"Ughh."
Yuki's face contorted while she slowed down her pace.
Currently, she was at the back of The Guardian's Hill— where the land was steep and lush green, brightened up by the clear blue sky.
"Nice reaction."
Dylan, who was lying on top of the healthy grass, commented plainly.
"How may I help you?"
She said after a heavy sigh.
"I appreciate the offer, but you're the one getting in the way of me getting what I want."
"Right, you people don't understand polite talk. Tsk."
She sneered as she laid down besides Dylan while the little grey infant, which she had brought along, also laid down next to her.
Dylan, being a General of the Demon lord Yolken's faction, was ordered to gain more troops for their army.
And his targets were the Beasts and Monsters of Kentel.
However, the one who got in the way of his 'recruitment' was the Guardian of the Forest, Yuki.
Negotiations, deceptions, battles, etc. No matter what technique he used, Dylan was outmatched.
If it were just a matter of brute force then he'd win, but Yuki was far too sly and would avoid any battle where brute force would dictate the victor.
Thus, stuck in a stalemate, no major changes ever happened between them.
"What's with that girl? She wanted to join our army after all?"
Dylan's voice was tired and monotonous, indicating lethargy.
No, this was way too much. Why did he suddenly feel so tired?
Then, he heard Yuki's chuckle—which was the cutest in the whole world—besides him.
"You let your guard down."
She said with a victorious smile.
Just as she finished those words, the grey baby-like Monster disappeared without any sign of its existence.
"Ahh…"
On Dylan's head was the grey baby-like Monster, stabbing him with a weirdly shaped branch from a tree.
"How lame."
Still smiling a bit, Yuki sat up and stared at Dylan with a curious gaze.
Dylan, the Tyrant, let out an amused sigh that could easily be misperceived as a chuckle.
In the first place, the reason he was called a Tyrant was because of his way-too-frequent visits to Kentel.
Maybe, he shouldn't have started subconsciously going easy on Yuki.
When did it start exactly?
"By the way, you can tell that it's a girl?"
Yuki asked curiously.
Dylan lazily raised his gaze to the grey baby-like Monster, then replied:
"A half-Monster like you can't? I see, so communicating with Monsters is the only trait that you have."
"Answer the question properly." She smacked him in the nose, "And stop staring at her then! She's practically naked."
"No, that's just normal for Grey Unknowns like them, nothing weird about it."
"Hah." Yuki scoffed while giving him a disgusted look.
She then pinched and played around with Dylan's right cheek, the feeling of his dry, cold skin was certainly peculiar to her.
Without even bothering to say or do anything, Dylan just went along with Yuki's 'inspection' of him.
'The Tyrant of Kentel…That nickname doesn't suit me very much.'
***
BANG!
The sound of gunshot reverberated throughout the hill.
Shortly after, the system message rang:
[The Tyrant of Kentel: Dylan has been inflicted with
'Holy…'
Line, mentally strained from the pain he endured, lost his consciousness.
"Let's hope it works out."
Alex muttered while running towards Dylan, on his hand, Line was practically hanging by his neck.
If this was real life, then he'd have died a long time ago
But he still hasn't dematerialised yet meaning he still has someHP.
[Dylan:
'Just five more seconds.'
To pull off what he needed to do, Alex needed his Skill Leap which was still in cooldown.
Without much gentleness, he pulled Line out from Dylan's hand.
The Tyrant had a grim expression of rage on his face. Even this expression of his, along with his body, is plastered in the moment due to the Status Effect of Paralysis.
[Dylan:
"Veronica, carry him towards the foothill or something."
She simply nodded, her unreadable eyes fully focused on Line's neck.
Then, Alex hugged Dylan, catching Veronica by surprise.
[You've used Common D-rank Both Alex and Dylan soared up into the sky. As they reached the height limit of the Skill, Alex leaned closer than he already was, as close to Dylan's ear as he could.
'Let's see how accurate his A.I is.'
"I know where Yuki is."
[You've used Common D-rank Alex had adjusted their angle a bit before he used his Skill.
All so that when they landed on the ground, they'd be as close to the foothill as possible.
***
"Man, that was tiring."
Luke sat beneath an ominous tree as he let out a sigh of relief.
'They should at least be able to make it here now, no?'
Now, all he have to do is wait.
—Was what he thought.
From the periphery of his vision, Luke saw something falling towards the area around him.
"What the…"
THUMP!
The figure—which was Alex on top of Dylan to cushion his fall— landed with a loud thump on the ground, scattering grey and yellow dust into the air.
Taken aback by the sudden event, Luke chuckled.
"That was way too long. Well, good thing I managed to widen the area."
He said with his usual playful voice.
Alex quickly got up, a white blade materializing in his right hand as he did so.
"So, I don't think you did anything in particular. Mind explaining?"
Alex tilted his neck while slowly pointing his blade towards Luke.
"Ah, about that." A long, black whip with a sharp white object attached at its end materialized in Luke's hand, "I really want the Cloak of Bloodlust you see?"
The Cloak of Bloodlust, the Item that Dylan will drop after getting defeated, as long as you upgrade and enchant it properly you could use it efficiently up until the 12th Floor.
It was indeed far too valuable of a Unique Item.
'I knew it, this guy…'
"I see, that's—"
Before Alex could finish his sentence, dozens of thin threads materialized in his vision.
No, a dozen wasn't nearly enough of a description.
From three different points, each a decently far distance away, thousands, almost as if the threads were a large piece of white cloth rather than a collection of threads, connected to Alex's entire body leaving no spot unmarked.