The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

For a few minutes, the room was silent as Demon observed Charlotte's icy gaze, which contained a deep hatred and a hint of unwillingness, the kind that reminded him of everyone who had died by his merciless hands. It seemed she had a story to tell; burdens slowly drowned her like a thick, endless swamp, and she thought of him as the ticket out. While uninterested in her personal affairs, he considered the wealth of information from what ailed the owner of the most prominent auction in the city. There could be a potential advantage to be had here.

"Continue," Demon said indifferently.

"My great-grandniece is young and still maturing. However, she is entangled with the young scion of our rivals, the Reed Cartel. They run various trading routes, and their auction has gained fame and popularity in recent years, threatening our position as the best." Charlotte's gaze grew colder, the windows closed, yet a chilly gale wailed in the room. Her speech became more rushed. "I am not opposed to my relative finding a lover, but it can't be that miscreant. No matter what I tried to tell her, she's completely entrapped by the bastard."

"Get to the point. You're testing my patience." He was tired of listening to her rants.

"This is a trap by them. They want to draw my great-grandniece over to their side and slowly poison their way into my family! The Reed Cartel has two Lower Marshal Exalts. One is their current leader, and the other is an old ancestor in seclusion. Please kill at least one of them, and I will grant you the 95:5 split." Charlotte pleaded, parts of her curly black hair disheveled from her outburst. She showed him two pictures of the Marshal Exalts and explained where they lived.

"Rejected." Demon stated, flatly refusing to get involved. He retrieved a grade-four supreme healing elixir, one he found in Draven's greater space pocket, and slammed it on the table. Charlotte widened her eyes, staring at the vial, her previous grimace at his rejection nowhere to be seen. The fiery gaze gave credence to how poor the entire Lunate Continent was. Rarely any grade-four plants or ores existed in this land, forcing the many factions to bid strongly for any that entered their borders or pay copious amounts to travel and procure them.

"85:15 split. Nothing less. I'll see you after the seasonal auction to get my cut." Demon stood and walked toward the exit, not wanting to give her a chance to try negotiating against him.

"Please wait!" Charlotte bowed to her knees and held out a badge with the white feather spiral, the symbol of Cassidy. "You may have rejected my request, but that doesn't mean our relationship should be cut off. Please accept this honorary badge."

'Hmm. Interesting. This lady placed a tracking spell on it. It's intertwined deeply into the badge. It can dupe many others, but not my eyes. How refreshing! Her fire is an insatiable beast.' Ignyres chortled from within.

'Is that so?' Demon turned and neared Charlotte, her body trembling as his feet drew closer, each step reverberating to her shoulders. Should he kill her now? Since the woman dared to plant a tracking spell on him, she had already set herself as an enemy to eliminate. Killing her would take a short moment, but he stopped himself from lifting a finger in hostility. An inspiration sprouted in his mind, flashing across his dark pupils. He raised his hand not to kill her as he accepted the badge, her pale, sweat-ridden face relaxing after the badge left her palm.

"May we have a promising future as partners." Charlotte smiled charmingly and bowed deeply.

Demon ignored her and exited the Cassidy Auction, searching his surroundings to ensure no one was following him. Even if there was a tracker on him, he couldn't rule out other means of tracking him. This woman seemed to have a deeper plan in mind. An orange haze blurred the once radiant blue sky as the two suns slowly dipped into the horizon. Oscar would have enjoyed any of the sights. Halting his steps, he wondered why his thoughts went to Oscar often.

'At least I know you're not the cold bastard I thought you were.' Erden whispered from underneath his cloak.

'Shut up. I do sometimes wonder what I am, but now is neither the time nor place to figure that out.' Demon wandered the maze-like streets, turning five corners while tracking Marcus. It led him into an unsavory part of the city, where the streets carried the stench of sewage, the roads were not well paved, and groups of people were resting on the walls in rags, the slums. It took him a few minutes, but he arrived at Marcus's location.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Multiple craters caved in the already crooked streets, a mess of rubble and blood resting on the floor. Many corpses sprawled over the alleyway, around fifty total, all having a gap in their chests caused by a single blow. Stomping on the corpses, Demon acted as if they never existed, his feet squishing the bones and flesh into the rock. He slipped through the slanted door that fell sideways and trampled over more corpses until he found Marcus in the room at the other end.

"Are you done, Marcus?" Demon sighed and sat on a chair that creaked loudly, catching Marcus's attention.

