lightning and make sure that it could do any damage.


    The hawk was looking at this from the above but made no advance to save the pack. It instead looked more interested in the duo as though he was trying to learn their moves.


    The beast was intelligent enough to learn about this but he still couldn''t communicate with demons.


    This was because, unlike the moon wolf, he had no experience meeting demons and had been summoned randomly. He had first protested against the control of the summoner but had found out that it was useless.


    The more the hawk had struggled, the more pain he had faced and because of that, it had surrendered to the summoner and had no choice except to attack the duo based on the orders he had gotten.


    However, the hawk knew that the summoner wouldn''t let him examine the duo for long and would soon force him to attack. But till the time that happened, he casually watched everything from above.


    Its black piercing eyes were particularly attached to Aiden as he saw the teenager''s weird strategy.


    Aiden was doing the same thing over and over and it was working. All the wolves were getting blinded no matter how many times they saw the move occurring in front of them.


    This was partially because the summoner could not control all the beasts together and since they originally had been expert D ranked wolves, their intelligence was quite low.


    "Hey kid, should we go for the big boss soon?!" Artemis asked from the other side as Aiden nodded.


    The silver-haired girl had seen him nod and looked at the remaining wolves on her side. Only two dozen or so wolves remained and after killing them, she turned to look at Aiden who was done too.


    The duo then looked up at the black hawk who was slowly moving towards the ground. It released a low screech and set down on the ground while gazing at the two of them.


    < It''s trying to communicate with us Aiden. Do want me to communicate back? > Sera suddenly asked as the black-haired boy had a doubtful expression on his face.


    But regardless of that, he decided to say yes.


    [ You¡­ are not¡­ normal demon¡­ I¡­ notice¡­ you¡­ have¡­ strange power¡­ ]


    < The hawk doesn''t know most of the things so it''s trying to speak in what broken language it knows. > Sera added as more words appeared in front of Aiden.


    [ Look for¡­ something¡­ hidden¡­ but right¡­ in front of you. ] The hawk finished before it gave a loud cry and launched itself towards Aiden.


    The latter had understood that the hawk had conveyed some secret message regarding the location of the one controlling it.


    But the person had most probably heard the hawk and was now controlling it completely to make sure that Aiden couldn''t find him.


    This would have worked if Aiden was alone but he had a partner he could depend on.


    "Artemis, take care of this!" Aiden shouted as he immediately vanished and appeared on a random tree.


    The silver-haired woman instead notched and arrowed and released it at the hawk. As soon as the arrow hit, golden lightning moved through its body.


    But the hawk didn''t even seem affected and moved towards Artemis. The woman jumped rolled back as she avoided the hawk''s claws.


    She however had forgotten that the bird could use lightning. And she only remembered this when black lightning hit her directly.


    She gritted her teeth and countered it with her own lightning.


    While the hawk and Artemis were fighting each other, Aiden was trying to find the summoner''s location.


    ''What is hidden yet right in front of me?'' He asked himself while Sera also tried to figure it out.


    < If it''s hidden and standing right in front of you, doesn''t that mean that it''s invisible? >


    ''Perhaps but I have a feeling that the hawk was talking about something else.'' The black-haired boy was thinking hard about what the hawk had said before a theory suddenly struck his mind.


    ''The summoner is underground.''


    He jumped off the tree and placed his hands on the ground. Aiden quickly used the one with the shadow skill and made the shadows seep deep into the ground.


    He then turned them into vines and spread them out in the entire area.


    The shadow vines moved through the entire ground at rapid speed before all of a sudden, it hit something or rather, someone.


    Aiden immediately made the vines wrap around the person and pulled his body up. Breaking through the ground, the teenager''s shadows pulled out a middle-aged man with a red symbol visible on his forehead.


    Every summoned got a symbol on their forehead whenever they had summoned any kind or any number of beasts. This showed that the summoner and the beast/beasts were connected with each other.


    The summoned beast/beasts would also have the same symbol somewhere on their body.


    While looking at the symbol, Aiden made the vines wrap around the man''s throat and started choking him. But before he could die, the man clenched the fist of his right hand and the hawk released another pained cry.


    The atmosphere suddenly started to burn as black lightning ran throughout the hawk''s body.


    And it didn''t look as though the beast was in control of the lightning.

 Chapter 103 - Abusing Plot Armor

    The black lightning hit a nearby tree and in a matter of seconds, the entire tree vanished. Aiden and Artemis''s expression darkened when they saw the raw power of the uncontrolled lightning.


    They wouldn''t vanish like the tree however it would deal some serious damage.


    ''But he is dead.'' Aiden thought as he looked at the summoner''s dead body hanging from the vines.


    < He transferred a small amount of consciousness inside that hawk and the longer that hawk stays in that state, the more berserk it would go. But one thing is guaranteed. It would not die until both you and Artemis die. >


    ''So that means that it would keep suffering till then.'' The black-haired boy looked at the hawk''s pained expression.


    The beast would keep suffering until either Aiden and Artemis died or something else happened.


    ''Sera, tell me how I can upgrade the system?'' He asked while dodging the lightning being thrown by the hawk.


    He launched his shadow spikes towards the hawk but the lightning burned them all. The black lightning has encased the entire hawk that its cries of pain had stopped.


    Yet its entire body was burning in pain and agony.


    < I thought that if Infini uses her god powers to upgrade the system, maybe we could ask someone else to do the same. >


    ''Any by someone else, you mean Hestia or the Shadow god? >


    < Anyone of them who you want to choose. >


    ''Hestia, are you listening to this?''


