620 Submission [2]

  "…It's been a while since we've last seen each other, I hope you haven't forgotten about me, Silug?"

I stood face to face with Silug in front of the castle's central square, which had an opening above that allowed one to glimpse the sky above.

Six years.

That was how much time had passed since we had last met each other. 

Staring deeply into Silug's eyes, I started to reminisce about the time we met.

Back then, I was only at around <E> or <D> rank at the time. Silug was an existence that I could only look up to in those times. 

I used to envy his strength. 

Now…

Standing right in front of him and meeting his gaze, I felt his previous impression inside of my mind crumble.

He seemed less intimidating and impressive than he had in the past, which may have been due to the fact that I had to deal with more formidable opponents in the years that followed my trip to Immorra or simply because my strength had grown to the point where there were only a few people in the world that could pose a threat to me . 

Regardless, that didn't matter to me at the moment. I had a goal to accomplish.

"I have not forgotten about you, human."

Silug's low and deep voice echoed. The surroundings shook ever so slightly at the tone of his voice 

I nodded my head slightly when I heard his words.

Taking a glimpse at my surroundings and seeing the central square sorrounded by several orcs, I mentioned. 

"So you still remember that you're working for me, right?"

The atmosphere froze over as soon as my words resounded in the air.

The orcs that were standing by the side all released their auras.

"How dare you?!"

"Who are you to speak to our chief like that?" 

I ignored the enraged roads coming from the orcs and kept my gaze on Silug. My expression was extremely serious. 

The tensions in the space rose to an all time high. It then all came crashing down when one of the orcs rushed toward me.

The charging orc was stopped in his tracks when Silug reached out his hand in his direction. The surroundings trembled as his thunderous voice reverberated throughout the area.

"Stop!"

'He has indeed improved.'

Taking note of the power hidden behind the voice, I silently praised.

Nonetheless, I knew that this was just a cheap trick used by him to intimidate me. 

"Chief?"

The orc, and the ones around us looked at Silug with questionable looks.

Silug glanced at them for a short moment before focusing his attention back on me. 

"I remember our deal."

"…Well isn't that great." 

I clapped my hands. 

Only to stop when I heard Silug speak once more. 

"And..." 

My eyes narrowed slightly.

Was he perhaps going to reject the deal? 

His next words surprised me.

"..And I am not against it. Without your aid, I would've never been able to rise to my current position. It would be against my nature to repay your kindness with malice."

"Honest, I like it."

I guess I was worrying too much before.

Silug was really intending to keep his word.

"But…"

Or was he?

My eyes narrowed once more.

I continued to look Silug right in the eyes.

"But what?"

Seeing him struggling to say something, I kept an impassive look. 

Actually, I already knew what he was going to say. 

I was merely pretending to not know about his circumstances at the moment.

It became clear to me that Silug had his priorities elsewhere. The fact that the previous leader was here was a testament to this.

"…But I don't think I will be able to meet your conditions. For the sake of my people, I cannot leave this place."

"Is that so?"

'As expected, I got rejected.'

So far, things were going as I had predicted.

Thump—!

Silug suddenly knelt on one knee on the ground.

"I understand my errors, but my priorities lie elsewhere. If you are unwilling to accept my decision, I can only resort to a more violent approach?"

"…Are you threatening me?"

I asked while tilting my head to the side. Not once did I ever release my pressure and let him know of my real rank.

All I wanted to gauge at the moment was his sincerity, and so far, he seemed to be doing well.

'He'll be a useful addition for when the war starts.'

The goal was to take over the entire planet and have the orcs build their forces in the meantime.

When the third calamity strikes, I planned to create a portal for the orcs to go through and enter earth.

…and for that to happen, I needed Silug's complete loyalty.

Which was exactly what I was planning on getting a the moment.

"Hold this for me."

Unzipping my hoodie, I handed it to Angelica. Then, stretching my shoulders, I asked. 

