While the girls were returning to the capital…
-
Night, City of Llynun—
Dong-dong-dong—! In the distance, the soft sound of a bell could be heard ringing out.
Even at this late hour, the streets of the inner city were alive with motion. While many had gone to sleep, just as many had not! Llynun, as the capital of the southern region, never truly slept.
And yet, despite this, within the heart of this nightlife lay a small section of the city steeped in darkness, not from neglect, no, it was a darkness engineered for preference. This 'small section' of the city had been intentionally 'blackened' to accommodate the Telltera...
The streets here had been dimmed; the lanterns extinguished. Thick shadows pooled between buildings, and the air felt heavier, quieter, as if the city itself was holding its breath. It was the unsettling kind of silence that caused the ears to pound and the heart to thump.
-
In the darkness—
Massive figures continued to haul crate after crate from their reinforced transport, their ash-gray skin catching the glow of the Lunar Stone lamplight. Black runes crawled across their bodies like living brands, coiling and shifting with each movement of mussel. They pulsed faintly, their light rippling in a muted golden hue as their colossal figures flexed and strained.
As for these crates, they were strange.
They were long, narrow, and magically reinforced with rune-embossed bands crafted from an unknown black material. Inside these crates were not food or goods, no, not at all, they were carefully wrapped rods of an unfamiliar alloy. They were cold to the touch, 'burning' the skin even through thick gloves. Some of the Telltera handled them with reverence, while others worked with methodical, almost mechanical movements. Either way, it was clear these 'metal rods' were far from simple sticks.
Step…
From the edge of the worksite, a man slowly stepped out of the shadows and joined them.
He walked casually, standing just under two meters tall, a stark contrast to the three massive figures behind him, each towering over five meters in height!
This man, although unknown to the Cross Continent, was Kaskell, the 'deformed' prince of the Telltera…
(A/n: 'Deformed' as in he's short)
He wore simple black robes, formed from cheap and torn fabric, with bare feet and an overly loose collar. His face was generic, yet somehow incredibly attractive, and he was so inconspicuous that he could pass unnoticed even through the busiest parts of the city, despite his distinctively dark skin and abnormal appearance! This made his existence appear as a walking contradiction, giving him an uncanny, almost unnatural presence.
His movements were unhurried, almost lazy in a sense, yet every step seemed to land with an absolute certainty that shook the dirt from the earth, vibrating the ground and echoing in the silence.
It was an extremely unusual stride, one that would immediately catch the eye of the strong.
He had short, messy black hair with a low ponytail that was tightly braided and reached all the way down to his ankles…
But perhaps his most distinctive feature was the strange gradient on his hands and feet. Although he claimed to be a Telltera, the color of his body was closer to brown than their iconic ash-grey. Only his hands and feet bore the correct color, gradually fading as it followed down his limbs, and darkened into his normal skin tone.
He arrived in silence—
But the Telltera noticed immediately.
Not because he announced himself, no, for someone at his level, such things were unnecessary. They noticed him because the air shifted with his arrival. A subtle pressure rolled outwards, and its invisible yet unmistakable aura caused several of the nearby Telltera to stiffen instinctively.
It was a subtle arrival, and many looked at him as if surprised by his sudden appearance.
The quickest of the Telltera stepped forward and bowed.
Kaskell nodded to him and walked past.
The instant he appeared, he immediately took control of the situation, his status evident at a glance.
"Report," he spoke casually with his languid voice.
Unlike the rest of the Telltera, Kaskell and his three followers were not part of the overseas party that had arrived earlier that week. Unlike them, he had 'already been on the Cross Continent'...
One of the Telltera glanced over and rose to her feet.
She cracked her back as she stretched, then rolled her shoulder and followed beside him, shadowing Kaskell as he moved deeper into their temporary setup.
Her steps were heavy. She hummed in a low growl before speaking in a deep, resonating voice, "Everything has arrived safely, Your Highness..."
Her eyes momentarily drifted to the countless crates, then back to her prince—
She was a towering woman with an extremely muscular physique, reminiscent of an Amazonian warrior, only more rugged and imposing, with a deeply concealed spark of wisdom hidden deep within her gaze. Her ash-grey skin was partially exposed, covered only by a series of barbaric rags and her Tellterian-style armor. Despite her 'exposed' body, there was nothing alluring about her presence. Instead, she radiated an extreme intimidation and violence, the kind that would scare away any man.