    [ I am, kiddo, but there is nothing that I can do. Most of the godly powers are gone. Ask that shadow god about this. ]


    ''You heard her Sera.''


    < Don''t die while I do that. >


    ''I have enough plot armor to prevent me from dying.'' He replied with a smile and deflected some lightning using Lightbringer.


    Using the sword, the black-haired boy deflected the lightning towards the hawk and saw it clash. Artemis shot an arrow at the exact spot as the two different lightnings vanished. The arrow moved towards the arrow but another blast of lightning moved out from the hawk''s body.


    [ You know, many things could go horribly wrong here and yet you still want me to take Infini''s place. You have guts Aiden, I will give you that. ] The shadow god''s voice echoed inside Aiden''s mind as he grinned.


    ''Will you take the risk though?'' He asked back and heard the god chuckle.


    [ Not like I have anything better to do with my life so why not? ] The god replied as a system screen appeared in front of Aiden.


    [ Upgrade system? ]


    ''Yes.''


    [ System upgrade under process. ]


    [ A god''s power is required. ]


    [ Powers found. ]


    [ Upgrade under process ]


    [ ¡­ ]


    [ System has now been upgraded. ]


    [ The companion feature has been added. ]


    ''What did I say about plot armor?'' The black-haired boy asked Sera with a smile as he went ahead and used inspection on the hawk.


    [ Black Thunder Hawk


    Expert Rank A Grade beast


    Can be added as a companion ]


    < You were correct about plot armor¡­ >


    Aiden however knew that there would be certain conditions to add a beast as a companion however, it was worth a try.


    [ Do you want to add The Black Thunder Hawk as your companion? ]


    ''Yes.''


    [ Current progress: 59 / 100 ]


    < You will have to try hard to get that up to 100 but once that''s done, the beast will be added as your companion. >


    ''And how is that thing supposed to go up.''


    < You have to connect with the hawk. >


    ''Yup, I am fucked up.''


    < Didn''t you just talk about plot armor? >


    ''I don''t think plot armor protects me from stupid things that I do myself.''


    < It''s worth a try. >


    Aiden had been talking with Sera while moving so that the lightning didn''t hit him.


    But now that he had to make sure that the hawk would get closer, Aiden would have to go and make direct contact.


    "Artemis, cover me!" Aiden shouted as he used his shadows to jump towards the hawk. Artemis didn''t know what the teenager was going to do but she still decided to cover him up.


    She deflected the lightning coming towards Aiden with her arrows while the black-haired boy deflected some of them himself.


    ''I hope this works.'' Aiden took a deep breath as he was inches away from reaching the hawk.


    "Black Thunder Hawk? Would you like to become my companion and leave this suffering behind?!" Aiden shouted over the sound of lightning but he had no idea whether the hawk heard him.


    [ Current progress: 75 / 100 ]


    < It is working Aiden. >


    The latter didn''t say anything and glanced at the hawk''s face. The black-haired boy could feel that his words had moved the hawk and he decided to say something else as well.


    "You are probably thinking how helpless you are at this moment and wondering what you did wrong. I have felt the same too many times and I am supposed to be the OP person. Yet this world always throws something at me that manages to overpower me.


    From someone else''s perspective, I am strong for my age and yet not strong at the same time. And if you are feeling the same, then I guess both of us are the same." Aiden said the words from the depths of his heart though he had no idea why he was saying them.


    He hadn''t known the hawk for more than half an hour and yet he was already trying to help the bird.


    Perhaps it was because the beast would be a great addition to the party or rather, Aiden could see his hopeless past, and somewhat current, self in the hawk.


    And that is why, he was trying hard.


    The lightning around the hawk slowly started to decrease and using this chance, Aiden moved towards its head and gently caressed it. Minor electric shocks moved through his body yet he was fine.


    After all, he had experienced such minor shocks many times because of Will.


    < Aiden, I have no words to describe what type of personality you have. > Sera suddenly said as she had seen Aiden going from cold to loving in two seconds.


    ''My pleasure.'' And the latter was happy about it.


    [ Current progress: 100 / 100 ]


    [ Black Thunder Hawk has been taken in as your companion. ]

 Chapter 104 - You Might Free Me From Eternal Reincarnation

    "Nice."


    Aiden immediately landed on the ground as the black lightning immediately vanished. The black thunder hawk slowly floated down as Aiden now felt a connection with the beat.


    However, he could feel the connection slowly slipping away.


    < It was too late Aiden¡­ >


    ''I should have known.'' The black-haired prince bent down and gently touched the bird''s forehead.


    The hawk''s eyes looked tired but he kept focusing on Aiden while opening its beak a little.


    [ Thank you ]


    "Your welcome," Aiden said with a smile as the hawk''s body suddenly started fading. It was going to be mixed with the world.


    < Ai45n someth2736 96 348347 >


    ''Uh, Sera?''


    < 3457 87537 99374 >


    [ A glitch has occurred in the system ]


    [ System reboot will now begin to suit the personality of the god attached to the system ]


    ''Oh great.'' The black-haired boy suddenly saw the hawk''s fading body rise in the air and immediately crash into him.


    He suddenly felt the connection being solidified and the fading sensation stopped. He had no idea what was happening and the person he usually asked for help was stuck.


    Being tired, he turned to look at Artemis who had been watching everything with an interested look.


    "That was something Aiden." The silver-haired woman walked forward and gave Aiden a fist bump. The duo then looked around the battlefield before they decided that it was a better idea to move away from the place.


    They had wasted valuable time that might have allowed their pursuers to catch up to them. While that was happening, Aiden decided to talk to Zack and Hestia.


    But neither of them replied.