"Where should we do this?"

I went straight to the point. 

By a more 'violent' approach, he was clearly pointing toward a fight. I avoided wasting time by chatting about frivolous topics and got right to the subject. Plus, I wasn't against this idea as I got myself ready. 

"Here." 

Silug replied while he focused his gaze on the other orcs present.

"Urkan bulum!"

He deeply shouted, in his own language. We were previously speaking in demonic language, which was the universal language for all races. 

Right after his words faded, all of the orcs around us moved away, clearing the space for the two of us to fight.

'Should I use mana or not?'

Narrowing my eyes and staring at Silug, I eventually made up my mind.

'Let's not.'

I then took a stance.

'It's about time I tested just how strong my body became over the past two years…'

***

Silug stared at his adversary as he felt a range of emotions wash over him. 

He was of course, grateful for the opportunity that the human before him had given him.

Without him, he would have likely continued to serve as one of the orcs' generals and perished along the way without anyone ever remebering him. 

Even then, despite the fact that he felt grateful, Silug had his own priorities, and unfortunately, couldn't keep the part of his pledge he had made with the human.

'I will not kill him, and send him away as a token of apology.'

Silug couldn't quite tell the strength of the human before him. However, he could tell from a glance that he had undergone massive improvements.

He was definitely a lot stronger than he was when he first came here.

Even then, it wasn't anything that made Silug feel threatened.

Taking into consideration how much time elapsed, Silug had a rough estimate of Ren's strength.

'It should be at around <B> rank.'

A far cry from his strength which of the <S> rank. 

Taking a position in the middle of the flat surface, Silug calmly observed his surroundings.

His eyes then fell on several individuals.

A tall man with yellow eyes, another human with curly black hair and monolid eyes, and the demoness he had signed a contract with a while back.

This was actually the first time he had actually met her in person, and her strength was indeed something to be wary of.

'They are strong.'

More so for the man who had yellow eyes. His entire presence was something that made the back of his hair stand. He was scary. Extremely scary. 

Him aside, the pressure that the other two gave out was nothing to scoff at.

The other ones beside them also looked like decently strong humans, which surprised Silug quite a bit.

Shifting his attention back toward Ren, Silug silently praised inside of his heart.

'To have attracted so many talented and strong individuals by his side, he indeed is someone worth following…'

Alas, if only the circumstances weren't like this.

"Are you ready?"

Silug asked while jumping around on the spot.

"I'm ready."

Ren replied back while he took a rather lax stance.

'It's filled with openings.'

Silug thought when he stared at Ren.

With just a glance he could tell just how many openings there were. 

With seventy years of fighting under his belt, he was able to easily tell this much.

'Let's make this quick.'

He thought to himself. 

"Alright, come at me."

Silug suddenly heard Ren's words and paused for a moment.

He then took another look at him and was left surprised by how relaxed he seemed.

'…Why is he so confident?'

Instead of leaping to the conclusion that Ren was conceited, Silug immediately grew apprehensive.

Silug frequently encountered opponents who concealed their strength before a fight, which often lead to him underestimating them. He may have survived those ordeals in the past, but they also taught him a valuable lesson. 

'Could he also be hiding his real strength?'

If so….

Crack. 

As Silug's body started to take on a dark green color, the ground beneath him shattered.

Clenching his fist tightly, he twisted his torso and flexed his back muscles.

Once again focusing his attention on Ren, he pressed his foot against the ground and his vision blurred.

In a split second, he was already before Ren, and he immediately punched out.

Booom—!

A thunderous explosion rang in the air as massive shockwaves swept the surroundings.

The power of the attack was so great that some of the orcs and the human's followers had to retreat a short distance.

When they finally managed to turn their attention back to the battle, they noticed Silug gazing at Ren with bewildered eyes.

It didn't take long for them to take on a similar look. Especially when they saw how Silug's big fist was stopped by Ren's single finger.

"You…"