The moon shone brightly in the night sky
Some black clouds slowly faded away, leaving the forest beneath a clear moonlight
The ground was still wet after the rain
Deep inside the forest, a man walked through an underground cave
He fists were clenched, his face was furious
Tch… that brat
Why the hell he was here?
Why the hell he was the one who interrupt my business?
He continued deeper into the cave until he reached his private room
Several bandits were already waiting inside
"Boss, how did it go?" one of them asked
"It's fine, forget it" he tried to calm himself "Let's just attack another village next time"
"But boss, why did we have to release some of our slaves?"
"There was nothing we could do"
The boss sat down
"You wouldn't want anything to do with that person"
"Not even the slightest"
"B-but boss" one of the bandits hesitated "who exactly is he?"
The boss looked at them
"He is the lost prince, the son of the current King of Kouzlo"
The entire room fell silent
"W-what?!"
"B-but, aren't the rumors said he was dead?"
"Yes" the boss sighed "but I think the rumor was wrong"
"Then why don't we just kill him instead of agreeing to his deal?"
"That's the problem" the boss's expression darkened "we cannot kill him"
"Not at any cost"
"Why?"
The boss took reached into his pocket and pulled out the moon-shaped pendant
"This pendant…" he held it up for everyone to see
"It is given to members of the Kronhart royal family"
"To make one, they use a small amount of the owner's blood"
"That creates a magical bond between the owner and the pendant"
"If the owner of this pendant die…" the boss paused
"It will shine really brightly and only the members of the royal family will be able to see that light"
"Even if they're in the other end of the world"
The bandits slowly understood
"So, if we kill him here…"
"They'll know exactly where he died"
The boss nodded
"They'll come here"
"And once they find this place, we're finished"
"B-but, isn't there another way to stop him?"
"So, we don't have to release the slaves"
The boss scratched his head
"Arghh… I couldn't think of anything"
"There is nothing I can do"
He clenched his teeth
"I had to suppress my fear the moment I realized he was the lost prince"
"Suppress your fear?"
One of the bandits looked confused
"Why?"
The boss stared at him
"You've necer heard of the Kronhart bloodline?"
"Their ability to control people who fear them?"
"Mind control?"
"That's right"
The room became silent again
"Their power allows them to control someone with a simple command"
"As long as the target fears them"
"That's why the King can rule so easily"
"The guards and his subordinates fear him"
"And he uses that fear to control them"
"Does that mean he can force us to do anything?"
"Yes" the boss's expression became grim
"Even if he ordered you to kill yourself…"
"You would obey"
The bandits looked at one another in shock
"Argh… let's stop talking about this, my head really hurt just from thinking about it"
Then-
Knock… Knock
Someone knocked on the door
"What is it? Come in?" the boss yelled
The door opened and one of the bandits stepped inside
"I'm sorry boss, but someone wants to meet you?"
"What? Did he want more?"
"N-no boss, it's someone different"
"He said he wanted to talk with you"
"Different person?" the boss frowned "Is it a customer?"
"I don't remember that we have appointment tonight"
"Where is he?"
"He was at the entrance of the cave boss"
"Show me"
The bandit then led the way
When the boss reached the entrance, he saw a silhouette standing beneath the torchlight
A tall man, wore a finely tailored black vest that looked far too elegant for a place like this
Definitely the clothing of a high-ranking noble
His face was hidden behind a plain black mask
He stood still and proudly with his hands resting behind his back, while two bandits stood beside him
A member of Royal family?
No…
A butler?
But from which family? I don't remember they order another one?
"Boss, this is the person who wants to meet you?" the bandit introduced
"Good night, sir" he gave a slight bow "I'm Castel, I'm the boss here"
"What can I do for you?"
The butler didn't answer, he remained silent
The boss waited…
Nothing…
"I don't want to waste time" the butler finally spoke "let's get straight to the point"
"I want you to end your business right now"
"What?!" all the bandits around him were shocked
"Hey old man, what the hell did you just said?" one of the bandits snapped and grabbed the butler by the clothes
"How rude" the butler's voice remained completely calm
Then he gently pulled the front of his vest a little bit and slipped his right hand beneath the fabric
Stab!
Blood splashed across the wall
A table knife had appeared in his hand
The blade was buried in the bandit's neck
He dropped dead instantly
The other bandits froze
"What the-?!"
Then one of the bandits pulled out his dagger and thrust it toward the butler
But the butler quickly deflected it with his other hands and immediately counterattacked
Slash!
