Descendants of Gibbous
Chapter 34: Challenging mission

Chapter 34: Challenging mission

The meeting didn’t stop because the weak wizard had left. Back in the bright dome, Thanatos and his Corvus continued their discussion.

"What about the gem, Lord Thanatos?" Asked the man sitting in the right dome, his voice a little too casual for someone talking to a feared Rogue.

"I say we hold a competition. Whoever finds it first gets to book a match with the first seat and challenge him for his seat," came a thin voice to the left of Lord Thanatos’s side.

"No, whoever wins gets to dine with lord Thanatos for a week," cane yet another voice, a stark contrast to the thin one with its gruff hoarse nature.

"I don’t suppose you think you’d win over me?" The thin voice challenged.

"Oh, but I would you little shit. I’m twice as big as you."

"And a rank below," the thin voice retorted.

"Shut up you uncultured swine! Lord Thanatos is yet to decide what to do and you’re disturbing him," the man in the right arch hissed, a wave of his aura filling the room and strong enough to silence the bickering women.

Just then, Thanatos let out a hearty laugh similar to that of a father watching his children fight over stupid claims.

"Isn’t it wonderful how much you all want to be number one? I must say, your determination to win is very commendable."

The room went silent.

If the veils had been lifted, Thanatos would have noticed that each one of the Rogues that made up his Corvus was smiling to themselves. Man or woman, they all treasured his comments deeply. After all, he had found them in the least favorable conditions from their shitty past lives.

However, no matter how much their admiration burned, Thanatos soon returned to his cold expression, one that demanded attention.

Immediately after sensing the change in the once delightful air that filled the dorm, the Corvus stopped blushing to themselves and disturbing their lord’s focus. He was never one to joke for long, especially in circumstances similar to the one they had right now.

"Kuger Gommar."

At his lord’s calling, the man sitting in the arch to his right stood, opening the veil as he stepped out into the open.

"Yes, lord Thanatos."

The dragon grinned at the vampire before him. The strongest among his Corvus, he was the most promising in his endeavors to overthrow Gibbous. But that was a feat he’d have to face once he was strong again. For now...

"What do you propose we do about the gem of Memento Mori?"

The vampire didn’t appear to be shocked by his master’s question, neither did the rest of the Corvus. It was common knowledge among them that their master preferred the strong over the weak.

"If it’s agreeable with you my lord, I’d like to chase after the boy and retrieve it myself."

Murmurs of disapproval echoed in the dome, soon to be silenced by a loud thud that came from their lord’s throne after he punched into it with his clawed fist. His eyes glanced around in warning and everyone immediately stopped whispering to each other—then they landed on the vampire kneeling before him.

"You did hear me say that the boy is mine, right?"

"Yes, my lord. I won’t lay a finger on him."

"And what if he attacks first?"

"Then I’ll hit him enough to make him faint, but not kill him."

The dragon chuckled amusedly.

"You’re one cold fella aren’t you?"

No reply as he laughed some more. Then he stopped, his eyes hovering over the vampire once again.

From his hair a depressing shade of purple, his pale cracked skin which they had given up applying lotion on because it just wouldn’t heal after being damaged in his childhood, to his red eyes glinting with bloodlust even the Rogue lord thought would make him tremble if the vampire was a rank higher than present—everything about Kuger made Thanatos feel like he could trust him.

So he did, but only a little. Trusting too much could lead to a bitter demise in the future.

"Tell me, how do you plan on executing this plan of yours?" The dragon’s voice echoed in the room.

Kuger raised his face, smiling ever so cunningly.

"I’m going to infiltrate the school he attends."

This time, the murmurs that filled the room were those of approval.

However, they were nothing but noise to the vampire. His eyes were glued on his lord, waiting for him to ask what he planned to do once he got there. He did, and the vampire didn’t waste any time explaining his plan.

He told them how he had pieced everything together when Kaos had told them the boy could use the gem. He told them how the council of Gibbous was stubborn and selfish, and how they’d make sure the boy enrolled into one of the prestigious hero schools around the four cardinals of Gibbous.

"And what better prestigious school is there than Gibforge?" Thanatos had blurted out during the vampire’s explanations, amazed by how his mind worked.

