Chapter 353 First Meeting Between Alvine And Randolph.
-Plop, plop, plop...
Suddenly, Heepha frowned, noticing a strange phenomenon with her shadow that was like the pot of a boiling alchemist, with dark and viscous bubbles emerging from it.
But the next moment, her eyes widened before she rushed down to the balcony behind Sylvia, where her shadow originally was.
[[My heart is filled with joy at your return, my lord.]]
She said, after kneeling in front of Alvine\'s silhouette that was still half visible.
-?!!
Hearing Heepha\'s voice coldly resonate in an unknown language, the six punishers with her turned around to satisfy their curiosity.
"Hm, I see you\'re not with Dalvine. Did something happen to him? I can\'t feel his presence." Alvine murmured with his rock voice.
\'Strange greetings.\' He murmured to himself with his inexpressive expression.
"Huh? Could it be....
At that moment, not to mention those who were linked to him, even the trios held their breath, not knowing how to react to the sight of the most unexpected guest who had long silvery white hair that almost reached his size and his dark eyes that did not have the slightest light or saintliness in them.
"Gen- Sir Shadow is currently on an island that is currently inaccessible to us due to the resurrection of little Reha," Heepha answers the next moment following his question.
"Hm, inaccessible, do you say? However, I only came here to attend this unique event." He murmured, finally canceling his shadow sword in his left hand.
"You don\'t have to worry about it, lord. She should come to meet you soon."
"...Good."
After this brief exchange, Alvine finally focused on Sylvia and the others before him.
At a glance, he could guess that they had a lot to say to him. But for some reason, a dull silence reigned among the small group.
"It\'s good to see you again, master." Finally, Sylvia said these words with a clumsy smile.
"Similarly, Sylvia. But unfortunately, the situation is quite delicate for a reunion. Let\'s wait until we find the right time to welcome them." With these last words, he suddenly stared at the sky with dark eyes.
But just when the others were wondering what he had noticed...
-GRRRRRR!!!
The suffocating sound of the explosion also made the entire planet tremble, followed by a strong tide of violent wind that cracked the protective barrier around the planet.
"What was that noise?!". Serena exclaimed in disbelief.
"A battle between two giants, maybe," Alvine murmured in a rock voice.
"Impossible. Does the goddess face someone as powerful as she is?" She stammered while staring at Alvine.
"..." But the latter did not answer, except for his dark expression.
\'This guy does not have the same presence as before. I can\'t know how strong he has become. But the worst thing is that I don\'t see the slightest trace of energy emanating from him; what exactly did he do during this short period?\' Ferda whispered to herself, cleverly looking at Alvine, even if she did not know that Alvine had noticed her actions.
But no matter how much she tried to see through Alvine, all she saw was the same black mist surrounding Lilliana.
-D00M!!
On Alvine\'s side, by guessing Ferda\'s incessant actions, he nonchalantly releases part of his dark energy that currently contained the aura of death and desolate of his countless victims and the massacres he had committed during the century he spent on the territory of Renia!
\'Urgh! What a psychopath!\' Ferda retorted these words with sweaty hands, guessing Alvine\'s intentions.
For his part, seeing Ferda curbed her curiosity; he no longer cared about her or what she could think about him.
\'I wonder what this bastard is doing now. I can feel his aura even by being so far from them. His opponent must not be a simple person.\' He said to himself while taking a sharp look at Heepha by his side.
*Do you think he will need our intervention?*
**I don\'t think so, my lord. Even if his power is currently low, his experience equals mine. So he must not have a problem facing enemies more powerful than his current \'me\'.**
*... Good.*
After this brief exchange with Heepha, Alvine remained silent once again.
But he took this opportunity to inspect the current state of his citizens in his kingdom without needing to use his magical perception.
-??
*Heepha, teleport those in prison N•03 to the palace\'s basement before my return.* He then ordered by noticing interesting guests in his kingdom.
**It will be done according to your orders, my lord.**
At the same time, Alvine disappeared in the form of a shadow. His destination was none other than in his domain.
"Huh? Does he plan to go to the place where he--
"Don\'t worry, Miss Sylvia; he will return soon," Heepha reassured her with this brief sentence.
Then, she tickles the tiles with her cane, instantly creating a fire magic circle under her feet.
\'Hm? So it\'s them that captivated his attention, huh?\' She murmured as she looked at the three prisoners behind bars.
--
"Luna, what is it about?" As soon as he appeared in his domain, he noticed Luna kneeling before him, who seemed to be waiting for him.
"My lord, we received strange guests that General- Ahem, Sir Shadow had sent instead during your absence. So I thought it was wise to keep you informed."
"Guests? Not prisoners?"
"Yes."
"... It\'s a first on the part of this guy. Finally, who are these guests?" He then asked while going to the purification room.
-Hm?
But suddenly, he stopped, noticing an unusual door that he had not yet seen.
\'I am sure there was no door in this corridor. Where can he lead this door?\' He asks himself, staring at the jet-black door ten meters high and about five meters wide.
"They are...the troops who were under the command of Sir Shadow when he had his status as a general. But at the moment, they are currently in hibernation for restorative sleep." At the same time, Luna\'s voice resounded behind him.
"Shadow\'s troops? Does them have anything to do with the sudden appearance of this door?"