A deep cut just from a table knife on the bandit's chest
The body dropped on the ground
Then another bandit came from behind
The butler turned just enough to avoid the dagger
Stab!
"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" the bandit screamed in agony
The knife pierced directly through the bandit's eye
The butler pulled his knife free and then drove the blade upward beneath the man's chin
Blood sprayed everywhere, on the ground, wall, and some of the blood sprayed on his clothes
"Hmm…" the butler looked around and couldn't found the boss "ran away…"
He touched his mask
Suddenly the blood on his body began to move
It crawled across the fabric and slowly gathered around his mask
Red lines appeared across the plain black surface
Moment's later, every trace of blood had vanished from his clothes
Then he pulled his vest a little bit and then put his knife back inside
He proceeded to walked deeper into the cave
He kept walking into nothingness, no bandit, no sign of life
Thwip!
Suddenly an arrow came right at him through the darkness
He tilted his body effortlessly and the arrow passed beside his face
A large man suddenly rushed out from the darkness, his fist aimed directly at the butler
The butler pulled his vest again with his left hand and his right hand disappeared beneath the fabric
When it emerged, a massive golden shield was already strapped to his right arm
CLANG!
The shield completely absorbed the punch
The butler didn't even move
Right on his hand, a golden shield with a silver sun carved into the center of the shield
"What?! Where the hell you got a shield?" the bandit said
Then the butler pushed the bandit away and then pulled his vest with his right hand
His left hand disappeared beneath the fabric
Something long emerged
A golden rod
It kept coming, and coming
Until finally… a golden spear came completely free
"Tch, what the hell?" the big man said
Multiple arrows came from behind the big man and shot at the butler
He raised his shield and blocked all the arrows
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every arrow bounced off
Then the big man charged again
"Enhance Strength!"
He smashed with full force
BAM!
The butler didn't budge, he simply raised his shield and blocked the attack without any problem
Then he shifted his shield aside and thrusted his spear multiple times at the bandit
Stab! Stab! Stab!
The big man was fully injured and his body collapsed
Then another bandit came at high speed
The bandit swung his dagger at him
The butler immediately moved and tried to blocked the attack
But the bandit suddenly pulled his dagger back and attack from another direction
Couldn't anticipate that, the butler dodged it by jumped to the side
He immediately pulled the shield and spear away
His left hand slipped beneath his vest
Both weapons disappeared from sight
But the bandit didn't give him a chance and rushed at him
Clang!
"What?" the bandit shocked
His dagger was blocked by the butler with a golden dagger on his hand
The butler pushed the bandit away
And rushed at him with his own dagger
Clang!
The bandit deflected the attack and immediately countered
He thrust his dagger toward the butler
The butler stepped forward, letting the blade pass beside him
Then he thrust his own dagger
Stab!
He stabbed the bandit on the chest and continued to cut it upward
The second body collapsed
The butler stood still for a while
Then his hand moved
Stab!
He stabbed an invisible bandit on his back without turning his body
The third bandit fell, carrying a dagger and bow on his back
He touched his mask one more time
The blood on his body moved again toward his mask
After removed all the blood stains from his body the butler put back his dagger inside his vest
He continued tracing the cave
The cave continued to be filled with screaming from the bandits
One body after another fell
And with every kill, more red lines appeared across the butler's mask
They weren't random
They were forming a pattern
A face
A demonic face
The butler kept walking until he found a door, the boss's room
Creak!
He slowly opened the door, but no one was inside
He carefully searched the room for keys, until he found it
But before he could touch the key, he dodged to the side
Slash!
The boss bandit swung his dagger at the butler from behind
Then the boss continued to rushed at him
The butler pulled a golden dagger from his vest, and swung it
Not at the bandit in front of him, but to his side
The bandit in the front continued to rushed and his body collided at the butler, slowly faded into fog
The real boss was rushed a him from the side
"Tch…"
The real boss rushed in from the side
The boss tried to dodged it in the last second by jump backward
A gap between them created, and they both quickly put out their stance
What the hell?
How does he know my technique?
And what with that mask?
Doesn't it should be plain black?
He observed the demon face pattern on the mask
Wait… Where have I seen that face before?
The butler suddenly dashed forward
He attacked first
Clang!
The bandit raised his dagger to deflected the strike
The bandit quickly jumped aside to keep the gap between them
But the butler kept going forward and swung his dagger at him
Slash!
