Parallel Vol. 3 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 13: Gentleman's Revenge

Froy was having a terrible week. A very terrible week. First, the losses incurred in kidnapping the damned daeben, Kashi, had been far beyond estimations. Sure, the Chaos Brotherhood had bodies accumulated many corpses over the centuries, thanks to the numerous wars, but the success rate of turning a corpse to a ghoul was one in ten. And even then, the processes and materials required were not easy or small in the least. Losing over three hundred in one go was something he had definitely not planned for. Since their creation, no one had taken advantage of the self-destruct ability their hearts contained. And to do so, so adeptly. What the hell was that daeben!? Was he even a hume*?

The loss of so many ghouls had severely weakened his army. Unlike most of the other bases, Second Under's primary force comprised of ghouls. There were a few dozen humes but their main job was to supervise the ghouls.

That was bad enough, but then the very person he had incurred all those losses to capture had then escaped. Even worse, that annoying bastard Ruse had chosen now of all times to show up unannounced. Froy knew very well he could not stall for much longer. Sooner or later, he would have to break the news of Kashi's escape. When that happened, Ruse would not waste the opportunity to strip him of his rank, or worse yet, have Froy executed like he did Froy's brother.

Froy's creased brows softened somewhat as he gazed, almost lustfully, at the power crystal in front of him. Despite the bleakness of the last two weeks, this crystal was more than enough to cover his losses. Froy extended his arm and placed it on the crystal. He'd had Ruse escorted to the amphitheater to watch the captive, Lunette's performance. He would also join up but first wished to be done with this particular piece of business. As an insurance against the future.

Froy glanced at two mages at the entrance and nodded.

The mages politely bowed their heads then exited the chamber, jamming the door shut behind them. A concealment barrier activated, blocking all sounds and magical undulations from getting exposed to the outside.

Froy closed his eyes and began a low chant. Powerful ripples cascaded off the crystal accompanied by an otherworldly pressure that would have crushed Froy had he not been 'connected' to the crystal. Froy's chants rose ferociously as the crystal released tempestuous undulations, each fighting back against Froy's desire.

If one looked very closely, they would have been shocked to find the crystal decrease by a small percentage with each ripple it sent out.

***

An Hour Later

Froy, accompanied by a few soldiers and mages, stopped at a magnificent door that looked oddly out of place in this underground world of stone and lava. It was constructed entirely of metal, with extravagantly bright colors, and a man-sized engraving of 'The Destroyer' that split down the middle.

Froy walked through as the doors were opened by a pair of ghouls. The doors opened to a large hall with a magnificent stage at the opposite end. Rows of luxurious benches marked the scene, but most were empty on account of the lack of guests available.

The hall was initially built by the dark elves when they took up bases in Merriheim (Daebens loved art. Performances by singers and orchestras were a known favorite of the daebens), but 'The Destroyer' engraving on the door was added when the Chaos Brotherhood took over.

Shortly after the time of renovation, despite the fact that the hall was rarely if ever used, the chairs were kept in pristine condition. Only because every now and then, Froy would on a whim, decide to put on a show. There were several high-level artists and musicians locked away in their dungeons for these whims.

Who would have guessed that this little hobby of his would catch the attention of several of his peers and higher ups? After all, an amphitheater built by the daebens could never be compared with the normal ones set up even in the largest cities. The acoustics in the hall was on an entirely different level to anything found elsewhere on the continent, which made listening to orchestral and singing performances almost divine.