As she explained their 'current situation', the others voiced their confirmations in low, rumbling harmonics that almost seemed to sync together…
"—Youve been away for so long, we were starting to get worried. When you're not there, the 'elders' go back to the old ways…" She pursed her lips, then added, "It's really—dull…"
The man softly chuckled.
"Dull is good," Kaskall replied in a light tone. "Dull means nothing went wrong, and no one's doing anything stupid…"
He wandered over to one of the crates and sat atop it without ceremony, then pulled one leg up, resting his elbow on his knee.
From here, he surveyed his people with a lazy curiosity, then—
"...Ah, and who might you be, little tail…?"
—Someone else was there!
He almost seemed to be waiting, which caused the Telltera to momentarily be shocked. Boom! Immediately, an unimaginably abrupt wave of bloodlust washed out like a river and filled the surrounding city. The wave was so intense that the surrounding glass didn't just shatter, it disappeared, turning back into sand. Stone was washed flat, wood was sheared down, and what little clothing there was had begun to disintegrate, falling apart.
Excluding the man, the Telltera, and Kaskell, everything else was irreversibly damaged in an instant.
Kaskell waved his hand, forcefully sweeping away the pressure. His lips curled up into a lazy smile as he looked at the 'intruder'.
He lowered his head to rest on one knee and raised an eyebrow.
A man stood a few steps away.
He wore a dark top with a heavy set of plated leg armor. He had short, black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. His expression was calm but firm, his eyes unusually vigilant. Below each eye was a horizontal scar that radiated a golden light, and behind his back was a large axe forged from an even more mysterious material than the iron rods of the Telltera.
He frowned as he, Kilemin, looked at Kaskell for the first time.
He didn't say anything…
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
Everything except for the two dark-skinned men seemed to pause.
Their appearance—
The resemblance was striking, too striking! They were almost identical, appearing to be almost brothers!
Only now did the surrounding Telltera realize this…
Kaskell tilted his head slightly, studying this western region's Heavens Chosen…
"…Interesting," he muttered.
Kilemin met his oppressive gaze without flinching.
"Kaskell," he said flatly.
Kaskell's lips curved into a lazy smile. "So you do know my name, how odd… You're indeed an interesting person. I regret not meeting you sooner. If I had, then perhaps I wouldn't have been too late, isn't that right?" He said with a knowing smile.
Kilemin didn't respond.
The silence stretched…
Kaskell's grin faltered. He shook his head awkwardly before speaking again—
"You're not one of 'mine'," Kaskell continued in a light tone.
His eyes sharpened. "I know each and every 'Humitara' that walks this world! Even those who are lost, even those who have hid, all of them! But…"
His gaze lingered on Kilemin.
Kilemin didn't respond.
After a moment…
"It seems that my assumption was correct…" he pushed his head forward and pulled his knee back, contracting his body. "I've never seen you, that I'm sure of! It's one thing if you were an 'accident', but you didn't even flinch at the name 'Humitara'. I can only conclude that you already knew that was the true name of the Blackstone Barbarians, or the Blackswamp Barbarians, or whatever, right?"
Kilemin's eyes darkened.
How sharp. Reading his body language was very difficult…
He quickly made up his mind, not wanting to play these games any longer than he needed to…
He had originally come here to question Kaskell, but he didn't expect that this young prince would be able to glean so much off his emotionless face.
What a dangerous man…
"So then, tell—"
"Why are the Telltera here?" Kilemin interrupted him.
Kaskell's expression flickered in irritation, then he smiled mischievously.
Kilemin continued,
"Unloading weapons in the middle of the city doesn't strike me as a very friendly gesture. You're not even trying to be subtle about it. Do you think that just because the average soldier doesn't know what these are, there won't be people that do?"
Kaskell laughed loudly, "Pfft, hahaha!! You'd be surprised!"
His laughter was genuine!
Kilemin would probably be shocked if he knew just how often they got away with this kind of thing!
He rubbed his mouth, chuckling, and struggled to hold back his giggles.
His eyes flickered towards the horizon…
Instead of us, shouldn't you be more worried about the dragon race? Those guys are far more dangerous than us, right? There's no way they came here just for that stupid secret Realm. Since you're confronting me, you should already know that, right?"
He hummed, his hum not unlike the resonance from the Telltera earlier. He looked back at Kilemin with a strange expression. "Why did you come to us first? I doubt it's because you think that we're pushovers. Could there be something that I'm unaware of?"
Kilemin's expression didn't change.
"The dragons…" he said flatly, almost dismissively, in a low voice. "They're just overgrown lizards with an overabundance of arrogance. You guys are different. You're far more dangerous than the dragon race."
