In the outskirts of Arkham.
A man walked through the place and arrived before a small cosy and thatched house.
The atmosphere was really warm and peaceful.
The people were sweet, and innocent and treated them as their own which touched his heart.
CREAK!
The wooden door opened and he was greeted by an old man sitting near the fireplace.
Henry cracked his neck and said, "Did you dye your hair?"
Aled-haired was blood red due to being stained with blood but Henry could discern that it was blonde colour now he saw that he had long black hair.
"No, this is my original hair colour," Alex replied, pulling a stool from the side he sat beside Henry.
"I had changed my colour for the mission. I am a fallen aristocrat so I need to hide my identity."
His characteristic hair colour may be identified by some as only the Royal of Kinley having golden blonde hair that shined making them stand out from the rest.
So, for safety, Alex dyed his hair black and changed his name.
And about his underlying, he doesn't think that there was anyone who could know about him
"It's been a while, Sir Henry."
"Good to see you after washing yourself. You look quite good."
Alex raised his head and chuckled.
"Is the arrangement of our humble village to your liking?"
"Yeah, it's quite comfortable."
"Sir Henry, how much do you know about the recent affairs?"
Alex didn't know how much substantial information he could gather from here but he needs to collect as much as he can.
He was in a foreign land and it was not a formal visit.
Henry raised his brows and asked with a gloomy voice"How much did you know?"
"I only know our Arkham Kingdom lost. I don't know much about the details as I and my team were lying in the pool during the ongoing crisis."
Henry noticed that Alex might have spoken with a smile as if he was cracking a joke but a genuine sadness and unquenchable anger hidden beneath the surface could be heard if one paid closer attention.
"See, I don't know whether the information I am telling you is correct or not. I heard a lot of this from mercenaries who visited here."
"Mercenaries?"
"Yes! As you see there are dozens of strong beasts coming closer, we ask them to kill the one who possesses danger."
"Isn't it too costly?"
Henry chuckled and spoke.
"We don't hire them. We mostly pass the information to the hunters guild or mercenary guild. Beasts have much more use than one thinks. Each part of their body can be used to make exotic things."
"In case there is a beast who doesn't have much value we offer some price."
" No, coming onto your question."
"Please keep it a secret from the other villagers lest they might be scared and feel uneasy"
Alex nodded and his expression became grim as Henry started to explain.
"After Arkham and Kinley, forces were defeated by third-party interference. The demon appeared and took over the borders of both sides. They are rapidly trying to increase their range from both sides."
"So, many believed that higher-ranking demons interfered and broke the scale of the war."
Alex smacked his lips wryly with an uncanny expression as he heard the old man's words.
His eyes lost their colour and he forgot what to say as they defied his attempt to understand the ongoing things through logic.
First, how did demons appear out of nowhere? As soon as they were defeated, demons took over.
It was ridiculous to say that they appeared out of nowhere. Since the warp gate might be destroyed by the man's attacks then there were two possibilities.
Either the demons were lying somewhere hiding their presence or they have built a warp gate with that higher being's presence.
Still, he couldn't expect that this would be the outcome.
And that wasn't all.
There seems to be bigger trouble for him.
The border had been occupied by a demon so all routes to Kinley might have been cut so how hell would he go home now?
The demons need to be defeated for that and to that either Kinley or Arkham need to attack but since demons are still occupying it means Kinley hadn't made this move.
Alex clenched his fist, feeling distressed over the matter.
He was worried about his Kingdom and his wives.
How are they? What are they doing now?
What if they took the wrong step thinking I was killed or were grieving now?
I hope they could somehow know that he was alive. He knew that Athena could feel it.
Henry observed the young man before and patted his shoulder.
"Young man, I know you feel frustrated and angry because we lost."
"It's not the outcome but the feeling of giving your best that matters."
"As long as people like you exist who grind their teeth and stand up again to face the calamity our Arkham won't go down."
Although there was a misunderstanding, Alex felt Henry's genuine concern and worry.
n0(????(e)lbi????.n(et
Alex tried to put up a smile and held the old wrinkled and calloused hand and muttered.
"Yeah, we are not going to go down that easily. If there is no way for us ahead then we just head to make the way."
"Arkham will surely rise again."
Previously he was fighting for his nation and he did what was right but now since he was here, Alex felt that he should do something to help them no matter how little that contribution may be.
Arkham can't fall into Demon's hands.
Noah's death might escalate the situation. He can't do anything about that but there are certain things he could do.
That is to get rid of the Miasma and help Arkham to get up on their feet.
He should think of ways to help them from the shadows while keeping his identity secret.
And secondly, he needs to find a way to communicate with his wives.
While going into the military outpost, he wasn't allowed to carry a communication channel and he can't use others to communicate as the channels had to be tuned in to the desired frequency
'Although I could already feel my head tearing apart thinking about all this mess, I am sure I can find a way.'