Draylen and Argo sat in the dark alleyway chatting idly whilst waiting for the Fallen to wake up. They had tied him up and stopped his leg bleeding with earth mana, to prevent him dying from blood loss.

Although they could have easily killed him, Argo seemed to want to interrogate him and find out two things; what the spell circle he was drawing was going to be used for and also where the Fallen's base was.

The spell circle which the Fallen was drawing was incomplete, only half of it had been done properly. It was very complex, looking unlike the spell circles drawn by magicians, summoners or even Dragon Summoners.

The man who was currently leaning against the wall and wrapped in tight rope awoke suddenly, exclaiming in fright. Upon feeling a lack of pain in his leg, he looked down only to find his wound completely healed.

The Fallen would have thought he was dreaming if it weren't for the fact that there were bloodstains on the lower part of his robe, proving that the previous events had all happened. He then caught sight of Argo and Draylen sitting with their backs to the wall.

"Finally, he's up." Argo muttered, walking slowly toward the Fallen.

"W-who are you?" The man stuttered his legs wobbling.

Argo grinned widely.

"Your enemy."

"You're only a child." The man replied, about to laugh.

However, he quickly shut up upon realising that this child was the one who shot him through the leg with impeccable accuracy. Calming his mind, the man straightened his back.

"Well then, why have you tied me up?"

"Hah!" Argo laughed. "To interrogate you of course."

The boy then summoned his familiar armament and aimed an arrow at the man's now healed leg.

"Answer my questions, otherwise I'll shoot open your kneecap." He barked, albeit somewhat quietly.

It was still night , their previous battle had only been a few hours ago. Argo wanted to avoid alerting any civilians nearby, lest they summon the imperial guards. The Fallen eyed the dazzling bow which was pointed at him before deflating slightly.

"Fine, as long as you untie me first."

Argo adjusted his conical hat, before using the arrow in his hand to cut the ropes in a single chop. The Fallen rubbed his wrists, looking at the marks on his body before turning to look at the boy who happened to be the same height as himself.

"What do you want to ask?"

"Hmmmnn... First thing's first. What's that spell circle you've been drawing?" Argo asked, pointing to the floor.

A look of hesitation flashed across the Fallen's face but was somewhat covered by his low hood.

"I'm just a lowlife, my only mission was to draw it here and get away to the extraction point as quickly as possible, the higher ups didn't tell me what it's used for."

Draylen felt a bit doubtful, but just shook his head.

'Argo is really composed, even after telling me about his past. He's really good at controlling his emotions, or maybe he's just interrogated lots of people before.'

"Alright, how about this then. Where's this extraction point you're talking about."

Draylen saw the Fallen frown, as if regretting a stupid mistake.

"Near the edge of the city, at the Altross noble's district."

Argo nodded with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Last question. Where is the Fallen's base?"

As soon as the words left Argo's mouth, the man's face turned into one of extreme frustration. However, it quickly turned into that of a relaxed one.

"You're right, that is the last question." He grinned.

"Or more precisely, that's your last question!" The man shouted, face contorting.

-Whirrrrrr

A humming sound began to be emitted from the Fallen's body and his eyes turned red. Blood began dripping out of them, giving him a ghastly appearance. Sensing that something was off, Draylen shouted.

"Argo, get back!"

He then invoked his Shadow Veil, engulfing his brother within it as well. The drastic change had happened too fast and Argo still hadn't realised that something was up. Although he had been plunged into a strange darkness, he saw the fog coming from Draylen and thus assumed that it wouldn't hurt him.

"Hahahahahahaa!"

Although there was blood pouring out of each orifice, the man was laughing manically. The remnants of his robe were blown away by the wind which had suddenly picked up, revealing a body that was scarred beyond belief.

Each of the large ragged scars had turned red and glowed with an ethereal light. matching the colour of the Fallen's red eyes.

"DIE!" He roared, raising up both of his arms and pointing them to the black sky.

-Boom!

The humming noise abruptly stopped, before there was a sound reminiscent to that of a bear's roar but amplified many times. The Fallen's body swelled suddenly, inflating to unnatural proportions before exploding. Blood shot everywhere, along with specks of pink flesh.

The previous dusty alleyway was now drenched in the viscous foul smelling liquid. Luckily, Draylen's Shadow Veil protected both him and Argo from the initial explosion along with it's aftermath.

As soon as the man's body had swollen up, Draylen had attempted to cover his eyes but a morbid curiosity prevented him from doing so. The grotesque scene was now etched into his memory and the boy threw up for the second time after arriving in the empire's capital.

