"You see that Shade right there? That's the legendary 7 Blades Swordmaster, Lord Inigo Montoya!"
"Hmph. Our Old Captain Basalt became a Spearmaster after he joined the King's Army. What makes this Lord Inigo so special? He doesn't look that strong."
"I heard it directly from one of Lord Gabito's attendants when they booked him for the ship! Lord Inigo has almost reached the Realm of a Saint in skill!"
"Huh? No way. Stuff like that is always fake."
Dorian smiled slightly as he heard two Shade youths talking to each other in a quiet whisper. Each youth wore a black and white striped uniform, the attire of all the workers on the ship. Dorian's finely tuned senses could clearly hear their words, even from several dozen meters away, across the deck of a ship.
He turned around, though, glancing about the wooden deck. He was standing at the front of the ship. The ship itself looked like a traditional wooden ship, complete with white cloth sails and a large mast. It was a galley, a large one, with multiple floors. Multiple workers moved across the deck, checking various parts of it or washing it down. He also saw a pair of Wizards covered in white glows checking over the sails, apparently directing the flight of the ship.
The galley had just started to travel, lifting off from Fort Sutner and floating about 100 meters in the air about it. They hadn't moved away yet, still setting up to leave.
After talking with Lord Gabito, Dorian had made up his mind. He was headed off towards the former home base of the Demon Race and the Superior Auction located right next door.
With that as his focus, he had informed the City Lord that he would be leaving, headed off towards the planet of Shaptel. The City Lord had taken it well and even helped set him up with the biggest traveling company in Fort Sutner, the Flying Plantera Fleet.
The company apparently had a monopoly in regards to on-planet travel and operated in all the major cities. Their ships only travelled on-planet, however, eschewing everything else and keeping them domestically focused. He would need to get another ship for when he left Plantera.
Dorian turned his head away from the deck, looking down. He couldn't see through the wood, but he felt like he could almost sense Helena's presence as she rested, secure and peaceful in their private room. The door was sealed with a Magic lock of some sort, meaning he could give her some privacy when she rested, secure and safe, while he came above deck.
WHOOSH
The ship vibrated as it began to move forward, powered using Magic energy. Light flashed around it, surrounding it completely, as it soared high into the air and began to rush forward, accelerating at a gradual pace.
After flying on several of the Magic ships that were common to the 30,000 Worlds, Dorian had grown accustomed to the feeling. He settled down on the front of the ship
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
On a world not far from Dorian, the dark figure that had been talking with Duke Orbit about finding the Inheritor of Wrath sat down patiently on a wooden chair.
He was sitting in a small inn room, in a random city on the planet. In front of him was a black-robed Shade giving a report, one of the spies serving the Demonic Council. The Council had one of the best intelligence agencies in the Shade Commune, one that was capable of gaining huge amounts of information in extremely small amounts of time.
If they put their full focus on something, it was impossible for that thing to stay hidden for long.
"Ruler Hallow, there are 12 possible locations across 7 eastern planets that show traces of Demonic power. Of those, only 3 of them have been previously investigated and can be discounted. The Duke's Hunters have narrowed these locations down, but are unable to search further."
Hallow grunted and nodded. Most of the Duke's subordinates were bound to be regular Shades. Orbit obviously couldn't make it known that he studied a Demonic Law. The Shades would therefore be unable to investigate further.
Most Laws were abstruse and difficult to grasp, even the simpler ones. As a result of this, it could be almost impossible to tell what Law someone studied if that person was trying to conceal it or pass it off as another one. Using energy or power from a Demonic Law but claiming it was from a similar, non-Demonic Law… it would be extremely hard for even King Class experts to tell the difference.
Some Laws were exceptions to this due to their well known effects. But most were not.
Only Demonic Law practitioners could instantly recognize other Demonic Law practitioners.
Orbit had estimated the power he sensed as between the peak of Lord Class and the middle of King Class, within that range. Hallow guessed their target would be around Early King Class.
"Alright. Of the 9 locations, which ones have had any unusual activity near them?" Hallow's glowing blue eyes flashed as he spoke, his voice cool and assured.
"There was a large explosion on the Planet of Fasfa, where the remnants of Demonic power were found. On the Planet of Tabadel, a local war has broken out between two kingdoms that are vying for power. Demonic power was detected at the site of one of their battlefields." The robed Shade continued to speak,
"There was also movement from one of the new rising stars of the Shade Race, Lord Inigo Montoya, the Shade of 7 Blades, on the planet of Plantera, near a zone where traces of Demonic power were detected."
"Who? What's his Class?" Hallow interrupted his subordinate.
