Noire looked towards the castle again.
Ashtar.
She would have to meet him and, if necessary, kill him. This person is too dangerous to be left alone, who knows what plan he would hatch next after successfully reaching his goal here?
''!''
Noire shuddered just by imagining this, this man could become a thorn in their side.
Because most attention of the superpowers was focused elsewhere, someone was using a small country as a test for something sinister. Fortunately, Alex had asked his subordinates to open their eyes and look for any unusual things if not something dangerous might have because they missed out on this.
Noire waited until it was nighttime before making a move.
The guard perimeter is much tighter in here than the one outside.'
The guards watching over the entrance were so relaxed that anyone would be able to break into the city if one wanted to.
But this castle was different.
Those who stood on the walls were all skilled fighters, and there were even patrol teams deployed to protect the castle more efficiently.
'There must be something here for this castle to be guarded to such an extent.'
Noire observed these guards.
Then, she realized something else. Security was much tighter at the bottom than it was at the top.
This meant that whatever was being hidden, was below the castle.
'Why do they all like the underground so much.'
She inwardly clicked his tongue as she recalled her previous experiences, but that didn't mean she didn't understand.
The basement was a good place to hide something. It was an enclosed space, and there was only one entrance.
These two facts meant that not only was it difficult for intruders to break in, but even if they did, it would be hard for them to stay hidden.
It would also be hard to escape after being caught there.
Of course, all of these facts were irrelevant to Noire, who could void step and disappear in an instant.
"…"
Noire stopped just as she was about to head down the basement stairs, observing the dark entrance with narrowed eyes.
Perhaps it was because of the setting, but that place felt ominous like a Devil's waiting mouth.
'No.'
It wasn't just a feeling.
She could sense a powerful aura coming from below.
She hadn't realized until she'd gotten closer. This aura of power covered the entirety of the city.
In other words, she had made the right decision.
There was no one at the end of the basement stairs, only an old wooden door.
As if the strict security that Noire had seen so far was a lie, there wasn't even a single guard deployed in this place.
But she was unable to go any further. She just stared at the ground in front of her. It was as though there was an invisible wall in front of her.
'Up till here.'
Noire's eyes turned to the door.
She could hear a faint conversation coming from within. This is the reason why she stopped, she got a certain idea worth testing.
???
The offices in this castle were located underground, and very few people were allowed to enter and leave this place.
The owner of this office was a lean man wearing a monocle who was sitting behind a desk and browsing through some documents.
He slowly looked up at the man who'd come to report to him.
This man was tall and got a well-trained body that was covered in many scars. He also had yellow gauntlets, which wrapped around his large fists.
This was Gunther, the protector, the Chief knight of Oxtrad.
"I hung the bodies in the square as you ordered."
"Were there any who protested against that?"
"There were."
"Capture and execute them."
"Understood."
The man nodded.
"Go back now."
"Yes, Lord Ashtar."
This lean man with a monocle was none other than Ashtar, who had become the de facto leader of Oxtrad recently.
Moreover, if anyone were to have seen this scene, one would've been lost for words. To think that Gunther would be behaving like this before an outsider, he was a former A-rank Adventurer, a Saint realm expert and yet he was acting all humble in front of this man.
What was even more surprising was the fact that Ashtar was acting like this was natural.
Gunther bowed once again before leaving the room.
Ashtar looked at his back for a moment before lowering his head once again to the documents.
Meanwhile, Gunther who had left the office slowly climbed up the steps, going back to his home, he was tired, recently it had become harder to get much sleep because of all errands he had to take care of, still, he couldn't complain after all the will of his will was his will, he was nothing but a sword and have to follow his master's will. Hopefully, with this man's help his lord will be back to his feet as quickly as possible, he deluded himself.
Once home Gunther decided to drink a glass of beer and then fall asleep while clinging to the blissful feeling that accompanied it.
There was no work to be done in the morning, so he should be able to enjoy a good night's sleep for the first time in a long while.
But Gunther wouldn't drink enough to get drunk. He would have just enough to get a pleasant feeling so that he would be able to fall asleep quickly.
Crack.
"…ugh!"
Suddenly, a hand stretched out from the darkness and grabbed his head violently.
Right then, Gunther felt as though he had been struck in the head by a thunderbolt, and his body slumped over.
"…"
Then Noire showed up.
She'd waited at the top of the stairs, and when Gunther came out of the office, she followed him home.
Noire pulled a chair over and sat Gunther down on it. Then, she stimulated his brain so that he would become semi-conscious.
Gunther would certainly have a strong mind. Much stronger than the guard she'd dealt with earlier that day.
So she could only pick apart her mind after stunning him. She could have overpowered him using her real strength but that would be giving away her identity and she was well aware that the Chaos Organization had been monitoring and collecting information about them, especially the black-haired woman, it is to say her, hence the disguise and the caution she was showing. Things would have become annoying if she got too many rats on her tail.
"Who are you?" Noire asked her first question.
Gunther responded with a blank look in his eyes.
"…I'm Gunther Asma, the protector and Chief knight of Oxtrad."
"Good, What happened to the previous Lord?'' She asked next.
"The previous Lord became extremely sick and is now unconscious."
"For what reason?''
''We don't know, it happened suddenly. We suspected the crown prince.''
''So, why do you accept the help of an outsider?'' Noire asked after getting the general gist of what happened.
"…there was nothing I could do to protect the people of this city and the man is capable enough for the Lord to trust him. He even promised to heal the Lord making him more powerful. If weren't for the man's intervention, the Lord would have already been dead.'' Gunther under hypnosis explained everything for Noire to understand.
''I see.'' She mumbled before knocking the man unconscious.
''Hoh! We have some big rat here.''
A sudden voice rang out inside the quiet room making Noire frown.
She turned around and found a lean man with the monocle standing there.
It was Ashtar.
Noire immediately got up from her seat.
"…how are you here…?"
"I knew you were snooping around outside. But it didn't seem like you were going to come to attack me. Your senses are quite sharp. Did you realize I was a Demigod?"
"…"
Right.
She had guessed that Ashtar was a Demigod.
Otherwise, the aura she sensed was inexplicable.
Noire grits her teeth.
"You used Gunther as bait?"
"And you fell hook, line, and sinker."
"I can't believe you're pretending to be human… I never would have expected to encounter a monster like you…"
"You can't believe it? Kuku. Well, I do whatever I want and everything is for the Lord.''
Ashtar let out a cold chuckle.
"As time went by, even bug like you began to look a little cute when you kept poking your nose everywhere like a mouse. How cute, to think I'll catch a big fish here, you're different from the other bugs, you'll be fun to crush.''
Facing a talkative Ashtar, Noire didn't respond making Asthar chuckle before deciding to play with her for real, it was then.
Noire's figure disappeared.
"Oh? Do you think you can escape?"
Swoosh!
Ashtar also disappeared.
He sensed the reverberation of mana left behind by Noire and immediately followed it.
She hadn't run far away.
There was no need for him to search. Noire was standing in the middle of the desert outside of the city.
Asthar let out a dirty laugh.
"Did you realize running away is futile? Right. I'll send you off comfortably as a reward for not being a pain."
Noire didn't respond.
Ashtar, who was smiling, narrowed his eyes at him. Something doesn't feel right.
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