Chapter 398 - Old Grudges And Older Enemies
The rest of the fights went on uneventfully. No other duel was fought between two members of Iewah's children, leading to a boring and predictable spectacle.
After the last of these two hundred fights, the old explorer concluded the event for the day, and teleported the remaining participants into a pocket dimension that contained a small scale city. He then invited the observers to a banquet.
More than two days had passed since the beginning of the One Above All, and even for the standard of a cultivator, such length was beyond their limits of patience. After all, to send their most talented young cultivators into a death trap required them to be constantly on edge.
Naturally, Daniel and the other observers knew that this break from the event was not out of courtesy. The universal government had a second objective, and that objective, was to rope in the most powerful factions in case a war between the two civilizations was unavoidable.
Daniel was sitting at a table that had been prepared, and reserved for him and his companions. This table was placed right next to the main table, where the members of the universal government, or more specifically, the military, explorers, and judge's representatives were sitting.
The positioning of the tables had been selected out of the respect that the government felt towards the many factions, companies, and solitary cultivators present. The closest tables went to each of the members or representatives of one of Iewah's children, as well as the major factions.
Through the banquet, many dishes were brought in along with different sorts of specially made beverages which were powerful enough to numb even the mind of a high immortal.
Daniel and the old man Golden Cauldron stayed seated, and observed as the Silver Alchemist was approached by many groups in hope to be introduced.
For one of Iewah's children, Daniel had shown himself to be extremely civilized, and that was a rare sight for those who had had anything to do with any other of their kind. That was also the reason why only he and the Teacher had come to observe the event personally, while the others had sent proxies instead.
After more than an hour, Daniel's teacher found himself unable to stop a few people from walking past him, and sit in the empty spots of Daniel's table. However, as they made themselves comfortable, Daniel pretended that they weren't there, and kept talking to the old man Golden Cauldron.
"You have costed my faction quite the sum, Outcast." Said the white clothed cultivator who had been sent as the representative of the Spiritual Faction. Standing behind him quietly, was the participant who had been defeated by one of the Teacher's students.
A second cultivator, whose body was covered in precious merchant clothes, but that was not part of any of Cato's main merchant conglomerates, chimed in by saying, "Not only you. Because of him, we were cut out of Hell. We have lost an extremely important business partner." He was one of the leading figures of the merchant faction.
Occupying two more chairs of Daniel's table, while staying quiet, were two more cultivators. One of them was a woman in blood red clothes with red hair and eyes, while the other, was man in dark purple clothes, with eyes that resembled two small vortexes of death-like essence. His skin was almost entirely covered by a dark spot, that had only spared his face, and hands. These two were the representatives of the Parasitic faction, and the Sovereign of Corruption.
The power of each of these four individuals was similar, and each of them could be compared on a cultivator at the hundredth phase of high immortality. However, their power was not enough to catch Daniel's attention, so he continued his conversation with the old man Golden Cauldron.
"I would assume that, once he will wake up, he will give you an earful about what he has learned." Said Daniel while chuckling lightly.
The old man smiled back, and with reminiscence, he said, "It can't be any worse than it was before. We once had a debate regarding the depths of space and time, and on my life, the next five hours were filled with his blabbering!"
"Who knows. Maybe this time you two will manage to finish that conversation." Added Daniel while taking a sip of the liquor in his glass, but instead of swallowing it, he destroyed it while in his mouth. His actions were not caused by any type of suspicion, but by the fact that he preferred not to be intoxicated, while surrounded by enemies and strangers.
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a clearing throat.
"Can I help you with something?" Said Daniel before slowly turning towards the Spiritual Warrior, which was the one who had tried to catch his attention. "Maybe some directions to your own table?" He then added, while showing a faint smile.
In response to Daniel's tone, the spiritual warrior lost any form of politeness, and with a more aggressive tone, he said, "Brat, watch your tone. I have about a hundred thousand years on you, and I could rip your spirit right off your body."
"Well, you better make sure you kill me, then." Responded Daniel before casually taking another sip of his drink.
Daniel's simple words carried a clear message. He was not afraid of him, and even if he used his means to kill him, he was sure to come back alive, and set his faction on fire. There was no situation in which the lack of fear and the absolute confidence in one's own ability would not change another person's opinion of oneself, and this was the case for Daniel.
Although a rule that prohibited these powerful individuals from fighting had not been set, they were still respectful. After all, they all belonged to the universal government, and if they created a situation that would damage the holders of the event, they would ultimately have to pay for it, so instead of pushing it, the spiritual warrior turned to look at the merchant, and said, "You talk to him, before I change my mind, and choose to try my luck with the government."
"Of course." Responded the merchant before turning to look at Daniel, and saying, "My problem with your actions lays in the effects it had on Hell's policies. We have tried more than once to enter in contact with them, but we were denied entrance multiple times. When asked why, they said to get your permission. Can you elaborate on that?"
At the mention of Hell, Ivan and Sigg turned to look at Daniel with curiosity. As sons of merchants, they had heard of that dimension, and about the exchanges between the territory of the universal government and the demons. To them, it had grown to being a myth. A place that they would likely never see in their lives, but of which they heard about more than once before.
What shocked the two the most, however, was what Daniel said next.
"I don't think that whoever you have talked to meant me. I believe they meant the King of Hell." Responded Daniel Cryptically.
The merchant tilted his head slightly in confusion, then asked, "Are you saying that you are the king of hell?"
