Chapter 28: Fire Harpies

"WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO ENTER OUR TERRITORY," A man's voice shouted out.

I and Kumo instantly put our backs together and checked our surroundings. On ledges that looked like were man-made had several humanoids with feathers coating their arms. To have them back off a bit I activate [Commanders Presence]. As soon as I used the skill I felt the killing intent weaken a little.

『Status』

[Name: James]

[Race: Fire Harpy]

[Status: Angry]

...

I turn my head around and look at Kumo, she nods her head understanding what I was about to start.

[Shadow Magic]

We both wrapped our shadows around the fire harpies restraining them in place. Out of all of them, only one was able to break out and it seemed like it was from the manly voice that called out to us from earlier.

As I heard him click his tongue he was wrapped in white flames that gave off a very noble feeling.

"UNHAND MY COMRADES!" He shouts as he pulls out a white sword.

He jumps down from his ledge while his sword had also burst into flames. Before confronting him head-on I check my status just in case I'm making a stupid decision.

『Status』

[Name: Arpious]

[Race: Dark Siren]

[Status: Calm]

[Servants: 3]

[Subordinates: 6]

[Level: 11/50]

[HP: 96/100 MP: 57/80 SP: 27/30]

...

Ignoring the rest I confirm that I can confront him while I ready my scythe. Parrying his attack he crashes into the ground while I try to cut his legs. I manage to get a scratch on them but it wasn't anything significant.

The fire wrapped around his body is giving me a dangerous feeling. When my scythe came in contact with it, it felt like I lost all the speed I had built up.

Taking a few steps back I fire off a [Thunderbolt]. Surprisingly it landed and was able to paralyze him for a quick moment. Not ignoring this opportunity I quickly dash in using [Boost] and swing my scythe at him.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" He says while shielding his face with his hands.

My hands didn't hesitate and my eyes only grew colder.

FWOOSH

Kumo had wrapped shadows all around me restraining me. My insane speed was cut off so suddenly that a gust blew just from being stopped.

'That's not the speed of somebody with those stats!' James had cried out in his mind.

"Why'd you stop me..." I said while keeping my cold gaze on the harpy in front of me.

"Let's hear him out maybe it was just a misunderstanding," Kumo says.

"Now why would I do that... their just free XP,"

"Haiiiizzzze, Arpious you have to restrain yourself from time to time, think of the positives and the negatives

tch

I pull my scythe away from his face while quickly replacing it with my face. While my face is shoved in his I ask him,

"Why did you attack us..."

"You stepped in our territory, we thought you were invaders," he replied while trying to gain the upper hand since he saw how Kumo was so easy to take advantage of. Little did he know that he was crossing the line.

"Oh... you think you can gain the upper hand just because her actions influenced me once," I say while grabbing a part of his shoulder. His shoulder was slowly turning to stone due to me activating [Forbidden Magic: Medusa].

Before it could spread to anywhere else I deactivated since I only used to intimidate him and his comrades that were currently restrained. As I lifted my hand after deactivating my skill his face slowly turned pale.

"So tell me what were we going to invade,"

"W-we thought you were going to invade our villages," James stuttered.

"Oh... take me to these... villages," I said while a slightly creepy smile crept on my face.

We withdrew the shadows restraining the other fire harpies which they quickly dashed over to the man that I defeated. As they conversed at whatever their plan was Kumo walked over to me.

"Are sure we should let them talk, maybe they will set up an ambush or plan of attack,"

"No, it's fine... fire harpies huh. We're probably in the territory of the Pheonix guardian," I muttered.

"Fire harpies... I don't know much about them besides they are the descendants of the phoenix," Kumo said while searching through her amazing memory.

After the harpies discussed for a while they showed a sign of defeat on their faces. Not long after they started walking away which, was probably the sign for us to follow them.

As I deactivated [Commanders Presence] we walked through the canyon for a while until we saw a gradual rise in houses connected to the walls. These houses were then connected by various wooden bridges that seemed like could break apart at any moment. But this only lasted for a while until the houses were then incorporated into the walls of the canyon, while the bridges seemed sturdier and were grander.

It was just like a normal society but with fire harpies. Parents worked, while kids played with each other. Confirming their appearance in my mind I had a rough image of what most of them looked like. They looked just like a regular human besides the various bright red feathers growing from their legs and arms. The arms were special though because the older they got the larger they would grow eventually letting some fly. Their hair was always a dark red no matter the age with some dark red feathers sticking out the top of their head.

As we were walking we got many stares that consisted of curiosity, fear, and pity.

I wonder why we're getting stares of pity? Could it be they think were slaves or hostages, maybe food... I won't finalize on that last one since it seems like a bit of a stretch.

We finally arrived at what seemed to be a large house incorporated at the end of the canyon. It was many times bigger than the ones we some from before.

"I want to ask you something before we enter," James said with a curious expression.

"Go ahead,"

"Why are you able to move much faster than what is shown on your status? Even if you had a buff on it's still impossible for someone of your status to beat me which is far superior," he asked.

I only shrugged but on the inside, I was panicking.

How does he know my status? Is it maybe some skill or he's just much better at inspecting things than me. Should I ask him, maybe I can get that skill he has if I eat him...

As an evil grin crept up on my face I quickly suppressed it before the harpies would notice. My bloodlust had also been leaking out which sent shivers down the harpy's spines. I decided to ask him because I couldn't exactly start killing him in his own territory. It might be possible that he's not even the strongest out of the entire village.

"How can you see my status I can only see their race, name, and status... *sigh* alright if you tell me I'll tell you the truth," I suggested.

That was a lie.

"Okay deal. Normally intelligent beings can "inspect" other intelligent beings but that's not really inspecting them, it's more of getting a rough idea of who they are. This can be upgraded by getting the skill [Status] that allows you to see their entire status. Obviously, there are ways to block them since it would be pretty unfair once people got the skill," he said.

Looks like he's being careful since he didn't say how to get it... I guess I'll give it a shot.

"How can you obtain this skill," I asked.

After furrowing his brows and holding his chin for a while he gave in.

"Fine... you can obtain this skill by using the normal "inspect" a ridiculous amount of times. It would normally take you years to obtain it since you could only use it on intelligent monsters to get the skill," James said while slightly regretting it.

"Alright now tell me how you are so strong," he said while gesturing a "give it to me" sign with his right hand.

"I lied *Blegh*," I said while sticking out my tongue.

'THIS BITCH, HOW DARE SHE!' James aggrieved.

A vein was about to bust on his forehead while I just stepped back knowing what was about to happen. In anger, the white flame had coated his body once again and he sent punch flying towards my face.

"JAMES WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" A loud voice rang out.

The voice of a man echoed through the canyon. As I looked towards who said that I saw a 7-foot tall man. He was ripped while holding a halberd of sorts that was taller than him. His hair was a deep red that flowed down to his waist. He had a full set of wings attached to his arms that glistened under the sun.

I tried to inspect him but got an unexpected surprise.

[Error]

"Well, shit."