CHAPTER 11: The confrontation

Inside the dark throne room, a black-haired lady is sitting on a throne made of bones while a maid is beside her. Two youths bowed their head before standing up with a determined look on their faces. The witch grinned as she leaned forward with an amused expression.

"So you want to walk towards the Demer Kingdom? I can teleport the both of you to Demer Kingdom instantly, you know"

"Forgive us, we wanted to go there by ourselves" Kyle said with a smile

"Even if you walk towards there, it would only take you and Isaac a couple of days" The witch said with a confused tone

"There are also the dangerous monsters and people will try and kill the both of you, especially when you have the cursed weapons" the witch said with a carefree smile. The witch has known for a long time that they are carrying cursed weapons so Kyle didn't really try hiding it

"We know, so that's why we attempted leveling up recklessly" Kyle replied

"If you can let us borrow 2 sets of white and black hood to hide our body and mask of deceits to hide our face and change our voice, i would also like to request to have the sealing fabric to hide the dark aura of our weapons" Kyle bowed deeply. There are the things he needed to be able to enter the small city near the capital of the Demer Kingdom called the Leylin City where the tower of insanity is situated. The tower of insanity is a black tower with 72 floors where otherworlders can enter with every floor becoming harder and harder to clear than the last one. It is one of the towers of the former demon king who was killed 1000 years ago. Inside the tower, there are treasures, skill books, art books, and artifacts that can be found every time a floor is cleared.

'By this time, only a few people have gain entry inside of it. To be able to enter, one needs to wield a cursed weapon or be a demonkin. I was able to reach the 50th floor before giving up because i needed to have someone who also wields a cursed weapon. Damn, i really suffered because i'm an anti-social teenager back then' Kyle glanced at the stoic Isaac before chuckling.

"I see, you're planning on entering the black tower right?' the witch smiled as Kyle nodded.

'i can't really hide anything from the witch' Kyle shooked his head before maintaining eye contact with the witch.

"You do know that it is surrounded by the templars from the Light of Dawn" the witch informed

Light of Dawn is the main religion of the majority of human kingdoms who worships the goddess of light. It has a big influence and sometimes rumored to be controlling the human continent. The supreme pontiff is a higher being that even the kings even bows to and respects. A near-invisible human who fought against the goddess of light during the fall of gods. He is one of the people Kyle respected in his past life. He willingly fought against the goddess who he worships once he realizes the atrocity and lies created by the goddess. Still, even if the supreme pontiff is a kind and a gentleman. There is still corruption happening behind the scenes, people who use their religion to get what they want.

"I believe we can handle them" Kyle said while glancing at Isaac before nodding

"No, i'm sure we can handle them" Kyle added with a smirk

The witch laughed in amusement before opening her lips to speak

"I look forward to what you can do but remember that you need to go to the banquet, if you don't i'll destroy that tower together with the both of you" the witch reminded before white and black robes, two white mask and two separate fabrics with unidentifiable symbols marked in it appeared in front of Kyle. Grabbing the black robe, a mask, and fabric as Kyle bowed before leaving as Isaac followed suit as he grabs the remaining items.

Seeing that both of them has left the throne room, the maid inched closer to the witch.

"Your highness, why did you let them go to the black tower. Anyone who entered there never comes back" the maid said worriedly. Although she never talked that much to the both of them, every time she sees them injured and at death's door Kyle would always prioritize Isaac before himself. Each time Kyle was healed, he would always thank her every time with a gentle smile. Although Isaac might seem cold and brash but every time he wakes up. He apologizes for being an inconvenience to her and that he doesn't have a choice but to be wounded. His eyes would always glisten with regret every time he apologizes. They are the only otherworlders she has ever meet who are kind to others.

"Don't worry, i embedded them with a talisman where if they lost consciousness. They will teleport back here. I can't allow them to break the contract do i?" The witch smirked

Once outside the forest, Kyle donned the black robe before putting the redesign white mask with a wave of black lines at the side with a black large dot in the middle before wrapping his spear in the fabric. Seeing this, Isaac followed him as he wore the white robe over his white long sleeve and hiding the white pants given to him by Kyle. He hides his face with a white mask with the same design as Kyle but instead of a black color, it's red instead. He wrapped the katana with the fabric. The mask has no eyelids nor any nose bridges or mouth, it's just a smooth mask with lines and a large dot in the middle. Isaac was surprised that he can see and breathe as usual, the mask feels normal like there is no mask on his face.

"Surprising right? this is a rare artifact that can change the voice of the user while not being uncomfortable to wear" Kyle said

"This is the design i choose since it's the mask design being used by the assassin organization called the shadow" Kyle explained

Shadow is a secret organization that only the rich merchants and nobles can hire to do their bidding, either by assassinating, stealing, or anything that the normal adventures and knights can't do. Almost all of the human empires have a Shadow organization office where they can request their services but one of their codes are to never kill defenseless woman and children. They also never accept missions where it can harm the security of the continent. If the light of dawn is the protector of the day then the shadow is the protector of the night. As the rumor has said., if someone is rich and has a lot of enemies but they never use their wealth to cause other people's pain. They will never be targeted by the shadow.

'For now, the shadow is the protector of the night but in the future. After the current shadow leader died, a new one rose to power and they become an organization solely for greed and lust' Kyle remembered the events as he writes it in the notepad.