"That’s where I’ll start my search. The chances of him being enrolled at Gibforge are high if Kaos was telling us the truth that is. I think I’ll be able to locate the boy and the gem there."

A silence filled the dome once again.

Kuger kept his eyes glued on his master, not in the least caring that his clothes were getting soaked in the blood he was kneeling in; not annoyed by the stench of it filling his nose, nor did he care about the envious gaze he was receiving from his masters second in command sitting to his left.

All he wanted was a chance to prove himself. A chance to please his lord.

Unless they went out for hunts, nothing interesting ever happened in the Corvus. That’s why they liked wreaking havoc in cities guarded by heroes in the human world. It made their life fun that way. Besides, that’s when they recruited fresh talent for their master.

The Rogues who didn’t back away from a fight during havoc were the ones their master wanted for his army in preparation for him finally coming to power anytime in the near future. But for now, all they could do was menial tasks like these, which didn’t come daily like the boring hunts.

"Very well then, I’ll allow you to go and collect the gem."

"Thank you my—"

"Under one condition."

"—lord. What is this condition you speak of my lord?"

Thanatos shifted in his seat comfortably. "You bring back the gem of Memento Mori without any major damage to your body. You come back stronger after devouring humans, and you make sure you don’t kill the boy. And if you can’t locate the gem at the school, return at once. Can you do that?"

Kuger slowly nodded at his master, bowing his head in agreement with his words.

"I can do that and much more for you, my lord. Just say the word and I’ll be yours to command."

"Stop making my blood boil with excitement, my boy," Thanatos gestured for him to stand and he did, the blood on his knees dripping down his legs like slime for it had now clotted.

"When do you suppose you’ll leave us?"

"Tomorrow. According to my source, the school arrived in Fangpeak yesterday at noon."

"Excellent—ah, there’s one more thing."

"Yes, my lord?"

"Never, I repeat, never fight the old Principal there. His name is Twiller Dextrodus, and although he might be able to hide it from the weak folk thanks to his manipulating the council, he is as strong as an average Numen back in the days when they were still half-assed and Henry was a boy."

"If he catches on to your search for the gem, flee in an instant. He will kill you faster than you can blink and he won’t hesitate before he does."

Kuger swallowed. Hard. He had never heard his master warn him before, better yet, tell him to flee from a fight.

"Yes, my lord. Is there anything else I must know about?"

"Nothing else. I expect all of you to be here by tomorrow morning so we can send Kuger off. You’re hereby dismissed."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Nine voices of different pitches and genders answered simultaneously before their owners vanished from their master’s presence.

As for the tenth, he turned on his heel and headed to the archway entrance that led into the corridor. Kuger had seen the wizard, Kaos, throw something there and had been curious as to what it was all this while during the meeting.

"So you noticed too, huh?" Thanatos asked him, already standing behind him as he picked the ear from the ground.

The moment he touched it, it burned in his hands and vanished. It had died.

"We’ve been spied on."

"It seems so, yes," the dragon responded, watching with curious eyes how his right-hand man was reacting.

The bloodlust in his eyes had intensified, and he was clenching his jaw, ready to attack. However, he didn’t dare show his fangs as though it’d be a shameful sight for the Rogue lord to see.

Patting the vampire’s head slowly, Thanatos smiled.

"If it makes you feel better, you can kill the son of a bitch when you find him."

Finally, the clenched jaw relaxed. But not the bloodlust. It burned more evidently than it did a second ago, enough to make Thanatos hum in approval.

"I quite like the look in your eyes. Keep at it and you might be able to sit on that throne in my stead once I recover and start going on raids too."

Before the vampire could turn his head to object to his master’s reasoning, the dragon vanished from his sight like smoke. Kuger didn’t waste any time trying to find his master and immediately vanished from the dome too, leaving the room to shake as it ascended into the sky, joining the other buildings and bats in the pale sky as they floated around in a distorted manner.

Tomorrow was yet another day for a raid, and if Kuger was lucky, maybe this one was going to be longer and more challenging than the ones against the weaklings guarding the humans in their world.

And the more challenging a mission was, the more exciting it was bound to be for the vampire.

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