"Of course not. The king of hell needs demonic power coursing through their body. Neither I, or anyone else present here could ever do that." Responded Daniel while putting his glass down, and making himself comfortable in his seat.
"Very well. How can we enter in contact with this 'King of Hell'? Is there a way we can find him?" Asked the merchant with interest. His only priority was to gain access to Hell. Nothing else mattered to him.
"Right here." Responded Daniel with a matter-of-fact tone, and while opening his arms.
Once again, confused by Daniel's words, the merchant narrowed his eyes, and said, "Please, enough games. Can't we just be direct?"
Daniel smiled in response, as a dark smoke started to emerge from his black hair. Once plentiful, this smoke quietly turned into the shape of a wolf cub with demonic semblance.
The apparition of the demonic wolf cub was surprising enough to catch the attention of those that were observing from Daniel's surroundings, but also to catch the interest of the humanoid dragon, and the dispirited humanoid lioness which Nilo had fought in battle only hours earlier.
"That is the king of hell?" Asked the merchant with a confusion shared between himself, and the others.
"I know, it is much cuter than the name suggests, don't you agree?" Responded Daniel while grabbing the fluffy sides of the cub's body in order to stabilize him over his head, and preventing him from falling.
The cub had been hiding within the shadows of Daniel's hair, and would only come out to eat the dark spheres. However, despite its appearance, he had already reached a level of power that would match an early immortal, and if allowed to take its real shape, he would grow to twenty meters in length.
The only reason why the cub would remain in its infant appearance, was because it was convinced that if he was bigger, he would have to be separated from Daniel, and as a consequence, lose a portion of its meals.
"So, you do have control over Hell." Said the merchant while looking at the wolf cub munch on a dark essence sphere. He then added, "How much do you want for him?"
The merchant's last question was able to remove the smile from Daniel's face. "I am going to pretend that you didn't ask me that."
In response to what Daniel said, the merchant leaned toward him, and said with a low tone, "Sir Outcast.. That gentleman over there with the scaled-skin, is one of the Tamer's followers. He has already noticed this odd beast, and I can assure you that your actions have just confirmed that this creature is indeed the ticket to enter Hell. It would be much better for you to get rid of it. We would gladly take it off your hands, and maybe sell it to the Tamer in your stead due to.. Your inherent differences."
"I already have a companion who the Tamer wishes to acquire. I don't see why adding another would bother me." Responded Daniel before taking a look at the two humanoid beasts that had started to stare at him since the wolf cub had come out.
"I understand. No luck then." Said the merchant without the slightest hint of disappointment.
Daniel was not in a good mood anymore, so he turned to look at the remaining two cultivators, and said, "Go on with your threats or complaints, then fuck off."
"Neither of the sort." Responded the High Herald of the Sovereign of Corruption, as he slowly stood up from his seat, and said with a smile, "I was tasked with extending an invitation to visit the Sovereign of Corruption, and now that I did, I'll be on my way."
As the Herald stood up, the woman in red followed suit. "My Lord sends his regards. He can't wait for you two to meet again, Outcast." she muttered before following the man in purple clothes.
The merchant and the Spiritual Warrior did not leave, and instead turned to look at the approaching individuals. One of them was the tall humanoid dragon, while the other, was a man which appeared to be in his late seventies.
Of the two individuals, the one whom Daniel was the most wary of, was the old man.
"Outcast. My master wishes to have a word with you and my nephew.. after all of this will be over." said the humanoid dragon before walking past his table, and along with the lioness, heading towards the enrance of the ballroom.
Daniel smiled in response to his words, and said with a tone loud enough for him to hear, "Tell her that we will meet when I'll come to free your kin. I have already promised that to your nephew."
Once the two left, the old man sat on the free chair next to Daniel, and with odd friendliness, he said, "Outcast. My beloved mistress has a score to settle with you. Why not be mature, and have a talk with her? I am sure that there is nothing that cannot be solved with a chat."
The words of this old man made a few memories resurface in Daniel's mind. He could see a beautiful young woman, who looked at him at the moment of his death. A woman whose throat he had broken after coming back to life, only to see her escape thanks to the sacrifice of one of the people which she had bewitched. A woman that in the past few years had gained a massive fame through the territory of the universal government, and had been named as 'The Charmer', or as he knew her as, Kreah.
As these memories resurfaced, and Daniel remembered Kreah's face, he suddenly felt a grip around his heart. To his shock, he was feeling affection towards her. An affection that was not supposed to be here.
It was right when this feeling started to develop into love inside Daniel's mind, that Aeron came out of the ring he was wearing, and placed his hand over his head.
In a matter of moments, the memories of Kreah were locked away in the depths of Daniel's mind, and he came back to his senses.
With a drop of cold sweat that moved down his back, Daniel thought of how terrifying her gift had become compared to the first time they had met. To be able to bewitch another child of Iewah without even being there, was a demonstration that the gifts of the other children of Iewah were not inferior to his own.
As Aeron appeared, the mental warriors present to the event turned to look at him with horror.
As mental beings, they were able to scan Aeron's body the same way an immortal cultivator was able to scan another's, and it did not take much for them to see that, while still weak compared to the others, his mental power was profound, and extremely complex.
To put it in simple terms, while their mental power was a simple color based on the type of mental powers that they would obtain during their ascension, Aeron's mental power was a palette, which contained every color imaginable.