Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: Dark Elf Arc

Chapter 95

Callisto felt as if his legs might go numb as he knelt on the floor. His entire body was trembling. He dared not look up, for he knew that what he would find would very likely petrify him even more.

He was located inside of a bedroom in his mansion--his former bedroom, in fact. This room had been purloined for the personal use of the one currently residing in the bed with several concubines. The last glance he saw of the person lying with his back resting against the headboard had been of a young-looking man with skin the color of ice, hair whiter than snow, and eyes that reminded him of blood.

"So," the man in the bed heaved a sigh as he spoke. His voice was calm, articulate, and some would even say beautiful, but at the same time, it contained an icy coldness that caused Callisto's heart to quake. "Even after all this time, you still cannot find Sylvia de Floresca?"

Callisto was still trembling, but he tried not to show it as he said, "I've had the Peacekeepers, the Knights, and even the dark elves scouring the city for any trace of her, but no one seems to have located her."

"And you are sure she isn't just being hidden by those Peacekeepers of yours?" asked the dark elf.

Trying hard not to gulp, Callisto thought fast on how he should answer. His very life was on the line right now. One wrong move, one incorrectly said word, and his head would be removed from his shoulders before he could say dark elf.

"It is possible that the Peacekeepers are trying to hide her from me, but I've already taken that into account," Callisto explained. "Several Knights are stationed at each Peacekeeper garrison, and they've received orders to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity from the Peacekeepers. If they were hiding a woman with Sylvia de Floresca's unique appearance, I'm certain I would have known about it."

"Hmm..."

Callisto remained completely still as the man in the bed stroked the thigh of one of his concubines. The content and lyrical sigh made Callisto squirm a little. His body grew even stiffer when a low moan echoed around the room. If he were to look up in that moment, he would have been able to see the dark elf fingering the girl on his left.

"Are you sure you're telling me everything?" asked the dark elf.

"I am," Callisto said.

"So this... failure on your part is because your men are simply incompetent."

"That's not--"

Callisto tried to speak, but he found himself unable to speak any longer. Agony flared up inside of him as he raised his hands to his throat. Blood was gushing out from a cut that had suddenly opened on him. It spilled from his wound like a waterfall, trailing down his shirt and drenching the floor.

Falling forward, Callisto landed face first on the floor, still alive but just barely. Blood continued expanding underneath him, forming a puddle. However, soon even all feelings left him and Callisto passed on, his grand ambitions cut anticlimactically short.

***

"Humans are a truly useless bunch," Orreferum said with a sigh as he stared at the corpse of Callisto. "After all the help I had given this boy without his knowledge, he had the gall to fail me during the one time I requested his assistance. It seems to me that humans do not know how to be grateful."

The two woman in bed with him did not say anything. One of them couldn't even if she wanted to. She was too busy moaning in pleasure as he teased her entrance and played with her body. The other could have spoken, but she knew better than to speak out of turn.

"Sylvia de Floresca is hiding somewhere within the city. Meanwhile, the elves have formed an army alongside the humans outside the city and number at least 75,000, but they will probably swell to at least 100,000 by the time they show up here," Orreferum mused to himself, even as he slowly moved his hands from the women's thighs to their breasts. "What's more, there is that Contractor with them. Contracting. How long has it been since I've seen someone with that annoying power."

Orreferum thought about what to do, about what he should do and what needed to be done. As he did, he pinched and tugged on the two women's nipples. The one on his left let out a scream. The one on his right tried to hold in it, but even so, her screams were muffled only because she had closed her mouth.

"I must kill Sylvia de Floresca before the army arrives. That woman will be a thorn in my side if I cannot finish her, and I will not be able to focus on the Contractor if she's hiding behind my back. Perhaps I should take on the hunt personally."

As these thoughts filled his mind, Orreferum decided to do just that. He would find and kill Sylvia before the army arrived, and then he would find that Contractor and kill her before she could truly come into her power. So long as he could do that, the goal he'd worked toward for over 4,000 years ago would become one step closer to being accomplished.

***

Well, that escalated quickly. Callisto has now died and the true enemy has been revealed. What will happen next. I'd tell you, but I don't want to give spoilers.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for reading!