    ''I no longer have the oracle ability.'' He thought with a sigh though because of the training he had put himself through, he could use all of the skills even when the system was disabled.


    After all, he had already predicted that something like this might happen because of his protagonist''s luck.


    ''I better have a good talk with the god in charge of overseeing the rights of reincarnated people. I will definitely sue the other gods for not giving me good luck.'' Aiden thought but he had to admit that he did have a weapon with him.


    Just like how he hadn''t been burned by the lightning and some of the things he had gotten were because of his plot armor.


    Now looking at everything, he had to admit that he was somewhat of an average and meh protagonist.


    ''Maybe I was supposed to be a cool and overpowered protagonist but something went wrong.'' The black-haired boy had many theories in his mind though most of them were common.


    "Aiden, I have a question I want to ask." Artemis suddenly brought him out of his thoughts as the black-haired boy gestured for her to go ahead.


    "Tell me, why did you go to such lengths to help the hawk?" The silver-haired woman asked in a neutral tone.


    "Because I wanted to. Why are you asking for a reason for something that I wanted to do?"


    "Well, I was just curious." She replied and the two continued to travel.


    Both of them were lost in their thoughts. Aiden was busy thinking about what his next set of moves would be while Artemis had a plan forming in her mind.


    ''Maybe you are the best person who has ever reincarnated Aiden.'' Artemis thought with a small smile as she remembered the many reincarnations she had faced.


    All of the people that had been reincarnated had met her since she had been specifically reincarnated in that place to see what they would do.


    Or rather, that was her punishment.


    ''You might free me from eternal reincarnation. Though I am tired of placing my hopes on reincarnated people. So even if you disappoint me, I have already expected that.'' The woman''s gaze then turned up to look at the moon she once used to represent.


    Aiden''s theory about Artemis being the real moon goddess was true. But she had that title a really long time ago.


    ***


    [ System reboot is finished. ]


    [ Many features have been changed because of the new god supporting the system. Sorry for the inconvenience.


    Please give a rating to tell how much you like the new features ]


    ''A bad telemarketer.'' Aiden thought and summoned his status screen.


    And his jaw dropped down to hell.


    [ Aiden Locksworth Shadowstone


    Title: Unlucky Protagonist


    Companion: Black Thunder Hawk


    HP: 600 / 600


    EE: 4000 / 4000 ]


    ''What the fuck happened.'' He then tried to summon his job and skill screen but it didn''t work. None of the old system commands worked which made him question how it was even a system anymore.


    < It has become a much simpler system. The exp system has been removed so has the skills and job class features. Now you will have to do everything yourself. >


    ''That title has never made much more sense.''


    < Aiden, you are free from the clutches of restrictions based on stats and skill levels. You are no longer an exp hunter. As for your job class, the god of shadows said that he will soon do something about that. >


    ''Then it means that I will never see the exp thing again?''


    < You will never see it. >


    ''I worked hard for collecting all that exp.''


    ( A/N: And I worked hard calculating that. But on the brighter side, no more maths for me. )


    ''Then what will happen to the entire system now?''


    < That depends on the god of shadows since he is currently the person supplying the system with his power. We will have to wait and see how this takes a turn. > Sera replied as Aiden then glanced in front of him.


    "We finally reached the Shadowstone city," Artemis muttered as the huge walls of the capital. After crossing a certain point, their pursuers had given up on catching them.


    And now that they were in front of the capital, there was nothing left to worry about.


    ''Except that she is probably going to be shocked by my identity.'' Aiden thought with a sigh as he and Artemis were walking towards the city gate.


    < You should have thought about that before Aiden. >


    ''Whatever.''


    And with that, the duo stood in front of the entrance.

 Chapter 105 - You Shouldnt Have Come Back

    "Then what is my back story or are you going to introduce me as a prisoner who you caught while being on your journey?"


    "We don''t need such things," Aiden said with a sigh as he walked towards the entrance and saw the guards suddenly getting alert.


    All the guards who worked in the capital were supposed to know the faces of all the nobles and the royals and that is why they immediately knew who Aiden was.


    "Crown prince!" The leader of the guards said with a salute as all the other guards followed him.


    The black-haired boy rolled his eyes and dragged Artemis inside the capital. The silver-haired woman was let confused by the actions of the guard until she realized something.


    ''So the rumors about the prince leaving the capital to explore the rest of the world were true.'' Her eyes were looking at Aiden''s back as the teenager was rapidly teleporting them from one place to another.


    "This should be a good enough place." He said with a sigh as the of them appeared in an alley in the commoner''s section of the place.


    His parents and the rest of the nobles would soon know that he had come back and a commotion would start at the palace.


    Now Aiden had to make sure that he convinced Artemis about his reason for lying/.


    ''But will it be worth it?'' He asked Sera and the goddess inside him. The duo replied to him with the same answer.


    < It will be >


    [ It will be ]


    ''Whatever you guys say.'' He replied and turned to look at the dangerous, beautiful woman he had met a few weeks back.


    Aiden had traveled for almost two months and before that, he would have never thought that there was another capital like Mondstad. He had a lot of questions about this that he would ask his father.


    But before that, he would go see his mother.


    "So you are the prince and were on a travel to see the rest of the world. Guess now I know why you hid yourself," She said with a smile as the black-haired boy blinked in confusion. "I am not some dumb woman who you have to explain yourself to. After all, I have lied too."


    "Then that makes us even. I would like to take you to the palace though you know that won''t be a good decision." Both of them knew that it was never a good idea to take a spy, no matter how close they were, to a very important place.


    "Then I guess I will explore this place." The beautiful woman said with a grin as Aiden rolled his eyes.


