"Ha, ha, ha. G-Goodness." Plopping onto my button, I leaned against the wall while gasping for air; I could never be physically exhausted, but mentally, I was already there. Enduring the pain of your body being constantly cut, pierced, and stabbed wasn't an easy feat, not to mention this is after days of constant running from the crusher corps so as not to be found.
All in all, I haven't mentally had a break for multiple days. "I-I'm tired." Lifting Trina, I pressed the broadside against my head, rubbing my scalp while taking a moment's rest.
Those blood knights were comparable to me physically; the only saving grace was that they couldn't use magic, otherwise, I would've died here; hell, even without magic, I was barely scraping by. If the state of my armor wasn't enough of a clue to how I was barely surviving, then I don't know what; for reference sake, the only armor I that hadn't been cut into several chunks was my codpiece.
Glancing down at my crotch, I wryly smiled before raising my head, looking at the puddles of blood, slightly worried that any second they'll reform into knights; however, thankfully, it seemed whatever had been supplying them mana was empty.
"I think I regret coming here." After several moments, I eventually stood up and proceeded to walk around the arena, using [Fire Blast] to remove any traces of my blood, which was, well, a lot.
Anyway, when I finished, I reached into my space pouch, putting on an extra layer of clothes before heading to the exit, which I'd found during my battle, though of course, I wasn't able to use it when facing an assault on all sides.
"I look tacky in these clothes." Glancing down at my double-layered outfit, I shook my head while approaching the exit. Arriving before it, I raised Zartha and slashed down, splitting the metal door right down the middle before absorbing my swords into my body.
As the split metal door collapses into two, I step past the halves and walk down the unnecessarily long hallway. "No traps again? Lucky me." Muttering sarcastically, I reached into my pouch, grabbing a band to tie my hair since the battle had messed up my hairstyle. 'Maybe cut your hair, Master.' Zartha's idea itself wasn't bad, but I liked my hair. "Meh. I should trim it, though."
Reaching the end of the hallway, I pulled my hair back while pushing the door open with my foot before stepping in; however, as I did so, I realized I wasn't alone.
Freezing in place, I scanned the surrounding War Room, which was large; in the center was a large circular table with maybe a hundred seats, and lining the walls were soldiers in shiny black armor. Tearing my gaze away from the seemingly expensive armors, I looked directly ahead of me, where I saw two beings; both were sickly pale, as if their skin hadn't seen the light of day once in their lives.
The one standing, the man, had short, shoulder-length black hair tied into a ponytail, just like mine, deep red pupils, and wore a Victorian-style butler uniform; to top it all off, he was powerful. 'Not every day I meet someone better looking than me.'
Shifting my gaze, I looked at the woman sitting and stared into her perfect, blood-red eyes, which stood out against her thick eyelashes. Her lips were plump and vibrant red, matching her eyes; her silky black hair was long, cascading down the chair and onto the ground; half of her body was hidden, but the upper portion of her white, sleeveless dress, topped with a black corset, was immaculate. Her nails, long and black, were perfectly manicured, and her skin looked softer than a baby's; to top it all off, literally, she wore a large, white hat with a black bow.
As I stared at her, my heart was beating rapidly, so powerfully that I thought it was echoing off the walls from how loud it was.
Seemingly breaking out of my daze, I shook my head and cleared my throat. "I apologize for staring so long, you're just that mesmerizing, My Lady." Quickly putting my hair in a loose ponytail, I slightly bowed, earning a look of surprise from her.
"Oh my, you escaped my Hypnotic Gaze so easily. I can't remember the last time that happened." As she spoke, her soft, melodic voice echoed off the walls of the War Room and entered my ears, causing me to fake a smile. 'That was hypnosis? No wonder it felt a bit forced.'
I would've taught this drop-dead gorgeous woman a lesson, but the man standing behind her was tense; it was evident from a single look he was ready to pounce on me at a moment's notice, not to mention the numerous guards; in my current, mana-less state, fighting against that man would be suicidal.
