Even though frozen, he didn't stop complaining when he found out what had happened. The assassination was really proving not to be as professional as it should have been. "Damn it! Did those bastards deceive us?!" He shouted, even with his body frozen, he... didn't care?
"Hey, did you forget where you are?" Strax asked seriously, looking into the man's eyes, still with his sword poised to decapitate him. "Let me go, let's talk," the man said, but Strax refused. "You don't have that right," he replied calmly, turning away and leaving the man's head still attached to his body. "Are you guys okay?" He asked, seeing Samira and Jason return.
"Yes, we're fine," Jason confirmed, holding the head of one of the assassins, the same one who had tried to ambush them from behind a few minutes earlier. Samira, on the other hand, carried nothing but her completely red sword. "Of course I'm fine, these guys are weak, we were just intimidated by numbers," she said coldly, still annoyed and angry at being attacked again.
"Tsk, I hate this place," she muttered.
"Calm down, my love. We'll reach the city by passing through this forest. Just calm down, and we can sleep together again," Strax said with a mischievous smile. But Samira didn't show anything this time. She knew that if she fell for these tricks, she would always be teased. So, instead of denying it, "Yes, I need to relax," she commented, turning and looking at the destruction they had caused.
"What are we going to do with this one? He's the last one," Jason commented, as Strax approached the man again.
"I'm sure someone requested my assassination. Do you know who did this?" Strax spoke seriously, his voice laden with the intention to kill. The assassin trembled as he felt Strax's gaze... it was as if... a Dragon was staring at him.
"Y-yes! If we knew it was something related to X-Xenovia VVV-Vorah, w-we would never have accepted this contract!" The assassin said desperately, no longer looking like the fearless man who had faced Strax in a fight to the death. "Is my sister that scary, guys?" Strax questioned with an impassive face, trying to understand where all the fear of Xenovia was coming from.
"Yes," everyone present replied together, including the still shocked assassin. "Why?" Strax questioned the assassin. "Your sister is crazy. Just by feeling her presence, people can start going mad. And I'm not even talking about duels, people just die from breathing near her or those disgusting black flames," the assassin said quickly, and Strax narrowed his eyes. "I-I'm sorry!
I didn't mean to offend!" He hurried to say.
Strax turned to Jason, the only one there who could confirm the man's story, which could very well be a lie. "Everything he said is true," Jason said. Strax sighed deeply. "I wonder why my mind still thought Xenovia could have improved, that irrational woman..." He sighed and looked at the assassin, who was in shock, really looking like a different person, as if he had turned into an abandoned puppy.
"Oh, what are we going to do? Honestly, I wouldn't mind just killing him," Strax said, accepting that the fight was over. But just in case, "Do you still want to fight, coward?" He looked at the assassin, who remained speechless. "By the way, tell me your name. I'm tired of only thinking of 'Black Hood Assassin' in my mind," he said unconcernedly as he wiped his nose... he...
"Why did I fall in love with this man?" Samira wondered, seeing that scene completely out of reality. "He copied my technique..."
"Y-you can call me C-Carlos, Carlos Rompero, th-this is my name," Carlos said, still stuttering. A loud sigh came from Strax, making everyone look at him without understanding why he suddenly made such a heavy sigh. "Look, there's only two days left of travel. I just need to get to Vorah so that these men finally stop pursuing me. I don't know who hired you, but I'm sure it was Virgil or Dominik.
Even Garlik or Silvya wouldn't do something like this, at least they would have the decency to ensure it was a perfect plan. That only leaves those two idiots who are on my blacklist," he said, setting fire to Carlos' feet and starting to melt the ice.
"Your mistress, I want an audience with her as soon as we arrive in the Ducate. I have matters to discuss with her, and I'm sure she will accept. After all, I will personally tell Xenovia about this endeavor of hers to capture and kill one of Vorah's heirs.
And knowing my sister, she won't let this pass without consequences," Strax said, his voice this time, after so much playfulness, sounded like a lightning bolt that entered Carlos' ears in a brutal way.
"That... this man... who are you..." He questioned himself. And after hearing what Strax said, Carlos feared what might come. As a loyal servant to his mistress... well, what choice did he have?
He needed to protect her, whatever the cost, even if it meant handing her over for it. After all, everyone in Thalassia knew about Xenovia. And although he knew that not all rumors were truths, this man knew that his mistress could not, under any circumstances, come into conflict against the Vorah.
After deep thought, he made a decision.
"Take me with you to the next city. I can send a letter to her or request an audience through magic paper. The sooner we arrive, the sooner the response will come," Carlos said, without trembling or being afraid as before. Strax only saw the hooded man with a black mask around his mouth and nodded. "Alright, but you die if you try to escape," he remarked.
The Assassin quickly retorted, "If I die, my mistress will also die soon," he said seriously.
"He's quite loyal, isn't he? I wonder who his mistress is..." Strax pondered, seeing the System messages appearing again...
[You've unlocked a new method of acquiring XP after forming a collaboration with your lover. Now it's possible to receive XP for Harem Members' achievements.]
"You're finally serving for something, aren't you? When I have more wives... I'll be even stronger," Strax thought. This time, again the System reacted to his thoughts.
[You've increased the System level progress. To reach the Next Level, a greater understanding of it will be necessary. Keep understanding more about the System to surpass your limits. Good luck, Host...]
"Does that sound like... a conversation? The messages are becoming more humanized?" Strax thought, noticing that the messages now even wished good luck, something he had never seen happen before.
"Young Master?" Jason called, seeing Strax standing still as if he were seeing something beyond the landscape. "Y-Yes, hi, I'm back," came the System message. "Let's go, we need to head to the next city," Jason said, seeing that everything was already arranged. "As competent as ever," he commented with a smile, and they resumed their journey, now keeping an eye on this man ahead of the convoy.
Carlos would contact his Mistress as soon as possible, after all, they had gotten into big trouble.
They resumed their course and thus, several hours passed, with Carlos finally sending the message as requested. His mistress would be informed about the events. Elsewhere, in a slightly more religious setting, an old church in ruins, a woman prayed to her God.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound," her voice echoed through all the walls, returning a calm tone to the hymn. A woman on her knees in front of a black altar, with the statue of a man. Combined with a piano, this woman could be one of the best musical artists in Thalassia.
"That Saved a Wretch Like me," her voice reverberated in the silence, echoing in her own solitude. A calm woman, dressed in black and white robes, sang sentimentally as she prayed.
With her hands and eyes closed, she continued to sing, the stained glass windows began to be filled with the remnants of light from the fabulous morning sun. "I once was lost, but now am found," her chant continued, solemn and quiet.
"Was blind, but now I see," she concluded. The sound of her voice was covered by the flapping of wings of a small white dove that entered the slightly damaged church. Doves usually meant peace, but for her, just seeing that dove...
"A little trouble, isn't it?" She questioned the dove that landed on her hand. She carefully took the small paper from its little paws, looked at the dove, and gave it a gentle stroke on its head. "Thank you for the work, little one," she said, and the dove flew away peacefully.
Upon reading the paper, the only reaction she had was... "Almighty God, why do you keep sending me into the mouth of the demon? Is this a trial, my dear Lord?" She said, looking at the statue of a man with six black wings and a scythe.
"It seems I'll have to meet you, little one," she said as she stood up, abandoning her position.
"Strax Vorah... it's a name I didn't think I'd come to know."