    "Don''t break into the noble houses and don''t cause a commotion."


    "As you say, partner."


    "That doesn''t sound reassuring."


    Aiden then vanished from his place as the silver-haired woman looked around the alley.


    "Now where is the location of that maid hiring place which was exposed." She muttered under her breath and vanished too.


    While Artemis was searching for the maid facility, the black-haired boy was traveling back to the palace.


    < At least you weren''t friend-zoned. >


    ''Why do you sound as though you are playing matchmaker.''


    < Cause I want to. I promised you that you would experience love and if I don''t play matchmaker, who else will? >


    ''Did you ever think that perhaps I could fall in love myself and get a wife easily?''


    < Where''s the fun in that? Why not go for multiple wives instead of a single one? >


    ''And that fulfills the criteria for the classic Japanese light novel MC.''


    While talking with the Sera, Aiden''s expression suddenly darkened as he remembered the last time he had been with his mother.


    ''System, do you think I should talk to father regarding this? There is a chance that he might be controlled too.''


    < You either take the risk or you don''t. These are the only two options Aiden. And for once, you can''t create a third option. >


    ''If that''s the case, I will talk with father after returning back.''


    The black-haired boy then jumped down from the top of a building and landed on the ground with the help of his shadows.


    The royal palace''s entrance was a few meters away from where he was standing yet he saw no guards standing there.


    This made the entire thing even weirder and put the teenager on his guard. He summoned Lightbringer and moved inside the palace.


    ''The entire place is too quiet.'' The black-haired boy thought with an alert expression as he walked through the halls of the palace.


    The entire place was so silent that Aiden could easily hear his heartbeat. His grip on the hilt of the sword suddenly tightened as he saw demon blood on the ground in front of him.


    "Dry blood¡­" He muttered while checking the blood before he moved into the shadows and started moving forward from there.


    < Aiden I am sensing some movement in the throne room. Be careful. > Sera had a feeling that something bloody was happening inside the palace and those in the capital were not aware of his.


    The black-haired prince immediately teleported to the throne room and his stomach started churning.


    "What the hell happened here¡­" He muttered under his breath as he looked around the throne room that used to be glorious not a long time ago.


    Currently, it was bathed in black and red blood alike. Body parts of demons and perhaps humans were lying around the entire place.


    < Aiden, don''t look in your right direction. > Sera tried to warn the teenager but it was too late.


    He had already turned in the right direction and in front of him were the faces of the three shadow element users who had grown alongside him.


    The black-haired boy remained glued to his place as his heartbeat started to increase. The content in his stomach started to churn violently as he resisted the urge to throw up.


    "Aiden?" A voice came from behind him as the black-haired boy turned back to see a man standing at the entrance of the room.


    The man was completely bathed in blood, both black and red in color.


    But Aiden could never mistake his father for someone else. Drake was standing at the entrance of the room with emotionless eyes.


    But when he looked at Aiden, something ignited inside him and he wiped the blood off his face with the sleeves of his clothes.


    He walked forward and hugged Aiden to his chest as the father-son duo stayed in this position for some time. Neither of them spoke anything and stayed still until Drake pushed back and stared into Aiden''s eyes.


    "You shouldn''t have come back at this time¡­" The brown man stood up and looked around the room with the same emotionless eyes again.


    Aiden on the other hand saw that his father had a few drops of blood on his clothes.


    He was no stranger to blood and had seen it many times. But never had he seen anything so bloody and disgusting.


    However, his mind suddenly went blank as he remembered something he had forgotten long ago.


    ''Liquid changed V2''


    [ Unknown demon''s blood ]


    [ Unknown human''s blood ]


    [ Unknown demon''s blood ]


    [ Unknown demon''s blood ]


    [ Unknown human''s blood ]


    The same notifications filled his screen numerous times but he was no longer paying attention.


    After all, it was the blood of people he didn''t know.

 Chapter 106 - You Are My Slave

    "What happened here?" The young demon finally spoke as Drake turned to look at him with tired eyes.


    "The King of Astaroth happened." The demon king said with a sigh as he started walking towards his room. Aiden quietly followed his father as he waited for him to tell him more about the things that had happened while he was gone.


    Drake''s room was situated at the top of the palace alongside Aysel''s. The demon king gazed at the room right next to his with a dark expression as he walked inside his room.


    He had left behind a trail of blood but he didn''t mind it.


    Aiden patiently waited outside his father''s room while thinking of possibilities.


    ''How come the king of Astaroth came here?''


    < Aiden, what if he was the same person who had controlled that human in the court not too long ago. >


    ''Then it could mean that he was controlling mother in the same way¡­ But the question is, how?''


    < Maybe through her blood. Just like how your mother can control people with her blood and make them do anything she wants. And Aysel never told you about her family line or anything else.


    ''That''s the best guess we can make.''


    After a few minutes, Drake finally stepped out and he was wearing a completely different set of clothes.


    "It happened yesterday when a group of people brought a new captured person and as usual, Aysel was the one who would interrogate him But the moment her drop of blood entered his mouth, her entire body froze and she was knocked unconscious.


    It was exactly like the time after she had fought that woman in the maid hiring facility. But that''s when the king of Astaroth had taken hold of the new person and had made him go crazy. If I had to define his power level, it was SSJ rank, the same as mine.


    However, his powers went berserk and in the blink of an eye, he destroyed everything. Of course, I stopped him the next second but he had managed to kill a few people in this very place.


    But that''s when things started to go wrong." Drake explained while the duo walked through the hallway towards the throne room.


    "Half the people in the hall went berserk and their threat level rose to SSJ as well. And all of those were the people who had Aysel''s blood inside them that I had made them drink a long time ago.