"My Lord!" Marcus had been choking two people. He quickly snapped their necks and threw their bodies aside before rushing toward him and bowing in subservience. Despite the carnage outside and inside, there was not a drop of blood on his white suit. Marcus untied his blonde hair and dipped his head lower. "I have subjugated every criminal organization in the city, killing off the members with strong ties to other factions. All in all, there are around ten groups now."

"Have them continue their activities and give their earnings to us. 100,000 gold per month seems reasonable for their ilk." Demon calculated the earnings. A year from this city would net him 12,000,000 gold, good enough for one more grade-four elixir. He took out the Cassidy badge and tossed it like a coin on his thumb, pondering her motives. Pointing at one of the bodies, he said, "Preserve that one. I have a use for his corpse."

"Are we not leaving immediately?" Marcus asked, spraying a solution on the corpse, which was at the peak of Knight Exalt.

"Worried about your lover?" Demon had noticed Marcus and Eve sharing the same looks Oscar and Avril would give each other, the tiresome glances of tender love. He said nothing because Oscar had become far more powerful when it related to Avril, a strength that could be used properly under his guidance. "I said before when I took you all in. If anyone wishes to stop and live a different life, they are welcome to leave."

"I would not dare to dishonor the oath I made before you. Though you rejected the cup, I still partook in a lone vow as did she." Marcus went back to kneeling. "If we are not leaving, what are you planning, my Lord?"

"A better profit. We'll stay here for the night. Once dawn breaks, I suspect a few idiots will make their move." Demon rested in a corner and closed his eyes in meditation, Erden silently eating cores under his cloak to feed Ein directly to his core. A Marshal Exalt needed a steady supply of the Ein related to their element. Still, beasts required no such restriction, simply devouring others' cores and resting in the natural world, which was enough to fuel their progress. Luckily, his Blood Transmutation with Erden made up for the lack of suitable metal Ein. 'Once I've taken control of this continent, I should be able to purchase enough elemental elixirs to create a font of metal Ein.'

Marcus remained watch over the entrance, acting as the gatekeeper to prevent anyone from disturbing him. The night was quiet, and Demon approached Oscar once again, flanked by Ignyres and Erden. He patted his host's shoulder and shook softly, failing to rouse the man, those blank eyes still lifeless with no hope flickering. Night after night, they tried but failed.

"Shouldn't we try contacting Avril? She might be the only one who can help." Erden suggested, nudging Oscar's soul with his nose.

"And if she dies before his eyes? Right now, she's safe. She's waiting in Convecia City for him, but if she dies, then what's the point? Bring him back only to drop him in the furthest pit? Once we complete our revenge, and when no one else will target him and her, we can return to her. Until then, I will not allow it." Demon knew Avril was the only one, but another severe loss might bring Oscar to death, and he could not permit that. His goal had always been to survive. If Oscar died, then they all would perish.

"His flames are dead. Not even an ember of will remain." Ignyres lamented in low wails, scattering flames everywhere. Fire poured from his hands and enveloped Oscar, but he shook his fiery head. "You would have him remain in this destitute state?"

"Until our enemies are no more." Demon ended the conversation and resumed training.

The next morning, Demon surged his Eirin, forming an outline of a human figure. In a forceful grasp, he condensed the Eirin in the Line and created a human, starting from the bones to the veins and muscles to the skin and the armor and clothes. It was an exact replica of himself, brought to existence by the Duality. Wary of the tracking spell on the badge, he placed it in a space pocket with some idle treasures he didn't care for and placed it in the clone's body. Erden took control of the clone and set out for the southern gate.

"Marcus, some will surely know about your arrival to this city. Are you prepared?" Demon changed into regular clothes, a brown tunic, and loose pants, wearing a mask over his face.

"I am. I will not disappoint you." Marcus answered.

They set out for the northern gate, Marcus exiting first and Demon waiting idly for thirty minutes before following after him. A few minutes later, he stopped by a tree and found Marcus staring down three Lower Marshal Exalts. On Erden's side, Demon saw two Lower Marshal Exalts, the ones depicted in Charlotte's picture, facing his Duality clone. Keeping himself hidden from Marcus's enemy, he switched with Erden, controlling the Duality clone.

"Why is the Reed Cartel looking for me? I'm curious." Demon stated and clenched his fists, raising them into a stance. "Who is looking to die first?"

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