The loud noise of the explosion woke many people up and also alerted the city guards. Draylen heard the sound of heavy iron boots stamping against the paved streets.

"Not good! The guards are coming!" Argo shouted, grabbing Draylen's arm.

"What? Why?"

"I'll tell you later, let's get out of here!"

The Shadow Veil instantly dissipated with a poof and the two felt the soft ground beneath them turn to a mushy one. Ignoring the disgusting sensation below, they ran as fast as possible in the direction away from the alleyway's entrance.

Argo summoned his familiar, Zaibas and both boys hopped on. Barong was quickly recalled and the primal dragon flapped his wings rapidly, causing blood and gore to fly into the air, before shooting off into the starry black sky like a lightning bolt.

After a short amount of time, Zaibas landed.

"There's been a crime committed, which means there will probably be an evening curfew for the next few days." Argo said, taking off his clothes and changing into new ones that were in his familiar's saddle bag.

Draylen simply created a fountain of water, washing off his dirty clothes and drying them off with fire mana.

"What does that have to do with us?" He asked, tightening the buckles on his trousers.

"It means that we won't be able to leave for a while. The city guards will definitely increase the number of patrols and leaving undetected will be significantly more difficult." Argo replied.

Draylen nodded.

"What about before, why did we run from the guards?"

"Anyone who is present at a crime scene is taken in for questioning, regardless of status. That goes for Dragon Summoners too, whilst we won't necessarily be incriminated, we'd end up missing your duel with that young noble."

The image of Roklan's face flashed from within Draylen's memory.

"One more thing. Lil'bro, we can't trust this city's nobles anymore. That Fallen who just exploded said that his extraction point was in the Altross noble district. That is a district owned by the Altross family, a noble family. Although it may be purely coincidental, or maybe the Fallen is trying to cause conflict between the Dragon Summoners and the nobles, we can't be sure.

It it better to stay safe, so during the time you and I are within this city and perhaps any other time in the future you come here, we must try to avoid nobles as much as possible. If the nobles of the empire have truly been infiltrated by the Fallen, then something bad will definitely happen."

Argo said the words at an extremely fast pace, but the meaning of the message stuck within Draylen's mind.

'Then that means after my duel with Roklan of house Carne, I'll have to try and avoid nobles at all costs. Whilst I won't be able to explore as much, it's certainly better than falling into another plot.'

The boy suddenly yawned, his body reflexively stretching. Argo noticed this and chuckled.

"Although we have mana to boost our bodies and minds, getting sleep when you need it is better than none. Let's go find an inn to stay at, I'll pay."

Draylen nodded sleepily. They had landed in another remote alleyway, halfway across the city from the crime scene. Coincidentally, the area they were at was also very close to house Carne territory, which was extremely convenient due to the fact that the fight was in a day's time.

They found an inn which was near the main street but also not in a densely populated area. Argo quickly paid a lodging fee for a few days, without meals. Whilst he had tried to explain that it was better for Draylen to find some more interesting food for himself, the latter had already fallen asleep on his feet.

Shrugging helplessly, Argo hoisted the sleeping boy and threw him into one of their rooms, before going off to his own. Soon, the moon was replaced with the sun and the starry sky turned bright.

For the average citizen, it was another day of working for money to feed their families, whilst for Draylen, it was the second and last day of training.

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[Jade Elves]

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The Jade Elves are a race that is widely known for their great wisdom. They have porcelain white skin and clear see-through green hair that reaches their waists. Whilst many races resort to duels or brawls to resolve conflicts, the Jade Elves barely even come into them and if they do, they have a civilised debate.

There are many stories and fireplace rumours of Jade Elves managing to convince even the bloodthirstiest of warriors to stop fighting. The Jade Elves hold their racial values very closely. They value friendship and trust greatly, if they owe any favours, they would make sure to repay it always. If one requested them to help plan a war or an uprising to repay a debt, the Jade Elves would do it without hesitation, even though they detest violence.

They have little to no use for battle and thus they cultivate their mental strengths instead of their naturally gifted bodies. As they grow, their brains become extremely powerful, able to influence other's minds with a simple thought.

Out of respect for the Jade Elves' dignified nature and great accomplishments, no race deliberately goes out of their way to antagonise them. Even gods would willingly stop their battles to allow Jade Elf pilgrims to pass through.

"Knowledge is both my best friend and my greatest treasure. It is my lover yet also my weapon. Knowledge is power."

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