    The members of the order were present here alongside a few of their strong family members. With their help, I managed to subdue many of these guys. And that''s when the real fuck happened.


    Every single person in the new jail broke from there and entered here. Imagine fighting demons and humans alike who were at the SSJ rank. They were most probably 500 or so of them.


    The order had already left and the entire palace had hundreds of dead bodies lying around. And I had to kill 500 more of these SSJ ranks. I hate my life." Drake finished as the duo reached the throne room.


    The condition hadn''t changed much except that a rotten smell had started filling the entire room.


    "If the order were here, why hasn''t this thing reached the public?"


    "They are playing it safe and strategizing. If the king of Astaroth could do this while being so far away, what could he do if he was present in front of them? That''s what they would be asking."


    The demon king then turned away to look at his 15-year-old son. He had a new aura around him that told Drake that his son had grown stronger.


    ''He should be able to fight expert B ranked monsters while still being so young. But then, I was the same.'' Drake thought that it was time that Aiden learned how to fight other demons.


    "We are going to have a talk with the Nightingale family." Drake said as he teleported himself and Aiden out of the castle and started walking towards the Nightingale resident o have a ''talk'' with the family head.


    "The people who brought that man in were from the Nightingale family?" The black-haired boy immediately connected the dots as Drake nodded.


    The people had indeed belonged to the Nightingale family but Zoe had not been a part of the group. Her older brother however had been a part of the group.


    Aiden had seen the dungeon underneath the Nightingale family mansion but it was his first time seeing the mansion.


    ''That looks like a ghost house.'' The black-haired boy stared at the giant stone-made mansion that looked as though it was an abandoned mansion rather than one where a family with a member of the order lived in.


    But then, the Alroz family mansion had been something that looked like an ancient dojo converted into a house. Maybe the people in the order had weird tastes when it came to houses.


    "Entering or knocking?" Aiden asked his father who smiled.


    "Since we are here to talk, let''s knock. Though if things escalate, we will use our fists." He replied and went to the entrance of the place which was a large wooden door.


    Drake knocked on the door with his right hand and waited for someone to come and open the door. After fifteen minutes, a familiar-looking girl came forward and opened the door.


    "What business do you have with the-" Zoe started asking when she saw Drake and Aiden.


    < Aiden, she is badly bruised all over her body. > Sera suddenly said in a grim voice as the black-haired boy saw a blue bruise right below her right eye.


    "How did you get that?" He immediately asked as the blue-eyed girl immediately tried to close the door but Drake stopped her.


    "Not so soon dear." The demon king said with a sweet smile that had no humor in it and pulled the two doors apart. "Now you will have a permanent entrance."


    "I¡­ uh¡­" Zoe was at a loss for words but that''s when a sound came from inside the mansion.


    "Who the fuck do you think you to are do that?"


    "Me? I am the motherfucking demon king and you are my slave."

 Chapter 107 - I Used To Be Called The Wicked Demon King

    The voice seemed to be at a loss of words as a person stepped out from the shadows.


    < She is Zoe''s mother. >


    Aiden could have probably determined this without Sera''s comments since the similarities between Zoe and the woman were too similar.


    She had the same eyes as Zoe but her hair were black in color. But where Zoe was wearing a knee-length skirt and a top with a black jacket, the woman was wearing a dress that went down to her ankles.


    She seemed like someone from the Victorian era with her clothes and if she really was Zoe''s mother. The silver-haired girl definitely didn''t get her fashion sense from the woman.


    "And for what reason are you here for, demon king?" Her voice sounded completely different from the one that had shouted at Drake.


    "I am here to ask you, your husband, and Jacob about the attack on the palace," Drake then looked at Zoe''s bruises. "And while we are at that, tell me, why does your daughter have those bruises?"


    "I don''t think that we are obliged to tell to you that demon king." The woman said in a neutral tone as though she was carefully choosing her words.


    She wasn''t strong enough to fight the demon king so she knew that her words had to be carefully chosen or else she was somewhat dead.


    "Everyone in the kingdom has to answer the demon king unless that question is too personal," Aiden spoke and the woman was about to repeat that but he continued on. "Unless the kingdom is facing a war or revolt."


    The woman then fell silent as she very well knew this law. She could say that the kingdom could be at war but she had been present there when the King of Astaroth had made his appearance.


    And he had pretty much-declared war on Drake and his supporters.


    "Call your husband and the family head Filia. There is no point in continuing this discussion." Drake said before his gaze turned behind Filia.


    A man with the same silver-colored hair and dark brown eyes moved forward and stood beside the woman.


    "Then I will happily answer your questions, crown prince and demon king." The man said with a small bow as Aiden felt a weird sensation going throughout his body.


    "I am going outside with Zoe," Aiden whispered as Drake nodded.


    The black-haired boy then moved towards Zoe and grabbed her hand.


    "Where do you think you are taking her?" the woman asked with narrowed eyes as Aiden raised his eyebrows.


    "I am taking her to hell."


    The black-haired woman was suddenly taken back and a crack appeared in her beautiful emotionless face.


    ''Obsessive, caring or abusive? My guess is the third one.''


    < Same Aiden. Those bruises are more than enough though there can be some parents who take caring to the next level. >


    "We are just going to the academy to see how bad the outbreak there was. Do you have any problem with that?"


    The black-haired woman managed to get her face back to its original look yet she still didn''t look as though she enjoyed the idea of Zoe going out with Aiden.


    "Do you want to go out with him?" The woman used one of the classic weapons with the ''you better say no'' look.


    But Aiden already had a counter prepared for it.