'Even at my peak, I don't know if I could best him.' As I sneaked the man, I shifted my gaze back to the woman, who was silently observing me. However, the actual reason was the woman before me; my heart wasn't just beating to guide me. It was warning me of danger.
That woman was powerful.
'She's comparable to Sash, if not stronger.' Her mana was massive, at least ten times bigger than my own; granted, I wasn't a pure mage, but still, with such an enormous gap, it was evident I was entirely out of my league.
While I was considering my escape options, it seemed she finally had enough of staring at me. "You… Who are you?" Seeing her slightly confused look, I confidently smiled before greeting her respectfully. "A-rank Adventurer, Alexander Vestalis, at your service, My Lady."
At my introduction, she raised an eyebrow, softly repeating my last name while rhythmically tapping her nails on the table. "Ah, Vestalis. The name of those Royal Trees, to think a Human would have such a last name. Coincidence, I suppose." She snapped her fingers in eureka and gazed at me, while my face twitched at how she mentioned the royal family of the Dryad Kingdom.
"Actually, My Lady, I'm a Prince of the Dryad Kingdom by marriage. I carry their royal medallion if you'd wish to see." "No, I believe you." Her eyes seemed to briefly glow as she quietly looked at me with interest. "I am confused, is my hypnosis working? Why reveal such nefarious plans? Now I know the true culprits behind the ones snooping about my domain." Tapping her chin, she tilted her head slightly, gazing at me in confusion.
"I-I do not follow?" My words only seemed to further confuse as her gaze intensified, her eyes briefly glowing. "Is the Dryad Kingdom not who you follow?" "No. I follow no one… Well, I am a Count in the Kingdom I live in, so technically, I follow the King." "Ho, you follow no one? So interesting… So where is this Kingdom of yours?" "Ah, my apologies, but I don't think we're quite that close yet, My Lady."
Luckily, she didn't seem offended at my remark and just curiously tapped the table. "Hmm, I sense no malice from you, so you do not originate from the Nesmo Continent, and obviously not the Daemon Continent. The Asckbon Continent is a possibility, but the Dryad Kingdom is a matriarchy, so you likely hail from the Mezcla Continent. Am I right?"
Even though she asked me for confirmation, given that small smile of hers, she already knew she was correct; she merely wanted me to verbally agree. "You're correct." "Fufu, so, do tell, how does a loner such as yourself know the locations of such important sites?" Unlike the other questions, this time, I could tell if I told a lie, things wouldn't end pretty. 'She's like a wolf in sheep's clothing.'
"Zartha told me." "Zartha? Was there anyone of importance with such a name, Marston?" Looking upwards, she glanced at Marston, who furrowed his brows before shaking his head with a frown. "No, Mistress." "Then, where is this Zartha, Alexander?" "I do not know." "Is that so? How unfortunate."
'Wow, what an unbelievable loophole, Master.' I couldn't help but internally chuckle at Zartha; while it was true Zartha was inside me, that was merely her sword. Her spiritual body was in a separate dimension, which I had no idea where it was located. 'For the record, Master, our dimension is stored between your head and heart.'
With a twitching expression, eager to berate Zartha for telling me, four tendrils of blood shot from the woman's hands, prompting me to instantly [Blink] away, but the tendrils quickly chased behind me, wrapping my limbs by the ankle and wrists before hoisting me off the ground.
"Um, m-may I ask what's happening, My Lady?" Forcing a smile, I looked at her while she stood up and slowly approached me. "Oh, nothing, Alexander, it's just, since you seem to have no information, I figured I should save us both some time and send you to the land of the Goddess Nihil." "G-Goddess Nihil? Who is she?" 'She's the Goddess of Death & Souls, Master. She is the main god the Demons worship.' 'She sounds incredibly friendly, but I don't wish to meet her yet!'