The inquisitors was another story for the moment it was Darius Venmorm my priority.
A tyrant disguised as a lord.
A king who reigned on the city of pleasures with an iron fist and a carnivorous smile.
Eliminating it would be disconcerting simplicity.
But a man like him shouldn't just die. He had to be destroyed.
The power problem
With my current abilities, Darius Venmorm was nothing.
I could have crossed his defenses,
Kill his men, and tear off his head with my own hands.
But it was not enough.
Large tyrants do not fall with a simple blade. They fall with the collapse of everything they have built.
If I really wanted to break Darius, I had to attack higher.
Its network.
His contacts.
Its allies hidden in the shadows.
And for that, I needed power.
The men I miss
An individual alone, as powerful as it is, remains vulnerable.
The inquisitors were soon to track down my shadow.
The Mercenaries of Darius watched each corner of the city.
And if I noticed myself too much, the lords of the underworld themselves would come into play.
I needed men, monsters capable of standing up to the real predators of this world.
Fighters capable of standing by my side without fail.
Reinhardt and Selene were powerful ... But it was not enough.
I had to recruit warriors capable of tearing the corrupt canvas of this city.
Darius Venmorm: a man who does not make mistakes
It would be a serious mistake to underestimate Darius.
The man directed one of the greatest clandestine networks in Drakmor, and he had done it without ever being captured.
An idiot does not survive long in a world where each ally is a potential traitor.
He was calculating,
He was feared,
And above all ... he knew how to use others.
If I attacked head-on, he would be content to disappear, to hide in the depths of the city, to reappear with another face and another name.
No.
If I really wanted to end him ...
I had to get him to self -destruct.
Let a snake believe that he is safe, until he hangs himself with his own venom.
The real game was starting now.
Reinhardt and Selene.
Two formidable fighters, capable of destroying whole squads of mercenaries.
Two people who should not be my allies.
But now they insisted to follow me.
A dead weight or a resource?
"We help you, Arhon. Whether you want it or not," Reinhardt launched in a categorical tone.
"It's too dangerous for you," I replied coldly.
Selene crossed her arms, her jaw tight.
"And you think it was less dangerous when we massacred the mercenaries of Darius? We're still standing, right?"
She scored a point.
They weren't weak. Far from it.
Reinhardt had a mastery of the sword that competed with mine, and his paralysis capacities could neutralize enemies much more powerful than him.
As for Selene ...
Its resurrection power, although limited, made it precious in the long term.
And his divine blessings could tip a fight in my favor.
They had proven their usefulness, it was undeniable.
But…
The disadvantage of having allies
I had always worked alone.
Having companions meant taking unnecessary risks.
If Darius discovered our association,
If they realized how useful they were,
So he would attack them before he even took care of me.
Alliances are channels. And the chains always end up becoming weaknesses.
"If you stay with me, you become targets," I warn them in a serious tone.
"And you, you think you're not one?" replied Reinhardt with a grin.
Selene nodded.
"We are already in danger, Arhon. And flee will not save us."
I sighed.
They were stubborn. Too stubborn for me to dissuade them.
An alliance accepted ... with reservations
Very well, I finally let go.
Reinhardt sketched a victorious smile.
"But I fix the rules," I added immediately.
"We listen to you," said Selene, raising an eyebrow.
I raised a finger.
"First: you obey my orders on the ground. If I tell you to retreat, you leave."
Second finger.
"Second: prohibition to throw yourself into an unnecessarily fight. I don't want to have to save you."
Third finger.
"Third: if one of you becomes a handicap, I will not hesitate to abandon you."
Reinhardt sneered.
"It is not likely to happen."
Selene smiled slightly.
"I thought you were going to ask us to make an oath of blood or something like."
I shook my head.
Oaths are worth nothing in the face of the reality of the fight.
"Now that we're together ..." I started, eyes folded."
"We drop Darius Venmorm," finished Reinhardt by drawing his sword.
Selene nodded silently.
A new chapter of this war had just started.
The night had come across the abandoned bastion.
Reinhardt had already sprained on a chair, his arms crossed, a tired grin on the face.
Selene, on the other hand, told a story to the children gathered around her, her soft voice slowly rocking them.
Sitting away, I watched the scene in silence.
A peaceful table. Almost unreal.
When most of the children were asleep, Selene discreetly moved away from the group.
I followed it without a word, leaving the refuge for a night ride through the woods.
Under the light of the moon, his gaze was lost in the dark.
"Reinhardt was my bodyguard," she suddenly confided.
I haired an eyebrow.
"Your bodyguard?"
She nodded.
"Before becoming a fallen knight, he was one of the most eminent holy knights of Solaria. His mission was to watch over me."
"Why was a holy knight to protect a thief like you?" I launched with a smirk.
She gave me a black look before looking away.
"Because I'm not a simple thief ... I am the daughter of the goddess Solaria."
A silence fell.
I stared at her for a moment, looking for a trace of joke in her words.
There was none.
The daughter of the goddess Solaria?!
"Solaria had three children, she continued in a calm voice. Two gods ... and me."
"The goddess of the Moon…" I whispered.
She nodded.
"And that's precisely why Darius wants my head."
A dry laugh escaped me.
"Of course ... a cartel chief who tries to capture half a goose."
Selene sighed.
"He doesn't need me alive. Just of my powers."
She turned to me, her brilliant look of an indecipherable glow.
"Arhon ... Do you understand what it means?"
I approached slowly.
"What I especially understand is that you become even more precious to me."
She smiles slightly.
A smile that was not innocent.
The atmosphere changed imperceptibly.
The air seemed heavier.
Its perfume floated in the atmosphere, an intoxicating mixture of mystery and danger.
A raw, animal desire, awakened in me.
I wanted her.
My hand touched his, then slid slowly on his arm.
Selene shivered, but did not take it away immediately.
"Arhon ..." she whispered, a slight hesitation in her voice.
I approached more, my breath grazing his skin.
"Don't make this head ... We both know where it will lead."
She bit her lip, hesitant.
Her gaze shouted only one thing: envy and ban mingled in her.
"Not here ..." she whispered.
But I was not the type to give up easily.
My hand was slowly descending on her hips, and she won.
"Arhon," she insisted, half-withdrawn, half-ide.
I knew she resisted ... but not for long.
And indeed -Her lips ended up looking for mine.
Control escaped him.
The night then became much longer than expected.