Disguise

In the demon town, Aeptian, the biggest structure rests at the tallest point, overseeing the world below it. Hovering over its citizens providing a sense of safety and protection.The only thing taller than the palace are the surrounding walls protecting the town.

Large beige boulders, neatly put together with carved details to give it a look of elegance. The palace stands proudly. The people beneath it feel intimidation oozing all the way to the farthest parts of Aeptian.

Several windows on the walls, where the lights almost never go out, signal the longevity of the royal family. It's their way of connecting with the people, since royalty and common folk don't mesh well with one another.

Over the ledge between the windows of adjacent rooms, a young girl hangs with her life on the line. Yulia tries her best to reach her, but to no avail. After securing the room, Roi, along with Malia, check outside, noticing the frightened girl clinging with every inch of strength her tiny body can produce.

With worry painted all over her face, Malia jumps out of the window and onto the ledge, only to be stopped by Roi. She turns to him with tears flowing down her cheeks. "Let me go… M-My sister…"

"I'll go! Stay with your father!"

Saying nothing back, Malia lowers her head and returns to the room, exchanging places with Roi. Without carrying an extra weight, his movements are much more nimble.

With careful steps he approaches Yulia and Kali. he lowers himself, holding onto the ledge and gets closer to Kali, who has eyes closed. The young man tries to calm her with a soft voice and slowly gets her to open her eyes. "You are a brave girl. Everything will be fine. I'll help you back up, is that ok?"

Kali, after hearing Roi's soothing voice, her breathing gradually slows down, and the earlier panting is almost non-existent while she reaffirms her grip. She nods and looks at Roi with eyes reddened from tears.

Yulia reaches for the girl while Roi pushes her up. As soon as Kali is back up on the ledge, she holds onto her cousin. Yulia smiles and hugs her in whatever little space she has. "You are ok, Kali. I've got you!"

All the while, Malia, whose head is out the window, lets out a sigh of relief when she sees her sister is safe. She turns to her father, crying and smiling at the same time. Without uttering a word, she buries herself in his arms.

Back in the office, Nox is hiding under the desk, listening in on their discussions. Even though he's worried about Malia and the others, his mind is relaxed because he knows Roi is with them.

King Gor's thunderous voice strikes awe in the hearts of those in the room. "With that, we will once again reclaim our honor and independence!"

His militants and general rejoice before saluting their king and bid him goodbye. Shortly after, they leave the office and King Gor is alone, in a room with Nox without him be aware.

Nox ponders over what he should do in this kind of situation. A potential enemy is within reach and unaware of his presence, but thinking back to when they first met, he didn't strike him as a person of evil.

The young man thinks of the facial features of him and his daughter that reminded him of a tiger. Golden-brown fur and black stripes across their bodies, with a slim tail he often saw on felines in his neighbourhood.

He then remembered something else that made him worry. Their keen sense of hearing. His triangular furry ears pick up noises that other species find it hard to hear. That's when his heart races. Not only that, but he hears footsteps approaching him and the familiar voice of king Gor echoing in the room. "Who's there?"

Nox tucks in to remain unseen while King Gor hovers over the desk. Just as he was about to look under it, a knock on the door interrupts him. His attention turns towards the door. "Yes, what is it?"

Nox, who was earlier holding his breath, let it out, relieved. He couldn't use the shadow spell because it's still in a cool-down phase.

"Your Majesty, the squad we sent after the Demon Lord and his friends returned. They said they were absent from their rooms!"

The king clenches his fists and smacks it on the table, breaking off a piece. "Idiots!"

He walks at the door, irritated. His steps raise dust and his fists have bulging veins. "Do I have to do it myself?"

Nox gets out from under the desk with caution, in case there's a guard loitering about. Once he makes sure he's alone, he checks the map on the large table the king broke earlier. "This might be useful!"

