The main base of the Dark Lizards was located at the foot of the mountain that was a few tens of kilometers from the kingdom. The camp was quite large, it even resembled a small town, but only for mercenaries and those who had tied their lives to the dark side of this world.

"Huh, it's pretty crowded here. More to the point, when did you have time to build all this? Holy crap! This is a real secret city!" Lucian exclaimed as he was thrilled by what he saw.

There was no protective wall around the base, instead there were towers on the borders that were strongholds for the barrier that concealed and protected this city from outsiders. In the middle of the streets walked people in dark robes with menacing and mysterious auras, but even in such a dark place, there was room for light.

"I'm glad you like it." Marcus said with a slight smile on his face, "Come on, I want to show you something."

Whoooosh.

The wolf leaped forward, but when the beast reached the barrier, it turned into ink that headed toward Marcus, so they landed next to a massive stone building that looked like a crypt.

"Follow me." Marcus muttered, waving his hand, and stepped inside.

Guards were standing near the entrance, but as soon as they saw Marcus, they immediately stepped aside, he had absolute power in this place.

They went down several floors until they came to a room that looked like some alchemist's lab. In the center was a massive stone table on that lay an Obsidian Wolf, while in the distance, someone was mixing potions that caused the room to fill with violet vapors.

historical

"Pleased to introduce you, this is one of our laboratories." Marcus said as he spread his arms out to his sides.

At the same time, a person at the table turned around and exclaimed, "Marcus?! What are you doing here?!"

It was a girl with purple hair and amber eyes. She was wearing a white robe and purple glasses that protected her eyes as she worked.

"Karin, you're all work as usual, aren't you?" Marcus asked as a smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah... But that doesn't matter now. Who are they? Why are there fucking knights here?!" Karin exclaimed with a dazed look while pointing at them.

"Huh, don't worry, these are our new friends, at least I hope so. Could you do us one favor?" Marcus scratched the back of his head in a careless manner.

"Is it so hard to come just once just to see me? Why do you always need something from me?" Karin said as she puffed her cheeks, but some time later, she sighed, shook her head, and said, "Okay, talk."

Marcus was silent, but he looked at the wolf.

"You want me to do this in front of them? Are you serious?" Karin's eyes widened.

Marcus nodded weakly.

"Hey, what's she talking about?" Knight of the Bloody Rose asked with an ice-cold look as he still didn't fully trust Marcus.

"I'm going to show you what a customer from your kingdom asked us to do, so... Do you know what the Dark Lizards specialize in?" Marcus asked while pacing toward the wolf.

"Robbing? Murder? Raping? Sell contraband?" Lucian asked as he grabbed his chin with a thoughtful look.

"Huh, you think too stereotypically. Don't you?" Marcus grinned, "We're not some petty muggers, so our list of activities is not so pathetic. We know how to control the minds of other creatures." Marcus snapped his finger, and Karin got to work.

Several purple runes appeared in her hands that shone brightly and floated above the wolf to form a sphere. Then Karin poured two potions into the dome, one dark, the other purple, that fused together and turned into a spirit that headed for the wolf's head.

Whoooooosh.

The beast's eyes shone brightly as it passed out.

"I don't want you to think ill of us, with our beasts, we only do this because this process makes them much stronger, and also, with it, we can communicate with them telepathically and transfer energy." Marcus said while stroking the wolf's head.

And he lifted it slightly, so everyone could see the seal on its neck in the shape of a three-headed lizard that was devouring an apple.

"Though, of course, we can use this ritual for other more macabre purposes. We can easily control the minds of even humans if we have the right conditions. That is our true power." Marcus uttered in a glorious voice.

'Shit...' Wain muttered while soaring in the air, 'Is it really that bad... Damn... I wanted to deny that option until the very last moment...'

Whooooosh.

Suddenly the space next to Wain distorted as a light flew toward him that was Light Racer.

'What...? How did you get here...?!" Wain exclaimed with a confused voice.

"Hey, I'm the fastest, didn't you forget that? Huh, I just want to see his face because now is the most interesting moment." Light Racer smiled with a curious look.

"Enough idle talk. Who was your kingdom customer?" Meria asked as she frowned.

Marcus smiled, sat down at the table as he rested his head on his hand, and said, "You already know the answer, right?" He looked at the Knight of the Bloody Rose.

"King... Is that so...?" Knight of the Bloody Rose asked with a confused look.

"What? The King?!" Meria exclaimed while in disbelief.

"Exactly." Marcus smiled in a sly manner, "The King wanted full control of the kingdom, so he asked us to turn most of the nobles into puppets. We agreed, but when he decided to ditch us, we attacked the city, and that's when the real chaos began."

With each word of Marcus', the aura of the Knight of the Bloody Rose grew more chaotic while his eyes gradually filled with blood.

"It was the king who killed your beloved and said we did it since he knew your wrath was merciless, so he hoped you would destroy us." Marcus said in a thunderous voice.