"Perhaps it is the case. In any case, something must happen on your side to trigger such a redevelopment. In addition to this hall, there are also three or five other rooms that are now accessible; the cultivation room, the forge, the room for alchemy, and finally, the deposit. As it is the first floor of the castle, there are only these rooms dedicated to practice, experimentation, and level increase. Behind this door, there is the living room where the guests I told you about earlier are."
Upon hearing Luna\'s explanations, Alvine, who intended to enter the room, suddenly became confused.
\'On my side? Very true that the castle gradually became accessible as I became strong; I don\'t see what influenced it to this- ah, it\'s true, it may be related to the ring and the cub tattoo.\' He said to himself with this sudden awareness.
"Are the guests in question not Shadow\'s elite troops?" He continued after half elucidating the mystery.
"No, it\'s Miss Sabrina and a man with curly blonde hair I\'m talking about."
"...I see." He understandingly nods while pushing the door that opened before him with disconcerting ease.
..!
Just the next moment, he stopped when he saw Randolph and Sabrina scold each other.
"Stop making fun of me! You obviously brought this bastard with you intentionally. And now, the whole plan has fallen because of him. If he hadn\'t intervened, I could have avenged my comrades by killing these fuckers billions of times!" Randolph scold her with fierce eyes.
"Revenge your comrades? Does your tongue stumble? You can\'t even defeat one of the three monarchs. So by what miraculous means do you intend to take revenge on these three bastards who are even more powerful than the librarians combined?!" Even if Sabrina\'s tone seemed calm, unlike Randolph, the coldness in her voice was just scary for ordinary people.
"Tsk, so you thought about bringing this psychopath with you? In case you have forgotten it, this bastard is not our ally but that of your little protec-"
"Sigh, I didn\'t even know this asshole was hidden in my shadow."
"What? Do you think I\'m going to believe you?!"
"I don\'t care about your judgment. But sooner or later, you have to choose your side, Randolph." Sabrina suddenly and loudly replied, surprising Alvine, who had just arrived in the living room.
But he did not interrupt them after noticing that they had not yet seen his presence.
"Choose my camp? S-Sabrina, what exactly do you have behind your head to have the audacity to have... such thoughts?" Randolph suddenly asked in a baroque voice.
"..."
"... Fuck, have you lost your mind? You still don\'t intend to follow this guy whose origins are unknown by betraying the being who gave you life, don\'t you?!" He stammered when he saw Sabrina\'s silence.
"... Randolph, do you know why I am the only one among you to have inherited some memories of the goddess?"
"What does it have to do with your betrayal intent?"
"Just answer my question."
"... I don\'t know. But are you--
"In this case, you\'ll not be able to understand my decision." She said as she sat on the sofa behind her.
"Hey, stop making me confused. As our creator, she\'s the reason for our existence; everything we have, we owe them to her; only thanks to her!"
"In this case, you, who collected hundreds of the lives you had once created, how did you proceed?" She soberly asked.
"Be more precise, Sabrina."
"What I want to know, do you really think they will let themselves be killed by you while letting you kill their families without doing anything, just because you gave them a chance to live?"
"?!- what do you mean by taking these people as a reference?"
"Are you still pretending not to have understood me? Alright, in this case, why are you in this state because of the loss of your subordinate Leaders? Isn\'t the purpose of our existence to resurrect the goddess? Why did you choose to join me for--
"I understood what you\'re talking about. What I want to know is, why do you compare yourself to them? The goddess is among us. And just like me, you can feel her presence deep inside you. So why the fuck are you planning to betray your creator?"
"Oh, do you think it\'s over? Sigh, this is just the beginning, believe it or not, but you will know soon. For my part, I am not really different from you; but your fate will all be worse than mine."
"What do you mean by that, Sabrina?" At the same time, Alvine\'s dark voice resounded behind Sabrina.
-!!
Just as he tapped Sabrina\'s shoulder, her murderous energy exploded from her body because of her mistrust and sudden surprise.
But hearing Alvine\'s familiar voice, she turned to him with suspicious eyes, not knowing if he was the same person who had spent several centuries with her.
"... Master?" She murmured, staring at Alvine\'s dark eyes.
"Um, it\'s me."
"..."
\'Sigh, I have a serious problem with my eyes that don\'t want to become like before since this ring drew me this damn tattoo on my chest.\' He said to himself with a clumsy smile when he saw Sabrina\'s suspicions about him.
And at the same time, he focused on Randolph with the same expression as the latter, namely the blatant mistrust in his golden pupils.
"I guess this is our first meeting? I don\'t know your plans, but as long as you stay out of my way and mine, I will do the same for you. Your intentions, your history, and those of your fellow Leader beings matter to me. And as far as possible, I would like never to meet you again."
Hearing Alvine\'s threats, Randolph\'s frown increased as his murderous aura escaped under his control.
"...I don\'t care about you. You were just a pawn for me, nothing more. But regardless of your connection with Sabrina, I advise you to think twice before threatening me; I am currently anything but in the mood to argue with a person who is partly responsible for the death of my men." He also threatened Alvine with murderous eyes.
"Randolph! You know very well that he has nothing to do with--
"Enough! If this guy had not interfered in our business, our creator would not be in this current state. It was you who revealed this information to me; I\'ll let you know! He can\'t be innocent just because he doesn\'t remember!"