160 Bring my pet back!

"Master, this is Nick's pet. That Hog I told you about must-have teleported it beside me because it had just appeared in the fight out of nowhere!" Shadow One elaborated while pointing at the injured Silver.

"Hmm, interesting. I am really looking forward to finding this Hog you speak off. Hopefully, it hadn't run off yet and is still near the layer! But this beast is useless, let's kill it!" Master Crow then raised his hands in a chopping motion. This was the same thing he had done before Elder Grimm and the other disciples lost their heads, and Nick lost all his limbs…well, all except for his third leg, of course…

Psht!

Silver's neck received a gruesome-looking gash, but it wasn't enough to kill him. Weirdly the attack seemed to have stopped on purpose.

"Wait! Why kill this beast when its Master isn't watching?! I think it would be better if I can agonize him by it!" Master Crow suddenly had a bright idea. Nick couldn't see what was going on due to his back being turned to the entire situation, so he didn't know how close Silver was to dying let alone cry over it.

Master Crow waved his hands lightly, and the Dark mist that was binding Nick lightened, and his senses got somewhat restored. The feeling of having those restrictions removed felt so good Nick couldn't help letting out a moan of pleasure. It was just too satisfying. And yet, the look of pleasure on his face didn't last long because pretty soon his body turned around, not by his own volition, but by Master Crow, and what greeted him was the body of the horribly injured Silver.

Nick experienced various different emotions all at once when he saw the injured Silver, who was on its last leg. Anger, gratitude, reluctance, but most of all, sorrow. And even though he tried his best to stop it, a single tear still rolled down his cheek. Nick didn't have many people he cared about in his last life, so it didn't matter whose funeral he got called to. He had never shed a tear, at least not sincere ones. But he was actually crying over an injured beast now?!

'What the hell is wrong with me?! Silver is just a pet, that's all!' But no matter how Nick tried convincing himself, the ragged and pained breaths Silver was taking were weighing on him.

"Hehe, interesting. To think that you would feel so attached and to a beast no less. This is so fascinating. I am now getting curious about what face you will soon make when I kill this beast in front of you." Master Crow then raised his hand, intending to land the fatal blow to Silver.

"Wait!" Nick suddenly roared out. He just couldn't let Silver die, not because he liked it or anything but…because he hadn't kept his promise yet…yes! That's right, that's must be why! He had promised Silver that he would train it to be a master of the bedroom when he first found it! Nick just couldn't understand why he was feeling this way, nor did he want to understand by this point. So, he came up with a reason that made much more sense to him, keeping a promise.

"What?" Master Crow stopped his hand with a smile and looked at Nick playfully. This was his favorite pass time. Teaching people who feel like they're fearless that there was always someone or something to fear.

"Can you…can you at least let me give him a goodbye kiss…wuuuuu." Nick broke down all of a sudden and he looked at Master Crow with his bloodshot, pitiful eyes.

"Oh, and what will I get in return?" Master Crow seemed relaxed.

'Fuck you motherfucker! What do you mean 'what will you get in return'?! Do you want a prize for not killing someone?! Shameless, you are utterly shameless?! Who thought you to be so shameless…and can I get their contact information…' Nick was upset on the inside but he wouldn't let it show. He needed to continue his pitiful act at the moment.

"I will tell you anything you want to know as long as you fulfill my tiny request. I will even tell you where I found that Hog and how I got the ability to teleport using it." Nick promised.

"Deal!" Master Crow smirked and used his energy to hover Nick over Silver's body.

But when Nick tried to lean his head in for the 'kiss' he found out he was literally a few centimeters away, and that he couldn't reach Silver no matter how he stretched.

"Hey, Scare Crow, what is the meaning of this?!" Nick asked with his brows frowning.

"Watch what you say to Master, boy?!" Shadow One warned.

"It's fine, Shadow One. Let him act as he wants." Master Crow turned to Shadow One and placated him before he turned back to Nick and said, "I have gotten you as close as I can. Whether you can reach your pet for the kiss goodbye is now all up to your luck! Haha!" Master Crow seemed to be enjoying himself.

