Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

"You see…" the elf clearly wasn't done talking, so Zaroth didn't interrupt.

"The whole reason I came here was because I sensed a Fated One here. Now imagine my surprise when I realized that you were a part demon." The man's voice became colder.

"Honestly, I debated whether or not I should finish you off, but thanks to the runes on your blade, it is clear you have met Sira. If she has judged that you were worthy to possess such a thing, then I will not attack before we have a talk first."

Naturally Zaroth took the elf's words seriously. He could feel that the elf wasn't all talk. Not to mention that he was far from his best shape, so picking a fight was a stupid thing to do.

And considering that he owed his life to the man, he could answer his questions at least.

With a sigh, Zaroth began recounting how he had met Sira—how he killed the man who was supposed to buy her, intending to free her and have her teach him some runes, only to realize she could have escaped on her own all this time.

During the whole explanation, the elf had seated himself comfortably on a nearby rock, his staff resting on one of his hands. By the end, he looked like he was about to facepalm himself, but stopped midway, realizing he was going to break the mask that he was wearing on his face if he went through with it.

With an exhausted sigh, he stood up. "I wish to say that I am surprised, but at this point, nothing she does will surprise me." He was shaking his head in disappointment.

Zaroth was about to ask what their connection was but realized that he didn't even know the name of the elf.

"Um… what is your name?" he asked, wondering if he was going a tad bit too far. After all, the elf wore robes and a mask precisely to hide his identity. It could be considered rude to ask such questions.

"Night," after a few seconds of tense silence, the elf replied. "You can call me Night."

"Zaroth," he nodded his head. There was no point in introducing himself as Ghost to the elves. They most likely didn't care who he was.

"If it is okay with you, can you tell me more about these powers that you elves are able to use?... maybe teach me some things?"

Even in his weakened state, Zaroth remained a simple man at heart. He wanted to kill the gods and he wanted to get as many techniques and powers as possible under his arsenal.

To his disappointment, however, the elf shook his head.

"No, if you want to learn how to use the will of the world, you have to go to our lands and speak with the ones in charge."

'Thought as much,' Zaroth, finally being able to move, even if a bit sluggishly, went to David's body to examine him.

"However, seeing that you are a Fated One and Sira has given you the enchantment, it means you are really special. So I will give you a bit of motivation. If you were to go to our lands and learn our techniques, nothing is stopping you from teaching them to your people. From the looks of it, you are all in the middle of war, and it could prove to be beneficial."

Zaroth's eyes began to sparkle under the demonic mask, as he smacked David on the forehead, attempting to wake him up.

'From the way the elf described the way these powers work, they sound similar to Elysia's. Maybe her blessing is naturally similar to the power of the elves?'

Zaroth had more questions: Was there a limit to how much damage they could heal? How destructive could their attacks get? Could the will of the world be shaped into a defense?

But seeing that Night had disappeared as soon as Zaroth had taken his eyes off him, he knew he would get his answers only when he reached their continent.

Deciding he had more pressing matters to think about, he went back to trying to get David to open his eyes.

Eventually, after a dozen minutes, the man's eyes shot open with a gasp. His body sitting in an upright position.

"What happened?" was the first thing that left David's mouth.

Zaroth began to explain, however, David seemed to be in a form of a trance, staring at the town that he once called home—completely and utterly destroyed.

All the infrastructure was destroyed, most of it burned down, leaving nothing but ash behind. There was still the faint presence of smoke in the air, remnants of Luna's devastating attacks.

Even the walls had fallen, leaving nothing but rubble on the place where he grew up.

"You okay?" Zaroth put his hand on David's shoulder, startling him for a fraction of a second.

"...No," David replied, his eyes becoming colder. After losing his only family, all he wanted to do was to protect his hometown and the graves of his family—and where did that lead him?

Not only was the town reduced to nothing but rubble, and to top it all off, he wouldn't even be able to find the graves of his family due to the destruction here!

"If it wasn't for these fuckers!" David hissed, his gaze shifting to the horizon where the Graveborn Empire was located.

In that moment, David made his decision. He would make the empire fall. He would make them pay!

Looking at his friend's eyes, Zaroth instantly knew what David was thinking about, which made his lips curl into a grin. 'It seems that we are quite similar after all.'

"Well, at least I am glad you are alive," Zaroth muttered, helping David rise.

"Thank you, had you not come here I would have surely been dead by the two princes assault." David bowed a little, showing his sincerity.

A chuckle escaped Zaroth's mouth. "I don't have many friends, so it's wise to keep them alive. But if you're so grateful, then remember—you owe me one!" he said, starting to walk back toward the former slave city. He knew there was no point in spending more time with David; the man had things to do.

David watched his back until he disappeared from view, then sighed.

"Come out," his voice was cold and commanding, leaving no room for refusal.

Immediately, the Spectral Warden appeared behind him.

"How did you know I wasn't dead?" the being asked.

David grinned menacingly. "Don't underestimate me. I can feel more power in my body than ever before—I wouldn't feel this surge of power... if you were truly gone."

The Spectral Warden didn't respond, it just broke into a menacing grin.

For David had finally stopped being stationary and taken the initiative!

After confirming that his mana core was intact, Zaroth summoned Luna and had her fly him back to his city. The entire journey, he lay on her back, refusing to look at the destruction he had caused along the way. He was too drained to care about such trivial things.

Some time had passed, so he was wondering how the city had changed.

Unknown to him, other than Eldros, his friends had also arrived in the city waiting for his return.