They walked for a day without seeing any monsters or humans. Picking fruits in one of the trees, Kyle glanced at Isaac

"Why are we going to the tower of insanity?" Isaac asked as he received the fruit thrown to him by Kyle as he eats it.

"Simple, there is a chance we can receive titles" Kyle said while biting into what seems to be an apple but with seeds on the outside.

"Titles?" Isaac asked as he opened his palms to ask for more. Seeing this, Kyle throws him a different kind of fruit. An apple-like fruit but with the color black for its skin. Isaac scrutinized the fruit and checking if the fruit is poisonous.

"Relax, that's not poisonous. Anyways, titles are like achievements. For example, the title slaughter which can be achieved if you kill 100 humans will give additional 10% damage to humans. Damage is a rather vague thing but if i can explain it, it's how much your punch, kick, or any attack of yours will deal more pain and injuries to your enemy" Kyle explained as Isaac nodded before taking a large bite into the black apple.

"So why go there if we can get titles here" Isaac asked

"For every floor, there are rewards for us if we clear it. We just need the title Pioneer of the Tower. We needed to defeat the 25th-floor boss without destroying its mana crystals which give it near-unlimited mana. If we achieve that, we can learn and use instant teleportation which allows us to appear anywhere we want in a 500-meter radius around us. " Kyle explained as he gazed towards the road

"That's very…useful" Isaac continued on eating the black apple as he looked in front of him. A white luxurious carriage carried by white horses is slowly inching towards them. Surrounding the carriage is 4 armored knights and two magicians with a wooden staff. The knights noticed them as their hands are situated in the hilt of their swords. The carriage stopped as a beautiful and elegant lady wearing armor slowly walked outside. Her white hair flowing in the wind as her eyes are full of anger. She slowly unsheathed her weapon to reveal a silver rapier with an enchanting hilt full of gems as the blade glint a dangerous light.

"Damn, didn't expect to see you here" Kyle's said with an awkward tone that can be heard behind him as he started removing the sealing fabric. Seeing this, Isaac understood that they are enemies. He ripped the sealing fabric before jumping forward with his sword aimed at the lady.

"Egos really are monsters who attack anyone they see" the lady chuckled before parrying the strike to the side before grabbing Isaac's neck with her left hand.

"Isaac!" Kyle shouted but a flash of a woman appeared in his sight, her red hair flying through the wind with her claws aiming towards his heart. Quickly, using the metal of his spear he blocked the attack. Sparks appeared in the air as Kyle flew a couple of meters back.

Meanwhile, Isaac raised both of his feet and kicked the lady's stomach as she grunts in pain. She loosens her grip as Isaac punched her elbow and successfully escaped from her grip.

"Isaac! We should run away" Isaac noticed Kyle running towards him as he turned around to parry the attack of the red-haired beastkin as her claws continued on bashing towards Kyle's spear.

"Chaos Magic: summon portal" Kyle casted but nothing happened. His eyes was full of doubt before realizing that the mages besides the carriage are stopping him from making a portal. They probably have an artifact called Space sphere which blocks any teleportation and portal from ever happening.

"It seems that your spell won't work egos!" the white-haired lady chuckled before a terrifying wind current started moving around her rapier.

"Any last words egos" she smiled

"Yeah, do you kill anyone you see?" Isaac asked calmly at her

"You! i only kill every ego i see" the lady gritted her teeth before calming herself. Theirs no way she's like them. She assured herself that she is doing the right thing.

"Well, i'm not an ego so why did you not say yes to my question?" Isaac asked

"Shut up! you can't convince me with your lies!" she shouted

"So just because someone is carrying cursed weapons, they're evil? I hate it when someone is being a hypocrite. Acting righteous and thinking they're doing the right thing. Disgusting" Isaac scorned with absolute contempt on his voice.

"I'll kill you!!" she shouted in anger

"How dare you insult her!" a near growl-like voice echoed behind them

"Stop!"Kyle shouted that surprised both Melissa and Cellica

"Isaac, stop insulting them" Kyle said with a sigh

"If you let us go, we will give you information on who killed your father" Kyle said as the veins around Melissa's face is nearly bursting in anger.

"Do you think i'll believe you!" Melissa shouted

"You can ask the witch herself if my information is false"

"How about i'll torture you so you can give me your information" Melissa smiled coldly. It seems that she is not gonna give up. Kyle sighed before scratching the back of his head

"I guess i'll give you the answer when your thinking calmly" Kyle said before nodding to Isaac

"Crimson blade style: Domination" Isaac said as he released a terrifying bloodlust as it turned to a large overbearing demon gazing at all of them. Melissa falls to her knees as sweat drips from her forehead as she chuckled nervously. While Cellica falls to one knee as she gritted her teeth, her spine is chilling from the sheer terror coming from Isaac. The knights fumbled and shouted in fear while the mages fall to the ground screaming in horror. Seeing this, Kyle moved forward.

"Chaos Magic: summon portal" a black portal appeared in front of them as Kyle entered silently but Isaac removed the mask before throwing a sneer at Melissa. In a few seconds, both of them vanished as Melissa panted as her body is covered with sweat.

"Dammit!!" she shouted on top of her lungs.