    "Well, we can stay here and listen to what you guys want to say then. Is that fine father?" Instead of talking to the woman, Aiden asked Drake.


    "You are not little children anymore and there is a chance that you might play a major role in the war. You should definitely listen to what we talk about," The demon king then turned towards Zoe''s parents and raised an eyebrow. "Any problem?"


    "No¡­" The woman said while gritting her teeth as she shot Aiden a glare before turning to stare at Zoe. The latter shuddered once before she turned her gaze away.


    "Then let''s go and meet the family head," Drake announced but the man and woman shook their heads.


    "The family head is currently not here." The man said as Drake smiled.


    "Oh, but he said that he will be in the capital and would come whenever I called. Why do you think he would leave after telling me that?" Drake asked with a smile as the man and woman felt as though they had stepped on a mine.


    "He said there was something wrong at the border of the Shadowstone city and the Mondstad region. He went to check that region." The woman tried to use her verbal skills but Drake was no fool.


    "You know, there was no order before my reign, and the top nobles used to live in this region. However, I thought that it would be a good idea to have a group of the strongest demons in the kingdom to help me maintain the place.


    Though I was thinking about what I would do if they turned on me. So we swore an oath on your bloodlines and by swearing that oath, they could not turn on me directly. But that oath also bound our lives with each other and we would feel if any of us were to vanish." Drake finished as the man and woman inhaled sharply.


    "What are you trying to say, my king?" The woman''s mask was crumbling as she realized that Drake already knew everything.


    The man beside her looked at Zoe and tried to think how much time will it take him to dash across and get her.


    "While I was fighting the outbreak from the jail, I suddenly felt one of those connections shining brightly before it completely faded away. I was wondering what could have happened there." Drake said with a small smile as he started walking towards the man and the woman.


    Aiden had already understood what this meant but Zoe looked as though someone had just told her that Aiden was a girl.


    "So does that mean that grandfather is¡­" She couldn''t complete her sentence as she stared at her parents.


    The two of them were paying no attention to her. They were instead looking at the demon king who was walking towards them like a loan shark on his way to collect his money.


    "And before the connection faded away, I felt his last bit of energy coming from here. Now I wonder what that was all about," The brown-haired man now standing in front of the man and woman. "You want to explain why you killed him?"


    "Filia, get Zoe." The man said as he immediately raised his right hand and punched Drake in the abdomen.


    The woman was about to move towards Zoe when Drake''s hands shot out and he grabbed their throats.


    Blue-colored fire moved up his arms and burned a small portion of the two demon''s throats.


    "After my brother died, I used to be called the wicked demon king since I was too ruthless and destructive. Aysel was the only one who could control my wrath," He then grinned. "She isn''t here now, is she?"


    His words made it clear that Aysel had vanished or rather, captured.

 Chapter 108 - Wrath Of The Wicked

    "Tell me, why did you do it?" Drake asked again as the fire around his hands raged on. His eyes were cruel as he stared at the faces of the two demons.


    Aiden and Zoe who were looking at this from the sidelines could feel how hot the flames were. According to Sera, the temperature of the flames was 2000 degrees Celsius (about 3632 degrees Fahrenheit).


    The black-haired boy had no idea how the two demons were still alive and only had burn marks around their necks.


    < They are wearing their dark element as invisible protection on their body. If they didn''t have that, they would have most probably been reduced to ashes the moment Drake grabbed their throats. >


    Aiden''s father looked like a mad man on the loose but despite that, he was trying to find the tiniest bit of a clue.


    Aysel had vanished when Drake had been fighting the jail-out break. He had turned on a blind eye by coming to the Nightingale family residence but it was the best possible thing that he could have done.


    "We¡­. We were ordered to do that!" The man screamed through the burns as Drake suddenly made the fire vanish.


    The man and woman started choking while looking at the face of the demon king who looked as though he was an angel on an avenging mission.


    "Lying to save your skin?" Drake asked while raising his eyebrows as there was no way that the two demons would break so soon.


    But what the demon king didn''t know was that they were telling the truth. He scared people much more than he thought.


    Many demons believed that Drake was a Z-ranked threat level demon and very few knew the truth. So it was obvious that they would break so soon, especially if he had been using high-temperature fire.


    "No, we are telling the truth. We were ordered to kill Rufus and I would then become a member of the order and get access to more information from you." Zoe''s father spoke in an afraid voice before her mother continued.


    "He would also become the family head and would get to visit the place where Rufus used to keep all of the information and we would rely all of it forward¡­"


    The brown-haired king took a deep breath before he turned back to look at their daughter.


    Zoe''s entire body was completely still and her eyes were continuously staring at her parents as though she wanted them to tell that they were lying.


    But she had heard everything from her own ears and knew that her parents valued their lives over anyone else''s life. They would not lie to the demon king if it meant that they could survive for some more time.


    But that was the part where they were wrong.


    "You know, Rufus was one of the strongest in the order and his curses were deadly. There is no way that the two of you could have killed him this easily." He said with narrowed eyes as he waited for their response.


    The couple were quiet as they felt Drake''s gaze looking at their body. They felt as though it would burn their bodies alive.


    "We have been poisoning his food for the past ten years." The man spoke up as Drake snorted.


    "A demon-like Rufus was immune to all kinds of poisons. He was the last of his line and married into the Nightingale family while having the last name of his dead wife. His resistance to all kinds of poisons was the ability that made me approach him.


    He likely found out that you had been poisoning his food and the only reason he didn''t do anything was that his wife had asked him to make sure all of the generations lived for as long as he was alive.