But Nick didn't reply, he just looked at Silver with his teeth gritted and said, 'You owe me for this!'

And before the stunned eyes of Master Crow and Shadow One. Nick extended his tongue and closed the gap that seemed to be preventing him from reaching Silver. And as soon as his tongue touched Silver Nick immediately sent it to the Pet space.

"Ahhh!" Master Crow, Shadow One, and Nick all screamed in unison. With the first two honestly surprised and Nick feigning it with a straight face.

"Where did you take my pet?!" Nick turned to Master Crow and snapped at him.

"Huh?" Master Crow looked around and he couldn't sense any experts around. And he couldn't tell whether Nick was lying or not either because the bastard was just too good an actor.

"Oh, so it was you, Master. As expected, Master, your abilities are as mysterious as ever! You can even make such a giant beast vanish without leaving a trace?!" Shadow One began praising his Master. Which wasn't something he would normally do, but what had just happened was just too shocking!

"Bring my pet back!" Nick hollered and began squirming like crazy. Trying his best to make everyone believe he had nothing to do with Silver's disappearance. But Nick didn't stop there, he kept on screaming, "You cruelly prevented me from giving my beloved pet a kiss, so I even resorted to giving it a little lick as a farewell, but you won't even let me have that?!"

Nick's actions and speech just came out too naturally and quickly for one to doubt him. And Master Crow was smart enough to know that Nick shouldn't be strong enough to steal and hide someone from right under his nose, so he guessed that there was another power at play here. And a very dangerous one at that. How could such a large beast just vanish without a trace unless someone had a hand in it?

"Okay, shut up for now." Master Crow needed to think things through. And Nick's constant yapping wasn't helping. So, with another wave of his hands, Nick's eyes rolled backward, and he fell unconscious.

And then they continued on their way to the Secret layer. With Master Crow carrying all the hostages, and Shadow One carrying Nick's severed arms and legs.

They needed to reattach these arms and legs before Light Prince arrived after all.

Back at the Secret layer.

Oink! (Nick!)

Oink! (Mom!)

Piggy grew scared. The roars from the forest behind her intimidated her, and it seemed like everyone had already left her here and forgotten about her. Seriously, how rude! She had gotten dressed up just for this?!

Now scared by the sounds behind her, Piggy began moving forward, into the Hallowed-out mountain, which also happened to be the Secret layer of Master Crow's organization.

Oink! (What kind of creepy place is this?!)

Krt! Krt!

Tiny insects and worms passed by Piggy from every direction. Leading her to question the cleanliness of the place. Sigh, as expected, the Palace is still the best place to be in. Piggy swore that if Nick ever proposed to send her out of the Palace again, she would rather die than agree to it.

And after walking forward for a few more minutes, Piggy saw a dark tunnel leading underground.

Curious as to why humans liked to build not only buildings that reached the birds but also tunnels that overlooked the worms, Piggy adventurously walked down the tunnel.

But what she found when she entered surprised her.

Inside this cellar were multiple cages with skeletons still in them!

Oink! (So, this is where humans sleep.)

Piggy understood it immediately. Apparently, these humans enjoyed those cages so much they decided to stay inside them until the day they died.

Now, Piggy was curious about how comfortable these cages were, so she walked inside one and closed the door on herself. Nick had told her multiple times that leaving the doors open when you go in or out of a room was rude, and Piggy was not a rude pig!

Piggy then tried to open the door but found out she couldn't! Even when she utilized her hulk-like strength, the door wouldn't budge. So piggy felt a lot more secure all of a sudden. The scary roars of beasts outside the mountain didn't bother her anymore because she felt safe inside this cage. No one would find her here. And even if they did, they couldn't open the door!

Piggy then curled up in a corner and slept. And whenever she got hungry, she would just munch on the delicious insects that would crawl into the cage voluntarily!