Chapter 49

  The woman with purple hair tied in a ponytail guided Drakkel down the long corridors of the building.

  No matter where they stepped, there were only candles lighting the way.

  Drakkel began to wonder where they could have been that only candles were available to light their path. Or if it might have been night time and his sense of time had been thrown off.

  Re’ila followed closely behind him as the woman whistled.

  A demon much like the one that was hanging around the masked figure, exited one of the doors. He gave Drakkel a quick nod before taking his place directly behind him and Re’ila.

  The woman who guided them made several turns and went down a flight of steps until they reached a large set of double doors.

  She waved her palm and the doors opened.

  With the opening of the doors, Drakkel's eyes widened. He finally understood where they were.

  It was an underground city.

  Demons walked about freely, talking and laughing. A group of demon children ran after a small glowing floating object.

  Businesses were set up, selling clothing, food and other essentials. One demon handed another several meteoric stones in return for an item at a stall.

  Houses were scattered all around, being made of stone and decorated with glowing flowers that shined brightly enough to light up the whole place.

  Looking back, Drakkel realized the building they were in was as large as a Palace and designed just like the rest of the structures.

  The woman whistled again and a path cleared.

  Several demons rushed out of some of the houses and stood behind them.

  Once the demons were lined up, the woman stated, “His Highness has commanded we take him to the Sacred Sword Swords Clan! I have summoned you, our best guards, for his protection! Stay close and act natural, I will cover us all with my illusion magic!”

  She shot a hand to the side and Drakkel saw a reflective sort of light cover the crowd before disappearing.

  “This will keep us from being noticed by humans! Now, let’s go!”

  “Yes, Lord Illa!” The crowd of demons shouted.

  The group walked through the small underground city until they reached an open area with several cave openings.

  Without hesitation, Illa led them down her chosen path.

  As she walked, she explained to Drakkel, “Your Highness, our city is an underground site surrounded by caves that lead all around the Empire.

  The caves are like a labyrinth. It is too easy to get lost and because of this, too difficult to find our location. Only the inhabitants of the city know their way around the underground labyrinth, so you needn’t worry about your safety while here.”

  Drakkel nodded.

  Once they had walked what Drakkel assumed to be a fair distance away from the city, Illa stated, “Mi’kel, can you use your smokescreen to aid in our speed? At this rate, we’ll be walking for a few days before we reach our destination.”

  The man who was standing directly behind Drakkel and Re’ila and looked like the demon who kidnapped Firo Fieren bowed, “Of course, Lord Illa.”

  The man placed his hand up and the group suddenly became surrounded by a black gas.

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  They continued walking as normal, but in only two hours, Illa said, “We’re here. Ready yourselves everyone!”

  They walked up a steep path until they saw an exit with light filtering through.

  When they walked outside, they had to step out from a place hidden behind a waterfall.

  Drakkel had passed this place several times before. It was between Prancing Hills and Immortal Peak, surrounded by a small forest.

  The smoke cleared and the group walked out from behind the waterfall. Without a word, they followed Illa’s lead until they reached Immortal Peak.

  As they traversed through the streets, Drakkel couldn’t block his ears from the gossip.

  Many spoke unabashedly as they walked past.

  “What a large group. I wonder if they're here to clean up the Sacred Sword Manor?”

  “I still can’t believe it, a demon! From our very own Swords Clan!”

  “I don’t know, they’ve helped so many people. I don’t think they deserved what happened. I heard the place burned for two days and one night! Even if they were evil, at least execute them in a more respectful manner!

  “Respectful? Look, My cousin is a disciple of the Golden Peak Swords Clan. That clan was front and center in the battle against Demon King Fael. Now, a disciple of the Sacred Sword Swords Clan was found guilty of causing the demon incidents in Shadowy Ridges, Lunala Isle, and Heaven’s Path. They say he was also responsible for the kidnapping of the second son of the Sword Smith Villa Clan Leader. To this day, they still haven’t found him! With all this considered, who knows what else he’s done? He even dared to bewitch the head disciple of Golden Peak to join along in his evil affairs!

  Even though this happened, his clan wouldn't admit what he had done! I even heard there was evidence of them working with him found in the manor.

  A Swords Clan Leader was there to witness it! But the specifics were blocked by the Golden Peak Swords Clan! Can you believe they are still trying to be kind to such an evil Swords Clan?

  Some may say that what happened to them wasn’t justified, but if you ask me, I say they got exactly what they deserved! An evil-doer will eventually end up being punished!!”

  Drakkel wanted to confront them and tell them they were wrong, but he could only bite his tongue. He didn't want to blow their cover.

  “Your Highness.” Illa quietly said, “Do you want me to take care of them for you?”

  Drakkel shook his head, “Let them be.”

  Illa nodded.

  There was a mix of negative and positive comments, with the majority being negative, as they made their way through the streets of Immortal Peak. When they finally arrived at the Sacred Sword Manor, It was like a ghost town.

  The booths and stalls that sat across from the place were cleared out. The once prosperous location was completely abandoned. The building which stood behind the short wooden gates was no more.

  Drakkel pushed past the demons and rushed to the gates.

  Somehow, they had survived the fire.

  Clenching his fists, he put up his leg and kicked them down.

  The sound of splintering wood reverberated through the air as the doors fell over.

  Upon catching sight what lied behind them, Drakkel's eyes widened.

  The state of the manor was far worse than he had imagined.

  Pieces of blackened wood laid in piles all around, along with ash and dust. The smell of burnt flesh and wood still lingered in the air even though there were no bodies. Drakkel's throat burned and his eyes watered, but he still hurried forward and started desperately digging through the piles.

  But as he dug and dug, he realized something- there was nothing left.

  The place only contained broken woods and debris- even the swords were gone.

  The gardens were destroyed and the area was devastated, the calm and happy atmosphere replaced with despair.

  Despite this, Drakkel didn't stop looking. He had to see if there were any signs of survivors.

  He continued to frantically dig through the piles of rubble.

  Seeing him struggle, Illa yelled, “Help him! Don't just stand around!”

  The demons who were standing by the side rushed to help him, taking up their own positions in digging through the piles for any sign of life.

  Because his Swords Clan wasn’t always prosperous, the only disciples with specialized blades were Mi-Mian, Leyon, Kirora, Kio, Aurien, Drakkel and their Master Fowl. All other disciples joined when they didn’t have many funds and so received ordinary meteoric iron swords with the sword’s name etched in next to their own on the blade.

  There was a day that Drakkel brought back a rare type of white jade after helping a noble family that was temporarily staying in Waning Crescent.

  Drakkel was not interested in gems, jewels or precious stones. However, Kio, Mi-Mian and Leyon liked it.

  The three fought to curry favor with him so he might offer it to them. In the end, he took it to a local jeweler and had it split into four pieces. He made the pieces into charms one could hang on their sword and gave one each to his direct disciples.

  When he finished sorting through most of the rubble and pulled out the small jade pieces.

  His lips quivered.

  The tears that he had been holding back finally fell from his eyes, his hands almost bleeding as he gripped the jade pieces tightly in his hands.

  They were gone. They were really gone.