Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 355: Am I wrong?

Chapter 355: Am I wrong?

"Am I wrong?" Alejandro asked as he walked through the palace of the once-great kingdom known as Thebes.

His gaze scanned the aesthetically pleasing sights, taking in the beauty that represented the peak of the kingdom before their unfortunate disappearance.

The walls depicted the sprawling history of the kingdom from their arrival from Henos to how they warred to establish themselves on the Ra’as, seizing what they could to create a land of their own.

It was a beautiful sight, one that, though marred by the passing of time, was enough to give one an impression of the Thebeans that once ruled the kingdom.

Such a kingdom resonated deeply with Alejandro and though he knew humans were almost always inclined to blemish their history, he was willing to acknowledge what he saw for the sole purpose that he didn’t much care.

His scrutiny was only born out of a desire to get his mind off recent events, at the forefront of which was the inevitable clash with the Supreme Order.

Walking closely behind, Joan responded. "Wrong?"

Alejandro nodded, pursing his lips as he remarked. "I can sense the displeasure amongst our people. They aren’t happy to be drawn into the conflict of humans."

"Are they wrong to feel that way?"

"... Not at all but because I made a selfish deal, I am forced to stand by my words."

Joan paused, causing Alejandro to turn and face her, their eyes meeting for a brief moment.

Then, taking a deep breath, the Regent spoke up. "If we hadn’t received their help, do you believe we would have been able to conquer the anomaly in the Wandering Forest?"

"..." His silence served as enough response allowing her to go on.

"We are indeed upset that we have to do this but isn’t this better than the alternatives?... This man, Alex, was wise enough to know that asking for too much would only earn our ire so he gave us a simple task: Draw the attention of the Supreme Order as much as we can. You should know too, Rey, how much our people despise having to do the work of those shady bastards."

Alejandro let out a deep sigh.

In truth, he was just worried about Aragon’s future should the situation escalate, and considering the circumstances in the East, he was even more wary.

He couldn’t afford to weaken Aragon’s might as war with the Highlands was on the horizon, as much as he wished to ignore it.

Soon, he would have to fight alongside the Empire to deal with the Night Kindred and so, the current situation was one where...

Alejandro’s expression crumpled as a message was passed to him via mind link.

Joan seemed to have got one too as her expression mirrored his own.

Exchanging looks for a moment, both immediately headed for the palace exit before moving to the walls that protected Thebes from external foes.

There, their people were gathered, armed to the teeth, their eyes peeled on the surrounding area.

"What is it, Fernandez?" Joan inquired.

"This way," Fernandez replied, leading both Rey and Regent to the eastern portion of the wall where currently, tensions were high as all stationed there had their gaze zeroed in on a figure standing on a tree almost a kilometer away.

"Who is that?" Alejandro inquired with a frown.

"We have no idea. He appeared two minutes ago. We thought he’d attack but he hasn’t done so. Do we capture him?"

"No, wait," Alejandro remarked as he stepped forward, taking the time to scrutinize the strange man ahead.

The man was human judging from his overall appearance though his face was obscured by a strange clown mask depicting a twisted smile with blue and purple hair that reached his upper back.

"Something’s not right," Alejandro remarked as he shifted his gaze to inspect the area around the man, unfortunately, he couldn’t glean much due to the abundance of forestry around the area.

Regardless, he couldn’t shirk off the feeling that something was about to happen, and as though it was fate speaking, something did.

The man suddenly took off the glove he had on his right hand and using his left, picked out some strange material from a satchel hanging at the side.

He seemed to press the strange material into his right hand causing it to disappear a moment later then, raising the hand, he aimed his palm squarely at Alejandro’s position.

That was when they saw it.

Due to their enhanced physical senses, their eyes quickly picked up on what seemed to be an eye and a mouth on the palm aimed at the wall after which... there was a light.

The beam shot forward instantaneously, increasing in size until it was almost the size of the entire wall.

"Get down!" Alejandro bellowed before howling and clasping his hands together, causing earthen walls to shoot up in defense.

Safe to say, it did nothing to impede the fearsome attack.

A second later, it struck the barrier, burning it until the beam finally died down, revealing a horrifying hole where it had struck.

Alejandro’s expression grew cold as he stared at the man who unleashed the attack.

The man stared back and momentarily, their eyes met.

Then just like that, he disappeared, falling back into the sea of trees but that wasn’t all as Alejandro’s ears picked up on several movements approaching the broken portion of the wall.

"Inform the others!... The battle has begun!"

***

The bombardment of Farfouth Academy brought terror to the hearts of all students as they watched with bated breath as the security they had enjoyed for so many years was threatened by strange monsters that seemed to emerge from thin air.

The almighty barrier meant to protect them was left with a large hole as black and white flames devoured it, leaving enough space for the monsters to enter the school premises.

The first of the monsters, a monstrous dog with three heads, leaped in, its cold eyes reflecting the surroundings as it dropped in only to suddenly pause.

Then, it happened.