Chapter 541: Belated Trouble
"I won't be starting immediately, as I have other important matters to take care of. But I'm saying it now so that you can prepare. I may come anytime to announce the start of the duel."
He looked at them with a stern gaze and added, "So, all seven of you will be my seven shadows. I plan to have seven more lower shadows later, but right now, your ranking will be determined by the duel. And when the other seven come, if they're strong enough, they can displace any of you from your position."
Northern spoke with a cold tone.
"So, you must not get lazy after securing a position." He glanced at Jeci and Lynus.
Then he leaned back and exhaled helplessly.
'I hope they all take this seriously. Even I am finding it hard to believe that I'm doing something like this.'
But he needed to; something was coming, and Northern knew it more than ever before. Hence, he was preparing strongly for it.
It might not be now, but he was sure it would be soon. It was only sensible that he began to prepare for that time now.
A time when a Paragon would be the least of his worries.
Northern looked at them again, lingering for a moment before he asked, "Does anyone have a question?"
Lynus raised his hand.
"Of course," Northern muttered before saying out loud, "Ask."
"You promised a certain pay for me. Is the pay before the duel or after?"
Northern sighed and answered, "Use your own strength and let's see how far you can get. Only then would the pay be valuable to you."
He looked around. "Does anyone else have a question?"
Lynus raised his hand again.
Causing Northern to roll his eyes, "Ask."
"Will you be a part of the hierarchical duel?"
Revant from the side turned his head like an old creaking wooden door.
"What insolent being. Shall I cause him to despair, Void Lord?" His face was blank and void of emotion.
Northern found it hard to discern if there was any hidden sarcasm in what Revant was saying or if he sincerely meant it.
'You're more of a headache here... it's kind of decided who will be number one anyway.'
He scratched his forehead for a moment.
"Let him be."
Revant frowned slightly.
"That's..."
His words froze in his throat as his eyes turned to meet Northern's dark gaze, azure light burning from the darkness beyond them.
He fell to his knee at once.
"I apologize for my brash audacity, Void Lord."
"Whatever."
Northern waved him away and turned his gaze to Lynus.
"I am not a part of the hierarchical duel. I exist in the heavens, and you, here... below the heavens. Earth." He demonstrated by placing one hand high in the air and another very far below it, grinning enjoyably.
Lynus furrowed his brow, a vicious darkness burning in his eyes.
'That's right, baby boy, get fired up and aim to surpass the heavens. That way, I can use your strength very well before sending you back home.'
Northern suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, and the seven shadows will be receiving special weapons created by me. They will be exceptional. Once you lose your place as one of the seven shadows, you also lose the right to wield those weapons. And I will also be giving a special present to the first, second, and third shadows to make them exceptionally strong."
Immediately, Black Mamba, Night Terror, and Mr. Fluffy's eyes gleamed with rainbow lights.
'That should be enough to get all of them fired up. Now, all is set.'
He smiled peacefully and said his final words.
"That will be all. I have a lot to take care of, so I will be leaving now. Train hard and improve yourselves. When I'm done with what I'm doing in the surface world, I will be back for the duel."
Then he vanished from the Void Palace in a fragment of a moment.
Northern opened his eyes on the large comfortable bed and rolled around, sinking his face into its sweet smelling sheet, and staying in that position for a moment.
Then a knock resounded on his door. Simultaneously, he raised his head and stood up, sitting on his bed with his legs crossed as he answered, "Come in."
Shin gently pushed the door and entered, grabbing a baroque-style chair with red foam as he got closer to Northern.
He sturdily sat the chair directly in front of Northern and fell his butt on it. Northern silently watched.
Shin had a stern and serious demeanor right from when he entered till he sat in front of Northern, even now as he spoke.
"Alystren said some things to me. I have spoken to Ryan, and I think I should speak to you."
Northern examined his father with cold, gauging eyes. "Okay, father, what is this thing you want to say?"
"For the duration that we will be staying here and doing what we came for, it will be advisable to stay away from that boy, Darioyle. He is truly a loyal dog to the governor, but he is
unrestrained and..."
"Could kill me?" Northern cut through.
Shin let out a pale smile and looked down.
"To be honest, I am more worried for the boy than I am for any of them."
He paused and swallowed a breath before continuing. "However, there is one thing that you really have to be careful of."
The stern look on Shin's face returned, demanding even more attention from Northern. "There is a lady in this mansion. She's the governor's granddaughter, and she's a part of the military. It'd be best not to have any trouble with her, as it can get us kicked out in an
instant."
Northern's mouth fell. "Ah..."
Shin's brows furrowed together.
"What? What did you do?"
"I promise you, I did absolutely nothing. I did not have any trouble with her."
'Technically, but she had with me...' Northern gulped as he hid the rest of the words from
Shin.
Shin gave him an intense scrutiny before speaking again.
"In the next hour, we will need to start moving and searching around." He stood up.
"No. There won't be any need for that."
He was already about to lift the chair, but Northern's words made him stop.
He turned back and stared at Northern with a small frown coming on his face.
"What do you mean?"
Northern, with a cold light gleaming in his eyes, met Shin's gaze and replied, "I know where mother is. I have been searching since we got to this city."