A person covered in a black Barrier arrived at the stronghold at the northwest corner of the Great Triangle.
"Welcome, special Agent," one of the guards spoke with utmost respect.
That guard knew this special Agent very well.
This guy had already extended his sentence several times.
He just hoped that the special Agent wouldn't extend it even more.
"Here's the mission," Nick said as his Barrier sent a code to the guard's Barrier.
The guard looked at the mission details.
"I will alert the overseer," he said.
The overseer was the person controlling a stronghold.
Nick just waited outside the stronghold.
"You're here to take the Fiend of Darkness away?" the overseer spoke through Nick's Barrier.
"Yes," Nick answered.
"We'll prepare the Specter. Wait outside," Nick's Barrier spoke.
Naturally, this mission came from the Left Arm.
The research on the Fiend of Darkness had ended, and there was no more reason to keep it.
The Fiend of Darkness was under close watch for over 50 years due to its peculiar ability.
However, Aegis had never found anything strange about it.
So, the Fiend of Darkness would be sent to a city.
While some cities had enough Specters to sustain their economy, some of them needed more Specters.
Crimson City had enough Specters for its population, which was why it never really partook in these Specter auctions, but there were plenty of cities that were interested.
The Fiend of Darkness was purchased by a city in the southeast of the Grand Continent, and Nick was here to transport it.
Working with the Fiend of Darkness was very difficult since it only grew stronger by putting people under the effects of the Nightmare's influence.
That was about as bad as it got when it came to working with a Specter.
However, its ability wasn't bad, and it was still a Peak Fanatic,making it quite valuable.
After around ten minutes, a Protector walked out with a Specter Cage and placed it in front of Nick.
"Here you go. Have fun," the Protector said.
"Thank you, Protector," Nick answered.
The Protector nodded before going back into the stronghold.
Nick grabbed the Specter Cage and took to the sky.
When his ability reactivated, Nick changed directions and went to the secret research base.
He placed the Fiend of Darkness in a new Containment Unit and entered a different one.
Inside that Containment Unit was a bipedal black beast with terrifyingly large teeth.
As soon as Nick entered, a grin appeared on the beast's face, and the lights began to darken in the Containment Unit.
Despite its terrifying appearance that indicated a violent tendency towards battle, it actually also grew stronger by putting people under the effects of the Nightmare's influence. π§πβΘαΓπ
Nick grabbed the Specter by the throat and threw it into a Specter Cage.
This was only a Peak Fanatic.
The main gate of the Containment Unit opened after sending alarms for several minutes, and Nick left with the new Specter.
Naturally, the city that purchased the Fiend of Darkness needed a Fiend of Darkness.
This Specter would be their Fiend of Darkness.
It took Nick almost three months to find such a fitting Specter.
There were not many Specters that grew more powerful by using the Nightmare, but there were some.
When Nick found this Specter, it was a Late Fanatic.
Over the next year, almost all of the powerful Extractors in the secret research base worked with it without siphoning out any of its Zephyx, letting it have all of it.
Thanks to that, this new Specter managed to become a Peak Fanatic within a year.
Nick had talked to the Left Arm about the auction, and the auction was worded in a very specific manner.
"The Fiend of Darkness is a Peak Fanatic that grows more powerful by putting people under the effects of the Nightmare's influence.It grants darkness-related abilities."
That was the description, and it also fit the new Specter.
Luckily, while the Champion of Light constantly had the Left Arm within his perception, he didn't always pay attention, and he didn't really have access to her Barrier.
He could hear all the incoming and outgoing calls, but he couldn't see the ID of the caller's Barrier.
The Left Arm was constantly getting calls, and the Champion of Light wasn't checking all of them since it was boring and mundane.
As long as she didn't say anything suspicious, he wouldn't care a lot.
The auction of a Specter was about as mundane as it got.
The Champion didn't know that Nick was the one who asked for the auction or that he would be the one transporting the Fiend of Darkness.
With the auction, the Fiend of Darkness was successfully replaced.
The city would believe that they got the Fiend of Darkness, and it would most likely remain there for many years.
By then, this new Specter would be known by the Fiend of Darkness, and even if it returned to Aegis somehow, nobody would notice the difference.
At that point, it most likely would already be a Demon, and even if someone had seen the original Fiend of Darkness before, its change in appearance could be attributed to its advancement.
It was not unusual for Specters to change their appearance after an advancement.
Also, it only was a Peak Fanatic.
Something like that might be significant for a city, but it was just one of hundreds of Fanatics that Aegis owned.
Nick left the research base with the Specter Cage and flew towards the southwest.
He only needed to cross the biggest ocean in the world to get to his destination.
Then, he only needed to deliver the Specter, and that would be it.
The research base would have access to the Fiend of Darkness.
Nick's journey went smoothlyβ¦
Until his ability deactivated.
And several gigantic tentacles shot out of the ocean.
The author's . If he gets more than 1000β¬ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.