    But not that he is dead, I wonder who would stop me." Like a mad man on the loose, the demon king grabbed the throats of the couple again and lifted them in the air before smashing their faces in the ground.


    "Zoe, don''t look." Aiden made the silver-haired girl turn away from the scene while Drake had his fun.


    He had seen Aysel when she was frustrated and her anger was fighting to even most other demons around her power level. But he didn''t want to imagine how Drake would take care of such things.


    Screams were rising from behind them so the black-haired prince decided to go outside for a small ''stroll'' with Zoe. The two exited the mansion and Aiden could feel the teenage girl shuddering.


    < I think that was not a fun thing to experience. >


    ''I don''t think that would be fun for anyone to experience.''


    < Still, her grandfather was murdered and her parents were the ones who did it. I think this is one of the most messed-up families that I have ever seen. >


    ''I think we are going to see more of such families because there is no way that this is the end of them on the demon realm.''


    Aiden had given Zoe a few minutes to collect some of her thoughts. But standing outside the mansion, he could feel his shadow sense tingling all over the place.


    He immediately looked at the top of the mansion to see a person sitting there.


    [ Prince of darkness ]


    That was the first thing the teenage demon saw when he used the inspection skill.


    ''Prince of darkness¡­'' The first job class that Aiden had obtained was the prince of shadows and according to the system and the god of shadows, it was a high-level job class that came after many job classes.


    Now looking at the stranger, the prince knew that he would be a strong figure. But the inspection skill hadn''t shown him the power level of the stranger so there was no way to know how powerful he was going to be.


    "Alex?" Zoe suddenly asked as the stranger jumped down from the top of the mansion and landed down.


    "You know him?" Aiden asked in a surprised tone as the stranger suddenly pushed the hood, that was covering his face, back.


    And that''s when the black-haired boy saw the resemblance the person had with Zoe.


    He had the same colored silver hair and the same colored blue eyes but the only difference was the aura that his body was emitting similar to the usual cold aura around Zoe.


    "Yes, I know him. He is my older brother." The silver-haired girl replied as Aiden could feel the slip in her voice.


    ''Looks like this family just became more fucked up Sera.'' He said mentally before staring into Alex''s eyes.


    He couldn''t have been more than eighteen and the horns on his head were still small. But he had horns where Aiden didn''t have a centimeter of them growing on top of his head.


    "You must be the crown prince," Alex spoke in a heavy voice as he walked forward while continuing to stare back at Aiden. "You don''t look anything special."


    "Says the person who was too shy to show his face," Aiden said with a small smile as the two boys now stood an inch apart from each other.


    The black-haired boy was ready to summon Hellbringer at a moment''s notice while his elemental energy was moving through his entire body.


    If Alex decided to launch himself as Aiden, the latter was fully prepared to counterattack. But that was not what the silver-haired boy was there for.


    "So our parents got caught," He said with a sigh before he turned his gaze towards Zoe. The latter seemed to shrink to avoid her brother''s gaze but the latter didn''t mind. "I am sure that when the demon king is done with them, they would be worse than dead."


    "Speaking of being dead, weren''t you the person who brought the prisoner which had the king of Astaroth take over his body?" Aiden suddenly asked as Alex''s expression tightened.


    "Yes, I was indeed the person who brought him in. But me and my squad had no idea that he would be like that." He replied while staring directly into the black-haired boy''s eyes.


    "Only father can tell that," Aiden replied as all of them then started waiting for Drake.


    While they did that, Zoe was looking at her big brother with a dismayed expression.


    ''He was most probably ordered by mother and father to do that.'' The silver-haired girl knew that her brother was completely loyal to their parents no matter what they asked him to do.


    In the past, he used to beat her on their parents orders, and no matter how much she screamed or said no, he would go on.


    He had instilled a different kind of fear inside her and she was still afraid to be alone with him in case he decided to pull some kind of underhanded trick on her.


    "I wonder what''s taking him so long," Aiden muttered as it had been ten minutes since they had been waiting.


    He knew that Drake was releasing his frustration but it was still taking too long.


    Though moments after he had spoken, a group of twenty people suddenly came flying from the wide entrance and their clothes were on fire.


    The trio then peeked inside to see Drake standing over a pile of more than a hundred bodies and neither Aiden nor Sera could tell how many of the bodies were just unconscious or were dead.


    They were piled upon top of each other and Drake was looking at them with a disappointed look.


    < This is the wrath of the wicked Aiden. >

 Chapter 109 - The Multiverse (End)

    "They should have known better than that to turn on me. What did they think would happen?" Drake muttered as he jumped off the pile of bodies and looked at the three children.


    "So you were the one who brought that human to the palace for the interrogation?" The demon king narrowed his eyes on Alex as the silver-haired boy shrunk back.


    "Did you kill our parents?" He asked in a firm voice as the demon king nodded. The boy then took a deep breath before bowing down to Drake.


    "You have no idea how thankful I am for that," The silver-haired teenager then lifted his head and gave Drake a small smile. "Now I am no longer tied to them and forced to do things that I don''t want to do."


    "What do you mean by that?" Zoe asked in a confused tone as Alex suddenly opened his jacket and dropped it on the ground.


    He then unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it to the side as the three demons could see a black-colored symbol on top of his chest.


    "So that''s what you meant," Drake muttered as he immediately recognized the seal. "They formed a soul bond with you and no matter how much you struggle, you will have to follow all the orders that they gave you."


    "Then does that mean that¡­" Zoe''s voice trailed off as her brother turned to her with a guilty look.


    "Every time I hit you, I was ordered by our parents to do that so that I would go strong and kill on command while you will learn not to trust anyone and would become the perfect killing machine." He replied in a sad tone as the silver-haired girl stood still.