"A Lord Class Swordmaster of high skill, allegedly claimed to be nearing the level of a Saint. He is on a mission to heal the injured soul of his wife and defeated a local City Lord in a spar. The City Lord was a veteran of some small renown during the Territorial War. His reputation is that of a valorous Shade."
"Oh, I see." Hallow shrugged dismissively. If it was so easy to have reached the level of a Saint, everyone would reach it. People claimed to be nearing it all the time.
There were trillions of Shades in existence, and while Lord Class Shades were a rarity, just because of sheer numbers there were bound to be tens of thousands, perhaps more, of them. New rising stars appearing among the Lord Class wasn't something to be surprised about.
Besides, there was no way their target would be so foolish as to act like a great expert and go on a highly visible public journey. They would have to know or at least suspect that they were being hunted.
Only an idiot would do that.
"Continue the report." One of these locations must have their target…
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
"Wow! He really is a great expert!"
"Did you see that? He killed it in a single shot!"
"Woah! Please, take me as your disciple!"
"You all are too kind. I merely have some small measure of skill." Dorian's voice was calm and relaxed as he sheathed his sword, looking over at the cheering crew members.
Just moments ago, Dorian's meditation had been rudely interrupted.
Their Flying Ship had travelled for several hours, crossing a huge portion of the planet. Due to their great height, Dorian had only been able to see the tops of the forests or plains below. He did see quite a few abnormally large trees and odd looking, green colored beasts, but nothing that posed any threat to them.
The journey had gone quite peacefully, in fact.
It was around this point that an enormous, grass-covered bird had appeared, flying towards their ship like an arrow released from a bow.
The bird was huge, easily a dozen meters tall, with a massive wingspan. It was covered in long strips of grass and vines, giving off a very faint, natural Aura. It cawed loudly as it charged, its voice irritatingly piercing.
–
Species: Winged Grass Gorak
Class – Grandmaster (Pseudo-Lord)
Maximum Energy Level: 5,281
–
The creature had roused Dorian from his meditation. As he instantly came aware of his surroundings, he noticed the duo of Wizards manning the ship preparing countermeasures. He could sense the energy they were gathering for some type of mighty Spell, one that ought to be able to take the Winged Grass Gorak out.
The organization had a monopoly on air travel on-planet for a reason. If they weren't even able to handle random threats like this, it would be a bit much.
"Excuse me, passenger. I'm going to need you to return below deck right now." A voice broke into his thoughts as he was looking at the Wizards.
Dorian turned to see one of the sailors that crewed the Flying Ship, a muscular man with a broad chest, staring at him with an annoyed expression on his face that he quickly hid. The sailor wore a white and black striped uniform that was fancier than the ones the other sailors were wearing, signifying a position of some importance on the ship.
"We are about to engage in combat. Civilians like yourself would only be in the way." The sailor waved at him dismissively. Despite that, his eyes seemed to contain a certain level of enjoyment and arrogance.
Dorian frowned slightly as he heard this.
What the sailor said wasn't exactly wrong… After all, they were being charged at by a powerful beast. In his Shade form, Dorian hardly looked very threatening. Most of his power was self-contained, and if he didn't willingly release his Aura, he would appear very normal. 99.99% of people that looked like this would be weak.
But the way the Shade sailor went about it was a bit rude and rather petty, as if he was relishing the power to order about the passengers and did this often. He was technically in the right… but… Dorian's eyes flashed.
As Dorian saw this, he realized this was an excellent opportunity.
What was he trying to do? He wanted to create a huge reputation for his current form. This reputation could act as a cover, shielding him and Helena as they travelled while giving him all the plausible deniability he needed.
He had defeated Lord Gabito in a spar, but that information was likely to spread rather slowly. There were some eyewitnesses, but most were loyal to the Lord. Of those that would speak, most would likely remain in or near Fort Sutner, or keep their reports private.
He needed his reputation to spread among the general populace. He wanted to become one of the best-known Shades in the Shade Commune, a literal celebrity.
After all, who would suspect someone like that? As long as he could twist Fate when questioned to make his cover bulletproof, the plan was destined for success in Dorian's opinion.
'Hyperion Beam! Charge!' Instantly, he began charging his Hyperion Beam Ability. However, instead of having the black orb form above his palm, Dorian slowly drew the sword from his waist, holding it out.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" The belligerent sailor glared at Dorian as he drew his weapon, yelling at him. Dorian ignored him.
The crackling orb of energy formed at the tip of his sword, drawing from Dorian's Soul Spell Matrix as well as the air around him.
Dorian's soul had reached an impressive level of strength, something his Hyperion Beam put to great use as it charged up at a faster rate than ever before. In just a split second, Dorian had formed a threatening orb the size of his fist.
