"I thought you are one since you are around saving... didn't you just say that you are angry because some villages were destroyed because of the war campaign?"
Cheir stared at the Dragon heir with a slightly blank expression, then he raised his brows. "Well, it seems there is a misunderstanding. I am not a hero. What I do is look for villages that need my protection and then they pay me to protect them."
"Oh," Vacuse said. A shame.
"But when the war started, a lot of villages were wiped away, and more than that, the policies that your father released merged all the villages into towns!
"Now I have no way to make money! How do I advance?"
"You can just join any lord you know. I'm sure with your skills you would be accepted anywhere you wanted."
Cheir gave Vacuse a smile. It was a dangerous smile. "Me? The Devour Bandit? I should join any lord? Ah! But that's something that can't work with me!
"I am too strong and ambitious to be accepted by ordinary lords!"
At the mention of "Devour Bandit," a ripple spread through the competitors' Soulbearers and they began to whisper furiously while they gave Cheir fearful looks.
"What? He's the Devour Bandit? One of the most powerful of the independent Soulbearers out here in the Western Region?"
"The same one that devours the soul of people, right?"
"To think that he's here! And he's trying to fight the Dragon heir! The heir better command his guards to fight for him, or else things are going to turn ugly for him really soon!"
"Look down, look down! The Devour Bandit is looking this way! If you look into his eyes, then he would devour your soul and take you as a puppet!"
Vacuse looked at the Soulbearers. Some of them were actually terrified, they shuddered and trembled. Among the ranks of independent Soulbearers, the Devour Bandit must have really been a menace.
But then again, it was a given.
Independent Soulbearers must fight for resources to advance themselves and keep others from killing them. So anyone among them that rose to a higher advancement stage should be considered vicious and cunning.
And most times, strong.
Because being independent is a double-edged sword, with one edge mostly sharper than the other.
Vacuse was now very interested in him, and he really did not think that Cheir was there for the tournament. Did he have a secret motive?
"...Of course he must have a secret motive... I just want to know if he's here for a relevant motive though... what did the bastard want with the Dragon heir..."
"Devour Bandit. That's a unique name, if I must say," Vacuse said.
Cheir shrugged. "It is what they call me, so I accept. Don't they call you the Kinkiller too? And you accepted it."
Vacuse tilted his head. "I doubt there's any Vorrakyn that's not a Kinkiller, but yes. I do accept."
A moment of silence followed.
And then Vacuse asked him straightforwardly. "What do you really want? I doubt you are actually here to fight me." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel·fıre·net
Cheir scratched his head and coughed. "Actually, someone paid me to be here."
Vacuse's face tightened. "Someone?"
"Yes," Cheir shrugged. "They told me to bring something to you and that I should participate in the tournament to the end. But as things turned out... well."
Vacuse didn't know what to make of the sudden turn of events. Of course he had found Cheir suspicious from the beginning, but nothing pointed to what was happening right now.
Worse, Vacuse had the suspicion that he knew who sent him. He sighed. "Alright, give me what they asked you to give me."
As it turned out, it was a letter.
Vacuse told Captain Amros to collect the letter and inspect it for any possible trap before he opened it and gave it to him.
The first thing Vacuse noticed when he opened it was the strong smell of blood, so thick that he squeezed his nose. Then the letter itself.
It was written with blood that was just as red as when it was written.
Can't be more dramatic, eh?
He began to read the letter.
"From one Dragon to another. I am going to give you a gift to take with you to the Great Dungeon. You've never been in one, right? I'll tell you something. The Great Dungeon is unlike the normal dungeons.
Great Dungeons have a will of their own. And they are basically frozen 'stories' from the long-lost ancient times when monsters still ruled the world and gods walked unrestrained.
From what I can guess, the Great Dungeon has to do with the undead. So I will give you Cheir. He should be of great help. Don't worry, I have no malicious plot... not for this time.
I hope you return as human. It'll be hard to get your seed as an undead."
Vacuse stared at the letter again and then he grimaced.
It was as if the instant Vacuse learned of her, she began to show herself everywhere near him.
And what does it mean by "frozen stories"? Is that truly what Great Dungeons are?
Vacuse's heart skipped a beat. The history before the Pathway is basically unknown. Is that what the Great Dungeons are about?
Before he could even give it more thought, he was interrupted.
"So? What does it say? The one that paid me said my next instructions are in there," Cheir said.
Vacuse looked at him and smiled. Why shouldn't he make use of the bandit? It's not like he couldn't kill him if he misbehaved. He said with a slightly cold voice, "Congratulations, Devour Bandit. You've been made my paid slave. Really, you couldn't have wished for a better master."
Cheir stared at him with a pale face. "What? Wait... what?"
Vacuse shrugged, then he tossed him the letter. There was nothing that important in it anyway. And then he watched in satisfaction as the blood completely drained from Cheir's face.
"What? What! She did not pay me enough for this! I can't accept this! No way!"