First hit on the bandit's hand
The bandit could twist his body in last second to reduce the damage
He jumped really far back to create a distance while clutching his injured hand
The butler slipped his dagger beneath his vest
Then he quickly threw a paper fan at the bandit from inside of his vest
The paper fan had sharp edges and multiple purple flowers drawing on it
The bandit completely dodged it, but-
Whip!
He got hit on his other hand
The butler was holding a whip
Multiple sharp blades were attached along its length
He kept whipping the bandit who kept his distance with him
The bandit tried to dodged each attack, but some of the attacks hit him, then-
Slash!
The paper fan flied back toward the butler from his back, slightly cut his hand before returning to him
The boss stared
Tch… what the hell with this guy?
How come he got all of this weapon inside his vest?
Suddenly his vision turned blurry
W-wait, what?
Why… my vision?
His head began to spin
Why can't I see properly?
He looked at the butler put his fan and whip back into his vest
His vision grew worse
His breathing became heavier
D-don't tell me…
Poison
He looked at the wound on his hand, created by the fan
Tch… why?!
What is wrong today?
There is a random kid that almost got me into trouble
And now this?
A man with an absurd number of weapons is trying to kill me
Then he fell into realization
Absurd amount of weapon…
Black mask with demonic face…
It can't be…
While the boss struggled to remain standing, the butler reached beneath his vest again
A long black handle emerged
And kept coming, longer, and longer
Until finally
BAM!
The entire weapon emerged
The butler held an enormous great axe
He rested its head against the ground
A pitch-black great axe, sharp blades, and a black crystal holding the blades
The butler wanted to picked up the axe until the bandit stopped him
"Wait!"
The boss raised his hand
The butler stopped
He exposed the tattoo on his right arm, just below the elbow
A snake tattoo, looked like an ouroboros, a serpent consuming its own tail
But the tattoo was not completed, the ouroboros didn't eat its own tail
There only the head of the snake and three segments of the snake bodies
"Wait, I remember who you are"
The boss struggled to remain standing
"You are rank nine of the black mamba, the red death, right?"
"Look I'm also part of the black mamba"
"So please, spare me"
"You know right? As part of member cannot kill another member, right?"
His vision continued deteriorating
He desperately tried to keep himself standing while convincing the butler
The butler stopped moving and became silent
"Wow, it's been a long time since I heard that title"
"But you're right, as member of black mamba we cannot kill other member"
The boss's expression brightened slightly
"But there is one thing that you're wrong"
The butler tugged his right hand sleeve a little bit
There was a big scar, seems like the skin being pulled out
"I'm no longer serve of them"
"What?!"
Then he picked up the great axe effortlessly and swung
Slash!
He cut the bandit right on his neck, killing him immediately
He immediately removed the blood stain on his body
He picked up the keys and walked toward the slave cells
One by one, he unlocked them
A lot of them were terrified of his demonic face mask, but he gently asked them to gather up before leave
"You can go back to your own home"
"But if your village had been gone"
"There is a small village at the east of this city"
"They are welcoming people, they will accept you"
Then one of the slaves asked
"I-I'm sorry, S-sir…"
"B-but who are you?"
The butler looked at her
"Don't mind me, please take care of yourself first"
After saying that all the salve immediately ran away from the cave
But the butler didn't leave
He walked toward the boss private room and came in
Inside, several expensive pieces of equipment were scattered around
A magic staff
A set of expensive armor
Several other valuable items
The butler reached beneath his vest
One after another, the items disappeared into the space beneath the fabric then walk to the door
He stopped in front of it
For a moment, he simply stared at the wooden door
He stared at the wooden door, then reached the doorknob
He slowly twisted it and opened the door, then came inside
But it was not the cave
The other side led somewhere completely different
A vast room filled with weapons
Swords, daggers, shields, bows, spears, axes, and countless other weapons
None of them looked ordinary
Some were made of gold
Others had strange shapes and materials that he had never seen before
Treasure chests were scattered throughout the room
Gold coins and jewelry spilled onto the floor
The butler calmly stepped inside
Then he carefully closed the door behind him
The wooden door became something else
Its surface turned golden
He reached for the doorknob again
He opened it without making a sound
But again, it was not the boss private room, it was a completely different room
There was a man sitting quietly staring outside the window while one man sleeping soundly on the bed
The butler closed the door slowly
"So, how is it?" the man turned around and asked
The butler slowly opened his mask and revealed his face
"All clear"