If he kept charging, he knew he could make it even stronger. However, Dorian had a different plan in mind.
'Black Flames, combine with it! Fire Magic: Blazing Sword!' He activated another one of his Abilities and also cast one of the few Magic Spells he knew.
The stronger he got, the more he realized how powerful Abilities were. Magic, in comparison, was more versatile and had a variety of uses. But to really get anything powerful from it, he would need to study in a dedicated way for years and years, and that was with his incredible talent as an Ifrit and luck.
He could be a jack of all trades and a master of none, or he could put his focus in one specific area. Dorian decided to focus more on the Laws he was learning and his Abilities. He needed power fast and Magic would take too long for him.
In just a moment, the black orb at the end of his blade transformed into a crackling black sword covered in flames. The energy sword actually covered his blade entirely, making it seem as if his own weapon was the one creating the disturbance.
The crackling orb hadn't drawn any attention due to the crew focusing on the charging Winged Grass Gorak. His black, flame-covered sword, one that was warping the air around it, however, was very eye-catching.
The sailor that had been yelling at him stumbled back, his face paling as he saw this. Several of the other sailors all shouted, looking at Dorian in surprise.
At the same time this was formed, Dorian drew upon the Laws of Mercy and Valor. He imbued the Law of Mercy within his sword while using the Law of Valor to give himself a valorous and heroic Aura.
The Law of Mercy was a Law that focused on enhancing the offensive power of something. It was similar to the Law of Wrath in that it was full of energy, throbbing and mighty. The only real difference between the two types of energy was that the Law of Mercy had cool, controlled energy while the Law of Wrath contained chaotic, violent energy.
"What the- goodness! Look at that!"
"Woah?! There's an expert on board!"
"It seems the Head Wizards won't get a turn against the Gorak!"
"What Spell is that?! It reminds me of the Old Captain's attacks!"
Almost everyone on deck was a member of the crew. Few of the passengers were like Dorian and wanted to meditate while looking out at the planet. The crew's discussion was full of surprise and awe as they saw the power Dorian wielded. They also talked in a hushed manner, not wanting to offend Dorian.
Most of them seemed fairly relaxed. The Winged Grass Gorak appeared to be a type of beast they had faced down before with little incident.
One of the few non-crewmembers, a man wearing a sharp looking brown suit, looked at Dorian's charged attack, his eyes filled with interest.
"Unleash." Dorian said out loud as he aimed the sword at the charging beast, his eyes cool. He twisted Fate slightly, to make him seem even more majestic.
WHOOSH
The beam of energy blasted forward off his sword. It moved incredibly quickly, searing the air itself as it slammed into the still charging Winged Grass Gorak, just a few dozen or so meters away.
"Squaawwwkkk!" The Gorak yelled out loud as the beam slammed into the flying beast and melted a huge hole right through its chest. The beam of energy then shot forward off into the air, blasting into the sky till it left their sight and entered Chaotic Space.
With hardly a whimper after, the Grass Winged Gorak tumbled down from the air, plummeting as it was killed in an instant.
"Incredible!"
"Awesome!"
A burst of applause and cheers broke out as the crew ran up and congratulated or thanked Dorian. The high ranking sailor that had previously tried to order Dorian about was nowhere to be seen, having fled below deck.
Dorian smiled as he took it all in, acting the part of the hero. He waved at everyone and shook hands, becoming a friendly figure. He answered the questions of the crew, explaining his mission and goal freely.
"A new hero has appeared among the Shade Race and is headed for the Ruins of the Demon Emperor? I've never heard of this Lord Inigo before… Information on him might be worth quite a bit." One of the other passengers on deck during the attack, a Shade wearing a sharp looking brown suit, nodded his head cheerfully.
The Shade, a well-known merchant on Plantera, eyed Dorian carefully. His fingers clinked as he clapped them together, several large gems set onto rings banging against each other. The Shade turned, heading below deck as he pulled out a small Artifact shaped like a bird.
Soon, Dorian managed to free himself from the questions of the crew, returning below deck to care for a resting Helena.
The rest of the journey across planet passed smoothly, but the impact Dorian had made on everyone present was already beginning to spread.
In what felt like no time at all, the ship began to land, just outside a huge World Bridge that led to another Normal World. This particular World Bridge towered upwards, covered in brown rock and sand, like that of a giant desert. A large city could be seen near the base of the World Bridge.
"Don't worry, my sweet dove." Dorian whispered quietly as he looked at the sleeping Helena. He stroked her hair, full of care. Her body was covered in sweat as she shifted in her sleep, sick and unwell.
"I am on my way to get you help."
.