After grabbing the map, he peeks out the door. His purple eyes scan the area from left to right. He's about to walk out of the office, when a wave of voices becomes audible, having him rush back.

Upon making sure it's clear once more, he finds the opportunity to leave. He exits the office and finds himself in the wide area of the hall. Like the center of the palace, the young man can feel his eyes widening at the sight of luxury. An internal sigh of relief doesn't last for long when a voice creeps from behind him. "Hey! You there!"

Nox slightly turns his head and sees a guard walking towards him. He waves at him with a smile and runs the other way. The guard chases after Nox. "Wait…!"

With his level, he can easily outrun a single guard, but the enormous area with multiple routes is confusing enough, not to mention that he needs to return to Malia and the others.

While running around, he comes to an instant halt and turns to face the guard. Saying nothing, he launches forward and lands a punch in the guard's abdomen, knocking him unconscious.

He picks him up and carries him all the way to the office, hiding him behind the office but not before stripping him of his clothes and armor. "I'll be borrowing these if you don't mind…"

The heavy armor restricts the young man's movements, but he's satisfied so when he's greeted instead of being chased around, a smile forces its way onto his face. Even though he walks slower and with more difficulty, he doesn't mind, as long as he can reach his friends.

Once again, in the massive royal hall, with a spear at hand, he walks towards the door that was previously locked. His shadow spell's cool down reached zero, but he decides not to use it. 'I may need it later!'

He enters the corridor. He takes his steps with caution, keeping his focus forward. There's a good chance he'll encounter the king with the general and other guards, searching for Malia and her family. 'Grimmy! Do you mind scanning ahead?'

{Loading…}

['Certainly!"

{Scanning…}

['No life forms detected…']

Feeling a little more relaxed, Nox quickens his pace. He still has his guard up and his hand on the hilt of the sword. It's not like he can use it, but he is at least able to swing it around and hope for the best.

{Scanning…}

With Grimmy's scans, the young man with purple eyes approaches the long arc that made him feel all anxious earlier. The claustrophobic area again has him unconsciously walk faster to reach the end.

['Life forms detected!']

Nox comes to an abrupt halt and puts his back against the wall. 'Is it the king?'

{Loading…}

['Negative. It appears to be three females and two males through the next door']

'Oh, it's Roi and the others!'

{Loading…}

['It is inconclusive!']

'Haha! Don't worry about it…'

Rejoiced, Nox enters through the door. Before uttering a word, he's met with a sharp blade whistling down on him, which he barely dodges.

A chair breaks into pieces after hitting him from behind. The impact wasn't enough to drop him until the second chair splintered in all directions, rendering him numb and unable to move in the heavy armor.

The young man drops to his knees, breathing heavy. His chest pressed by the steel armor makes it harder for him to suck in air and relax his lungs. He musters all his strength just to remove the helmet. A clanging thud startles Roi and the others when they see Nox's bleeding face. "I-It's me! Stop hitting me!"

Malia, who's holding a mug, throws it at Nox, hitting him on the head. He groans and put his hand in the area where he received it, rubbing it for several seconds. The young man has bulging veins on his forehead when he turns to Malia. "Why did you do that for?"

Malia fidgets and looks down. "It looked fun when the others did it…!"

"Huh?"

Roi ignores their banter and walks towards Nox, helping him remove the armor. The girls blush after seeing his naked top, but it didn't last for long when they saw the bruises from their attacks. They apologised while looking down.

After getting help from Roi, Nox stands up and jumps a few times, feeling pleased at being lighter.

Malia checks the armor and looks at Nox with amazement. "I'm surprised you could walk in these things!"

"I could barely move. I don't know if you can call that walking…"

Roi approaches one plate and tries to pick it up. He doesn't let go until all of his blood is rushing to his head. "Why can't I pick it up?"

Malia sighs. "That's what I meant! Only Lizardmen can wear this thing!"

Nox notices the weird looks he's getting from his companions and protests. "I'm not a Lizard!"