About two hours later...

The group was in the car driven by Ethan, heading out of the area. He had parked at a certain corner of a street, directly opposite another waiting vehicle.

This waiting vehicle had been called by Rayleigh, and it came from the palace to wait for him and Isabella at this point, as they had decided to cut the journey short and head back to the palace from here.

They all stepped out of the vehicle and separated into groups of two. Ishtar ofcourse had applied her Glamor trait to mask her skin color and horns.

Ethan and Bella spoke briefly between themselves in what seemed like their last words before a goodbye for now.

"On the bright side," Bella said, "my father hasn’t summoned you, so maybe Kieran hasn’t told him just yet."

Ethan sighed. "Maybe. Hopefully it stays that way."

Bella nodded, and they embraced gently. He kissed her forehead lightly before she pulled away and returned to the car.

Rayleigh had also embraced Ishtar, and when they pulled apart, he said, "I’m sorry it has to be this way for some time, but I’ll come by more frequently."

Ishtar nodded.

With that, Rayleigh separated from her and turned his head toward Ethan with an acknowledging nod. Ethan responded the same way.

They separated finally. Ethan and Ishtar, who now sat in the passenger’s seat, began the drive back to the manor.

And the royal siblings headed back to the palace.

_

On their way back, Ethan had a few things on his mind, like how dangerously complicated all of this was getting.

Based on Rayleigh’s explanation two hours ago at the apartment, the Krygon house was the ruling house in one of the twelve provinces of the demon continent.

The demon continent, which was almost twice the size of the western continent, was apparently an empire split into provinces. The rulers of these provinces were powerful demons, regarded as demon lords who only answered to one person: the Demon King.

The Krygon province, named after the ruling house, encompassed a few other demon noble families as well.

Part of those included the Tisseus family, who had warred against and killed everyone of the Dessendre house, leaving only one survivor.

Ishtar Dessendre.

Ethan sighed and glanced at Ishtar for a moment before turning back to the road. "You and I, we’re almost alike, you know. The last of our kin."

Ishtar had a solemn look on her face as she nodded slowly.

There was another pause before he sighed and said, "I may have been thinking about this the wrong way."

He glanced at her briefly again. "If the power of Carrion inside you is something a demon lord wants, then it’s got to be pretty powerful. And I say it’s time we figured that shit out."

There was a pause before he finally added, "and It’s a good thing I may have just gotten a means to start deciphering demon spell codes. But on the other hand, I’ll need you to put some work in as well, to understand the power you possess. Because it doesn’t seem like the threat is over."

"And that is why you’ll need to be able to defend yourself."

Ishtar glanced back at him, then nodded. "Yes, Lord Ethan."

"Good."

Another notification appeared.

[Self-Imposed Objective Completed: Accepting the role guardian over Ishtar Dessendre]

[Reward: +4,000 XP]

[Total Experience Points: 178,250]

Ethan dismissed the screen with a smile. "I guess we all have our roles to play."

-

Almost twenty minutes later at the King’s Palace...

The gates had just opened, and the vintage Roysten Sedan carrying both Rayleigh and Isabella drove in through a pathway, heading toward a corner.

Watching from his balcony was a figure with dark hair who wore black regal clothing. King Carson.

However, the return of some of his children had not been his concern, even though it had just occurred to him that he hadn’t actually set eyes on Isabella for a long while.

It was then that the thick voice of the General came from behind.

"Your Grace."

He bowed as he spoke, although the King hadn’t turned back to acknowledge it.

General Iroh was in his military uniform. He had graying white hair that he managed to still keep fanciful, and his dark green uniform was decorated with different medals that marked decades of service and rank.

"Iroh," the King began.

"Yes, Your Grace," he answered again.

"How frequently do you watch the news?" he asked, keeping his tone casual.

"Only when there’s such free time to allow for it, my King," Iroh answered.

"Oh, I see. So you’re not well informed," he replied.

"About what, my King? I am unsure what you speak of," he answered respectfully.

"The growing influence of the Stark name," he replied.

"Hmm." Iroh muttered. "Despite new information from the teacher, I understand we ruled the Starks off as merely an ambitious business family. What changed, Your Grace?"

"In the last two days, some event of his is all that has been on the screens," King Carson answered. "I hear men of caliber, and even a few family leaders, attended this and showed support. Ophelia, my own sister, even backs this boy."

Then he turned around.

"This might only be a spark, but sparks cause flames, and flames left unchecked will burn even the largest forest down."

There was a brief pause as he added, "I want to meet this boy and offer him a reminder that this is my country, and everyone, even demons, play by my rules."

"I understand. I will see to it, Your Grace," he bowed.

"That will be all," Carson said before turning back.

Iroh bowed once more. "Your Grace."

Then he left.

—

Toward evening...

Ethan’s car pulled up in front of the Clustervayne Guild building. He parked near the entrance, turned off the engine, and stepped out.

He pushed through the front doors and entered the general lobby, and it turned out that everyone was there right now.

The werewolves were dressed in their peculiar uniforms, though they had smudges of dirt all over them. Percival looked like he was addressing someone from the cleanup crew, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.

Apparently, they had just returned from another low-ranked breach. C-level.

When Hayley turned to him, she had the brightest smile ever, and this turned out to be the first thing Ethan noticed, despite the rest of them turning to him as well.

"Ah, he returns," Percival said.

Ethan greeted back. "Hey, guys."

——

A/N: Currently preparing a large outline to follow up for a lengthy story. Next update will come in 12hrs and with bonuses.

(0/20) (we hit 100 tickets)