Despite Dame's reluctance to take the Dark Magus to the Neverfall Clan, in the end, he had given in. It appeared that Raze was quite persistent and had his own reasons for visiting. Dame was relieved that he hadn't cut all ties with his clan just before coming here, like he had planned to; otherwise, it would have been a disaster if they were coming back.
Currently, the two of them, leaving the others behind, were walking through the vast wasteland. The last thing they wanted to do was look after the others, and in a way, staying inside the city was one of the safest things for them, as long as they stayed out of trouble.
'I was planning on leaving them and never coming back to the Clan, but I guess heading there one more time to say goodbye isn't too much of a big deal,' Dame thought.
"Ah, I worked out a few things for when we join the Crimson Crane. It will continue the same as before; Fixteen will be our contact person. He can either meet us in the city or meet us in the cave we came out of before," Dame explained. "Fixteen has already been working on selling channels, and he will make sure that people know the Crimson Crane is backing the Dark Magus.
"But we won't make it clear that you are a member just yet."
From the way Dame was talking, it was as if they had already agreed to join the Crimson Crane, but with everything he was saying, Raze still had no reason to disagree. It would all work out.
It was thanks to Reno as well, a member of the Crimson Crane, that he had come up with his mass-production technique.
"If I'm part of the Clan, won't I also be able to get some rewards from the Clan's achievements?" Raze asked.
"That's the good thing about it," Dame replied. "The Crimson Crane is small, and they mainly focus on clearing out the portals. So they get their hands on high-level power stones all the time. I'm sure they would be happy to give you these power stones that suit your needs in return for something else. You now have access to the power of a clan, without going through all that crap with Clan leaders."
Raze had been making note of the way Dame talked from time to time. It was quite clear that he wasn't in favor of clans so much, or at least the old structured clans like most of the Pagna warrior clans were like.
Up ahead, after walking or more like gliding across the land with large strides that took them several meters ahead, they had reached their destination. It was hard for Raze to fathom because right now it looked like he was just looking at a large built-up wall.
Many cities and buildings had walls as protection or to keep others out, but this was different because no buildings could be seen higher than the wall, and in the first place, the wall wasn't very high up. However, it was incredibly large, to the point where from where Raze was, he was unable to see just how big the wall went around.
"This is the Neverfall Clan's base of operations, known as the Abyssal's Pinnacle. The easiest way to think of it is like an inverted mountain, and it's just as large as one as well. Rumors say that the base was made from when a Demon fell from the skies, thus creating the birth of the Demonic Faction.
"But don't worry, the only demons you will see inside all look like humans."
"I will have to agree with you there," Raze commented. "But isn't that worse? At least monsters wear their appearance on the outside, but humans, they are the scariest demons since you don't know what they're thinking."
Dame couldn't help but laugh at that, but it wasn't because what Raze said was funny, but because there was a truth to what he said. It was a laugh out of irony.
"Before we enter, I think it might be best that you use this." Dame handed over the black mask. It was a familiar item to Raze because it was the mask that he had created and given to Dame.
It was the mask that he had used as well before to change his appearance on the battlefield once.
"That cloak is starting to become a symbol, and people might realize who you are or try to get a peek at you. So I think it's better if we just head in as a member of the Clan," Dame explained.
Raze understood and put on the mask, and soon his face changed into a typical Pagna warrior, with plain black hair and next to no standout features. The mask, in the first place, could only store one face, and not multiple ones since it wasn't too much of a rare item.
"But isn't this the face of one of your clan's disciples? It will cause some troubles, right?" Raze asked.
"Don't worry, I asked for my friends to go ahead of us and make sure that doesn't happen. The main place you want to head to is the library, right? It's going to be a little hard to get in there, since Clan members, depending on what rank they are in the Clan, can enter at certain times.
"I do have special privileges compared to others, but I just need to make sure things are all clear."
There was another thing that Dame wanted to do himself before taking Raze to the library because after he got what he wanted, he wanted to head out of the place as soon as possible.
"Also, stay clear of a girl called Rayna. She's the one you saved that time. She won't recognize you with the mask, but I don't even want you speaking to her."
With those strange conditions set, Raze nodded. He was in Dame's territory now, so he would respect their rules, but with the two of them being split apart for a while, he would have to make sure his acting was top-notch.
They had approached the large wall that was slightly sloped, and Raze could see several indented footsteps on it. There was no entrance for them to enter from. Instead, those from the Clan were expected to just scale the wall.
The two of them did just that, running up the side of the mountain top, and then when they reached the top, Raze could feel an incredibly strong heat coming from below. It had hit him straight in the face.
The sound of grunting, clashing, and sword bashing was heard from the area as well, and even for Raze, he could feel a tingle at the back of his neck. He stared deep into the abyss, which had giant chains that hung down from the sides of the wall, twirling down, and on those chains, there were entrances like caves.
It was a strange sight to see, along with the spiraling staircase that would branch off into entire floors where Clan members lived. Raze had never seen anything , even in all of the Demonic Faction.
'Is this where the Dark Faction founder was hiding, and just why would he put something in a place ?'