    Aiden gently placed a hand on her shoulder as the girl turned to look at him with a shocked expression.


    Zoe was strong enough to not cry but she had just been told that her entire life had been a careful manipulation planned by her parents.


    "What else could they have done¡­" She whispered before shuddering a little.


    Alex turned his gaze towards the ground as he knew that he was also responsible for her condition. The least he could do was tell her everything.


    "Can we get some time alone?" He asked Drake who shrugged.


    "I and Aiden are leaving anyways. You two are now in charge of overseeing the family. Go to your grandfather''s secret room and pour a drop of your blood on the door. You will find two twin pairs of swords there. Use them to the maximum."


    The two siblings bowed before they carefully walked to the second floor of the mansion while avoiding all the bodies.


    "What did you find out?" Aiden then asked his dad in a grim voice as the demon king stared at the sky. Night was slowly approaching and he had only gotten a single clue about the location of his wife.


    "There is a secret pattern of undercover demons that run throughout the continent. They look at the entire continent and send their reports to the continent of Astaroth. These guys are the ones responsible for taking Aysel to Astaroth and depart on midnight." Drake finished as he looked at his son before sighing.


    "You are not taking me along, are you?" The black-haired boy asked as the demon king shook his head.


    "You have to make sure that the kingdom doesn''t run into chaos." He said with a sad smile even though Aiden knew why Drake wasn''t taking him along.


    This was because he was too weak for Drake to handle so for the time being, the teenager would stay alone at the palace.


    "We will see each other really soon and I will have your mother with me by then," Drake promised before his form flickered and he vanished.


    The teenager then teleported to his room as he didn''t have the heart to walk through the blood-stained hallways of the palace


    ''Sera, how long do you think it will take the rest of the capital to find out about the massacre that happened here?'' Aiden asked as he crashed down on his bed.


    < It will depend on the members of the order but honestly, it should take only half a day before the entire capital erupts in chaos. >


    Aiden then sighed before a random idea came to his mind. He had no idea what he would think of such an idea but he was still tempted to do something about it.


    "Sera, I want to talk to the system."


    < What? >


    "I said I want to talk to the system."


    < I heard that correctly. I just want to know why do you want to talk to the system? >


    "It''s something important that I cannot tell you about."


    < Don''t blame me if anything wrong happens. > The teenager felt Sera''s voice fading away as a constant ticking sound suddenly filled his ears.


    [ The host wanted to talk to me? ]


    "Yes, system, I did. I just wanted to ask, who created you and what was your purpose?"


    [ Who created me and what my purpose is? ]


    "Like, who was the person who designed all those skills, filled you with the information, created those experience points, created that status panel, and all that? And why is your purpose to give people such power?"


    [ The system¡­. The system¡­. The system¡­. The system¡­. ]


    The same line continued to repeat itself in Aiden''s head and it grew louder every single time. The black-haired demon soon felt as though someone was blaring into his ear using a megaphone.


    But all of a sudden, the voice vanished and complete silence followed later on.


    "System? Sera?" Aiden asked in a confused tone as all of a sudden, he started following. He didn''t scream but his eyes widened when he saw that he was falling through the space and that too towards the demon realm.


    [ You asked the wrong question child. The system is something that was connected to the core of the demon realm and by asking it such a question, you made the demon realm shrink. ] A voice that Aiden had forgotten about resounded inside his mind.


    "What?!" Aiden shouted but his voice was not audible since he was in space.


    In front of his eyes, he saw the realm of demons slowly shrinking.


    [ Now all the demons living here will be teleported to the demon continent on the human realm. And not only that but the angels are facing the same fate because of the shrinking of the demon realm. They will be moved to the angel continent.


    The elves are already there so congratulations, you made all the races of Clover get together with each other. Though you will no longer be alive to see what happens next. ]


    "What do you mean?"


    [ You will be swallowed by the system just like Sera and the two of you will be forced to wait for another person that would reincarnate on the now combined realm of Clovia. And since that location is now off-limits, the chances of that happening is very low. ]


    "But¡­"


    [ There are no buts kid. This is just a single universe. ]


    All of a sudden, the scene in front of Aiden''s eyes changed as he saw himself seeing three colorful oddly sized objects floating in the middle of space.


    [ Those are the only universes that I managed to see. The one on the right is our universe where earth, Clovia, and a few other realms exist. The one on the top is a cultivation universe that is governed by Time, Space, and something called the Darkness.


    I have no idea about the third one but it has a earth too. You might be wondering why I am telling you all of this and the reason is simple, it is to show you how big the entire universe really is. ]


    "So you are telling me that the multiverse theory exists?"


    [ Yes though the laws and everything else are quite different in the other universes but in simpler terms, yes, everything is in a multiverse. ]


    "And I am going to vanish and merge with the system for eternity?"


    [ Yes. ]


    "Then fuck you."


    [ Those were your last words. Goodbye, the one abandoned by the gods. ]


    And with that, the black-haired teenager''s body vanished.


    [ I wonder if you would ever get the chance to see the world you reunited. ]


    ***


    I am sorry¡­


    Yes, this was the end of this novel and I am sorry for ending it in this way. But the story had become something that I could no longer handle and it was driving me crazy while giving me a whole lot of stress. So, therefore, I had to end it.


    I am sorry once again but all I can say is that you can take this as a back story. As you could have guessed, there would be a sequel to this story where I will visit the old things.


    And it would be a hundred times better than this one.


    I am once again sorry for ending the story this way.


    However, I hope that the sequel would be much better.


    Sincerely, the author.


    ***


    End Of The System Of Infinity.