The Letter

2nd day,

Port Royal

The matter of Moraine forcing Kai to begin Phase 2 of his plans had left this 2nd day almost empty for him.

If it wasn't for that, Kai had planned to monitor Mullroy and Murtogg for a day, and then strike the Protector with all his power with a mind to kill. The fight at the dock had shattered those plans, though.

This was life, ever-changing and full of uncertainties.

But it wasn't like this 2nd day was entirely free for Kai. He still had many things to do, for tomorrow was the day of the showdown. And if he were to overlook anything, then it would already be too late.

So Kai, under the guise of Murtogg, penned down a formal request to visit the slums of the Port Royal, where the voodoo practice and healing were much favored. Murtogg was superstitious, to begin with. Thus, his actions perfectly fitted his nature.

One must not forget that Murtogg wasn't Darcie. She was the source of Kai's Comprehension; the very root. Unlike with Darcie, where Kai had to nudge her secretly to take action, when it came to Murtogg he enjoyed much freedom. His control over the three contrasts of the Facelessness wasn't that great, but unless a true Faceless or a much stronger Contestant were to observe him, none could tell any difference.

This was his confidence, birthed because of the horrendous type of practice he had put himself through in the last 6 months.

All this happened after Mullroy had gone for sentry duty, along with the Protector. And as Kai's request was to stay in the slums until the next morning, it gave him ample time and space to move about.

The moment Murtogg's request got accepted, he rushed out of the Fort Charles barracks.

In between somewhere, Kai took off the "face", changing back into himself.

His first target was none other than the inn where he had booked a room for the 3 days. And he couldn't spare a moment of delay with that.

Estrella, the maid from the Governor's mansion, was still there, and if he didn't put spells on her again, then she could wake up at any moment. This would be nothing but a disaster for him.

Even though he had put up a ruthless and lecherous front for all, and there was an urgency to reach his room, Kai still hadn't put down his guard.

When he had reached some hundred meters away from the inn, he made Selene scour the entire inn and the area around the inn for anything that seemed out of place, or traps.

Only when Selene had given him her nod did Kai enter the inn, wearing his usual open white shirt, black knee-length pants, a red sash around his waist, and a torn straw hat. His long white hair was tied in a ponytail.

With Kai's already high Charisma, his attire and physique gave him quite an enchanting appearance, stealing the hearts of the several women at the docks who glanced at him.

If Kai hadn't been in such a hurry, and if he wasn't here for a Side Mission, then he could have had some fun with these looks, enjoying himself to gain some hidden milestones.

Shaking off these thoughts inwardly, Kai entered the Whale and Waterspout inn and approached the owner, Mr. Garret. The old man's head was drooping over his shoulders, a thin trail of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Kai's fist thumped on the wood and brought the owner out of his half-asleep state.

"Which rascal…" Mr. Garret had just begun cursing the man who woke him up when words got choked in his throat. "Ah! It's you, young lad," he laughed ruefully. "And here I thought you left the girl upstairs for me. I knew there was a catch, heh! Ale?"

Kai grunted a reply. "My things aren't something just anyone can touch and remain alive," he said, warning the crowd at the inn. "The door is still unlocked and will remain. I dare someone to step in. Hehe!"

Kai ran his tongue over his lips and a silence swept by throughout the inn.

Mr. Garret behaved as if he heard nothing. He placed a rather big mug of ale in front of Kai, collected the money, and went back to his chair.

Kai drank the spicy ale, showing not a bit of a hurry. This wasn't the time or place to let his worries seep out as frowns. Among the sailors and pirates here, there were Contestants; wolves haunched over their hind legs, always ready to pounce on the next opportunity.

Kai dared not to be careless.

He took his time to finish the drink, ordered a plate of food, and threw himself off the stool.

Just when he was about to head toward the stairs, Mr. Garret shouted, "Wait! I forgot. Haha… There's a letter with me for you. Let me see, I threw it here somewhere. Hmm…"

Kai's pupils flickered with a devious glint.

Mr. Garret fumbled with the drawers and then took out a rather neat envelope. With a flick of his hand, the old man threw it toward Kai.

Kai caught the letter and regarded it with an odd gaze. It was red on the front side and blue on the backside. There was a waxen seal on it as well, half blue and half red. The seal portrayed a tower with an extremely blurry appearance.

'This?!' Kai's mind shook as he saw that.

He looked over his shoulder and his gaze swept through the entire crowd. None looked him in the eye, but many were sneering at him.

Not waiting any longer, Kai went to his room and threw the letter into his MRB.

Estrella was still lying on the bed, naked, and there was a bashful smile on her face as if she was dreaming a lusty dream.

Yesterday, Kai had gone out in a hurry as Mullroy and Murtogg's shift was ending, and he needed to grasp the timing. At that time, he hadn't had the time to be patient with the spell, as Kai had little control over magic for it to last for days.

Now he could take care of that.

Kai threw a blanket over Estrella's body, and sat down near her, placing his palm over her head.

In the next hour, Kai cast the same spell on Estrella repeatedly, solidifying the foundation of the loop of sexual events even further. Only when he had made sure that she wouldn't wake up in the next two days did Kai open his eyes.

Kai rubbed the sweat off his face and nodded to himself.

Then he threw himself out the window and headed toward the Governor's mansion, where Cersei was waiting for him. Kai decided against directly marching into the mansion, letting Selene bring Cersei toward the backside, instead.

After Cersei had reported to him about the events, Kai recast the spell of transfiguration on the earring, making sure it wouldn't turn back into the Book.

Even then, Kai didn't return to the inn or look at the letter but went to the market instead.

There, from a local shop, Kai bought a rather old and damaged black-green compass. This compass was the soul of Kai's plans and an invaluable object.

The morning had turned into the afternoon when Kai returned to the room.

Now he had truly nothing to do.

'If I knew things would happen like this earlier,' Kai thought, anger flashing across his face, 'then I would have only stretched the time to two days, and had come only a day before the showdown instead. Tch!'

Kai sat down on the chair and went through all the preparations and his plan once again.

Then he took out the envelope.

He let it hover midair, a few feet away from him, and ordered Selene to pass through it. When the Ghost Basilisk didn't sense a bit of Mana or Breath in it, the letter hovered back in Kai's hand.

The seal came off, and a white-colored letter presented itself to Kai.

—

Blood Demon,

As per the tradition carried out since the olden antiquity, you are invited to the Night of Truce at 2100 hrs, 3 miles southeast of the HMS Interceptor's anchorage into the barren cliffs.

All conflicts and fights are prohibited for 6 hours after the start of the event.

Even if you can't come, acting against other Contestants or jeopardizing their missions is forbidden.

Please bring the letter with you, if you decide to join your fellow Contestants at the venue.

The Primordial Tower

—

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