Kritz took a step back, skeptical about his lord's plan.
"Let's take a trip to Mertac!" He cackled, walking with his shoulders raised, happy about the new development.
If this was his way of witnessing the level of damage created by Melody without making it obvious that he had a role in all of that, he was surely going to take pride in his visit.
[Aren't you a little too joyful to be going to a play that had been inflicted with a tough blow?]
Making a stop in the hallway, Hisha's big grin deflated and his enthusiasm withered as he thought about how he could make sure he looked empathetic.
Turning around, he made sure to question Kritz on his appearance. "How do I look?"
Kritz blinked a few times, unsure about what he wanted, and could only take a glance at his chiseled features.
"You look like a work crafted by the celestials." He replied in a monotonous voice with a poker face.
Hisha's mood dropped at the robotic response. 'Even HTC doesn't sound that way!'
[I am as human as you all could ever be]
'Don't forget lustful even though you would never experience it.' Hisha retorted.
[@#&!!*]
'I would take that as your way of talking trash at me, yet I'm glad I don't understand the trash you laid out!'
"Is that all you see?" Hisha pried further, hoping he would get his expression as the main feature.
Kritz tilted his head and had his eyes trail down to Hisha's crotch.
Shaking off the thought, he stumbled and tried to get his footing.
Unaware of what had gone through the mind of Kritz, he approached to help him gain balance.
"Are you alright?"
Kritz got to his knees and made a bow and began profusely apologizing about his mistake.
Hisha cringed and cleared his throat to clear up the tension. "Never mind what I asked, let's get going."
*****
In Mertac,
Staring at the huge gate, it all brought back memories of his connection with Melody, how he had watched all of this through her lenses.
'It looks more magnificent than the view from her eyes!' He exclaimed, mesmerized by how parts of the metal fin glistened in the moonlight.
[The time difference also plays another factor as to why it looks different]
Unlike during the daytime, the whole territory was sealed with a barrier of water which gave off a cooling and soothing aura as he walked through the quiet and lonely streets while he and Kritz were escorted by guards on each side.
'This is a little too quiet than that of Straton, not open to strangers?' Hisha inquired, confused as to why all the windows were closed a few seconds before their horses got near the buildings.
[Unlike the citizens of Straton which has a variety of races settling, this is a restrictive setting that depends on the tribal chiefs. There is an unidentified lurking danger they are fed to believe]
'You're sure it isn't about me?/Why would they believe in such a–'
Slam!
Hisha narrowed his eyes, disturbed by the continuous slams of windows or doors upon their approach while passing by on their horses.
Tousling the mane of Twilaet, he calmed him down before glaring at one of the guards.
'Who is the chief guard?' He questioned HTC, thinking it possible that his previous host must have known all this information before his appearance.
Calling on a character reference on the said person was also needed.
_____
[Name: Gran Mon]
[Height: 183cm]
[Position: Chief guard]
[Race: Merfolk]
_____
Spotting the right person, he called on his attention. "It would be appreciated if they reduce the intensity of slamming, are they trying to scare my precious horse!"
Gran looked to his side and at Hisha, giving a low bow. "I am sorry, my lord. It will be done."
Immediately afterward, he switched his attention to the other guards and commanded them to implement his words strictly.
Riding ahead, the guards maintained peace and tranquility as they moved on.
Although this wasn't exactly what he had wanted to be done, he was glad there had been some quiet at the least.
Twilaet strutted with much pride, having understood its importance to its master and viewed by others.
Kritz had a faint smile at the outburst by Hisha, it did look fun to finally see his lord make a scene for little things and be more concerned about his horse.
'If you think you would have a smooth entry, then you must be mistaken!' An unknown person was hiding among the thirty mermen escorts.
Hisha looked to his right at the exact mention and felt a sinister aura directed at him.
To his disappointment, the aura dissipated the moment he glanced around.
'Did you feel that?' He inquired of HTC, hoping he had just felt wrong.
[It must be your thoughts messing with you]
HTC shut the thought out.
Exhaling, he gave a light nod, 'if I get killed and die, you die too.'
[You're immortal stupid]
"Right this way, my lord." Gran explained and made a clicking sound for his horse.
Boom!
Hisha was thrown off his horse due to the impact of a large boulder thrown to the floor from an unknown source.
Twilaet neighed and stomped on the ground, rushing over to check its master's state.
Punching on the floor, Hisha spat out some sand and wiped down his face.
Kritz got to his feet and created a temporary barrier to contain the horses that might try to run away amidst the chaos.
"My lord, are you–"
Kritz was left dumbfounded by the speed of Hisha as he levitated and scanned his environment.
Taking shelter in one of the stalls, Kritz watched as the other guards did the same, secretly observing what was to unfold.
They all knew that level of impact couldn't be achieved by normal means, nor could they identify the perpetrator.
A cloud of smoke engulfed the surrounding area and there were screams heard from the merfolks who had been indignant at first.
Their vision was getting altered, this prompted Kritz to activate the glow in his eyes.
"Show yourself!" Hisha's voice boomed in rage as the dust settled.
He had merely wanted to witness all that had transpired, not get into a duel.
When the sound of chains could be heard at a closer range, Hisha dropped to the ground and slammed his palms on the floor.
Shaking from the impact, the cloud of dust increased up until Hisha made a vertical slash with his palm, causing a huge gust of wind to split the cloud and precisely hit something hidden by the dust.
Splk!
The intense force made by the wind sliced a fraction of the object.
Afterward, there was silence as everyone took a moment to digest what they had just witnessed.
When the dust gradually settled, they were all mortified by the sight of a male bound by chains and had pale-looking skin and white hair.
A part of the head had been sliced off from the deadly slash from Hisha.
Green veins branched all over the corpse like a network of stems and converged to both eyes which had been gouged out.
Blood trailed down his face like dramatic tears.
The guards all went down on their knees and made a bow–face down, pleading with Hisha to come to their rescue and solve yet another lurking danger at hand.
This wouldn't be the first time it had happened and it had all begun during the full moon like the one which shone down on them.
Their tribal chief had always managed to fend off these unknown phenomena but after his unprecedented attack, all hell broke loose.
This had been the major reason the merfolk had been so scared to come out, not because of the presence of the overlord, but rather the fear of the lurking danger that HTC had spoken of.
'What the hell is going on?' Hisha questioned, sickened by the sight but also managing to stomach the ordeal without making a disgusted face.
"We meet again, Vandrik." A sinister voice echoed all around them.
Hidden in the shadows was a figure, one that Kritz knew too well with a grin that was selectively shown by manipulating the light refraction.
"You!" He snarled and had his fingers and teeth barred, ready to attack after being triggered by the previous encounter.
Stunned by the words, Hisha looked behind him and had his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Kritz, you know that thing?!" He inquired, confused as to when he had seen it.
HTC had given no said clue as to what they were facing and was most certainly a new problem he would be facing for the first time in real-time.
Giving a nod to the question, Kritz's lust for a kill grew with each passing second just by maintaining eye contact with the grinning shadow.
[Warning: Blood lust]
*****
A/N
Do you think that Kritz would be able to handle his rage?
Any ideas on who's behind all these?
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