Tock! Something shifted after his words!
Their heads all moved at the same time. Kaskell, as well as the surrounding Telltera, all stared at Kilemin with deep, bottomless eyes. It was an unsettling shift that seemed to chill the air. It would seem that 'these people' were much more concerned about their reputation than anything else.
Kilemin continued in a low voice. "I don't remember seeing you get off the ship, so where did you come from?" His words were directed at Kaskell.
"Haha! That's right, I was already here! You got me! You see… I lost something important, no… well, two things actually…" He rolled his eyes, "so~ I just happened to have some free time to come and look for them!"
Kilemin's face fell—
Here it comes!
"Actually, I've wanted to meet you for some time…"
Kaskell finally dropped his facade—
His eyes turned black, so black that it seemed as if they had twisted into an endless abyss.
His face turned cold, so cold that the world seemed to freeze.
His words became deep, so deep that they carried an echo.
His voice remained casual, but something unimaginably dangerous crept beneath it…
"—So, I'll ask plainly..."
His aura shifted.
The air thickened.
'Something' pressed down in the unseen world…
For a split second, several Telltera spasmed, instinctively stepping back as an oppressive aura flickered outwards, invisible yet irresistibly crushing to their minds. For a mere moment, their 'connection' was severed, and all of them could only look on with dark faces.
"So," Kaskell said softly, "who… are you…?"
Even the surrounding Telltera felt their legs tremble as Kaskell looked down at Kilemin.
Kilemin remained silent.
He stood there, unmoving…
Kaskell's eyes narrowed, just a fraction, but it was enough to quadruple the pressure! Boom!
"Do you think I won't kill you?"
His words were as cold as ice.
Kaskell had completely disregarded Kilemin's Identity as a Hero. Now, there was no question about it…
In his eyes, the 'Heros' meant nothing!
In truth, there was another reason he was pressing so hard.
He, like all other Telltera, felt an inexplicable sensation from Kilemin whenever they looked at him. Perhaps it was because he was the Earth God's Chosen Hero, but this in itself was a problem! 'They' knew that the Earth God had already fallen. This was a secret that could disrupt the balance of the world, so…
'They' would never ask directly…
But 'they' needed to know the truth…
Who was Kilemin Thorn—
And what was his 'real' relationship with the Earth God?
Kilemin, finally seeing this, understood…
He chuckled.
'So that's it,' He thought…
'Since that's the case…'
"You're not as interesting as Tecelli," Kilemin simply said, "How disappointing…"
Boom! Something exploded in the Telltera! Like a throbbing temple, an immense sense of forcefully restrained rage erupted from each and every one of them!
Kilemin grinned as an explosive pressure tore through him!
He could feel that they were struggling to hold themselves back.
Kaskell's expression blackened.
He, too, was affected.
Kaskell's smile had vanished completely.
"What… do you know about Tecelli? " Kaskell slowly asked. His eyes narrowed dangerously.
Kilemin smiled.
His expression was filled with the arrogance of a victor. It seemed as if his guess was correct.
"Then let's talk, but in exchange…"
* * *
Time passed slowly…
-
After a long 'conversation', Kilemin finally left…
As he walked away, the pressure he had unconsciously been exuding vanished.
Several Telltera stared at his departing back.
"Should we follow him?" one asked in a low voice.
Kaskell remained seated, watching the retreating figure until it faded into the shadow of the city.
"…No," he finally said.
"...That would be a terrible idea..."
He leaned back slightly.
"That man knows far too much to be from the Cross Continent. If he's not a reincarnated High Elf, then he's something just as bad. The fact that he was willing to share information about Tecelli is a sign of good faith, but the fact that he knows about Tecelli at all is deeply concerning..."
His expression twisted as he fell into deep thought.
While biting the tip of his thumb, he muttered, "The Heaven's Chosen are representatives of the Gods. But he shouldn't be able to be the Earth God's Chosen… which means he must have some connection to another God. He could be tied to the Church, or perhaps the Sky God. It's also possible he has some relationship with the World Tower, and they're just playing along."
"Tsk! How troublesome…" Kaskell scratched his head. "Ever since that stupid Red Curtin told me that the Earth God had really fallen, we've been looking for evidence everywhere. If we can't prove it, then it's impossible to go forward!" In his mind, he cursed the fact that he couldn't simply capture Kilemin and torture the information out of him!
He truly did regret being too slow! If he wasn't, then perhaps—
his eyes gleamed in the shadows…
* * *
The Next Day…