The shadows split, all migrated to a continent, and have been observing everything from afar. The actual fact is that Emperor Adam Smith attempted to attack Hellsing. All branches in the Empire were partially and indirectly attacked, in assaults aimed at removing Hellsing from control, something he eventually achieved when he ceased sending official missions to the Guild.
From what I understand, it wasn't really something without reason. The royal faction itself expanded significantly when Ethan was announced as the next Emperor, due to the Axilen Family, Ethan's betrothed.
Axlien Yuruzen, a beautiful woman considered one of the most beautiful in the entire kingdom, and her family, Yuruzen, are originally from the eastern continent, or rather, coerced to come to the west with the Emperor's proposals.
It was a clever move; the Axilen Family is, in fact, one of the largest merchant families in the world. They have support from almost all kingdoms for being the best navigators in the world, possessing various hidden and faster maritime routes than others.
It was like having an express ship. Despite there being magic, it was complicated to find specialized spatial mages in Teleportation, something extremely rare. Even my mother didn't use teleportation when she disappeared into her flames; she used a calculation bond. She walked among the fire, and that was only for her and me, something I completely lost the ability to do.
The fact was that teleporting just one person was simple; mana itself already helped, but when it came to materially dead things like wood, clothes, and the like, it was very taxing. Even portals were generally indicated not to carry many things to avoid breaking space.
The only person I'm sure can use teleportation without restriction is Musashi Miyamoto's sword, which cuts through the veil of space, meaning it cuts the distance between it and the location.
But getting back to the main subject, with the unique ability of the Axilen family, the Empire began to become something akin to a gigantic commercial center. That's why more people started coming to the Empire in search of work, including people from other kingdoms and the Supernatural world who come here to make money more easily.
The strength of the Empire now rivaled that of the Vampire Kingdom, one of the Three Greats.
The Three Greats: the Witch Kingdom, led by Alice Arcano; the Vampire Kingdom, led by Vlad Dracula Tapes; and the Eastern Empire, led by Lyriana Vortex.
"I understand," I said as the Shadow named Aaralyn continued to explain about the current world.
"In summary, that's why Ethan is being elected as Emperor, to maintain the agreement with the Yuruzen family, making Axilen the current Empress," she concluded and sat thoughtfully about what I could do.
"First, I have something to resolve," I said to her, remembering the creature being tortured, whatever it was, it's a rare animal. "My spear, where is it?" I asked, the spear created by the Dwarf King, forged from the base of the demon progenitor's horn, perhaps the most evil spear in history.
"I won't give you that information. I don't trust you, and I have no intention of being your subordinate until I'm sure you're Dante," she said. Of course, she still suspected me. She'd be crazy to blindly trust.
"Fine, just give me basic information about the Empire. When your loyalty is confirmed, I'll tell you what I'll do to bring Valentina back," I said and started to get up.
"Where's the square? And I need it to have an alley or something," I asked, straightening out my wrinkled clothes. "To the East, there's a square with the Emperor's statue holding a book, look around," she said, and I nodded.
"I'll be back in five days," I said, further adding, "You've seen Valentina naked, haven't you? She has two very characteristic moles, one on her left buttock and one on the edge of her groin, near her pu...". I was going to interrupt "OK! I GET IT!" She shouted and pushed me out of the building.
"Are you sure she's one of your mother's subordinates? She seems like a child who can't even hear the word pu...", "quiet, Voralith, that's precisely why I know she's my mother's subordinate. My mother would be disappointed if she weren't so disloyal. She likes to keep controlling others," I commented with a smile.
"Why does this sound like something involving copulation?" She questioned, but I ignored the digressions and continued to walk calmly.
I walked for a few minutes. Despite finding it monotonous, it was a thousand times better option. I ended up coming across the Emperor's statue, it stood in the center of the square, surrounded by many large buildings.
"It's going to be a pain to find an alley," I commented aloud. "Well, a certain dragon could help me find a different creature in some sort of cell, right? Wow, I wish I had a majestic white dragon by my side," I said, and Voralith appeared.
"Human, you're already abusing this one too much," she said, and I looked at her. "Make me strong and I'll stop, until then you're the guide," I said, and she lightly buffed me.
Honestly, I thought as a primordial entity, Voralith would be more... mature? But she seems more like a rebellious teenager who didn't have a father to teach her about manners... or she's so old and strong that it doesn't matter anymore, she just acts as she pleases.
"There's a different energy in that direction. Not even I can identify the source, it's something foreign from these lands," she said, and I headed towards the small White Dragon.
"Voralith, why do you seem so unconcerned about everything?" I questioned. It had been a while since I wondered why she was so carefree.
"Hm? Oh, yes, you've only lived forty-five years. I can't explain. Does it really matter? The current moment is like a blink of an eye for me. Far-flung entities who live for thousands of years like me see the world in a banal way.
You're not even a grain compared to the mountain that I am. Does that make sense? I don't know, I just live in the present," she said as she flew backwards from me, and we continued our conversation.
"It must have been lonely," I said, and she fell silent. At least she said something, just continued to fly backwards from me, it seemed like I said something... that hurt her?
"Look," she said, and I saw a group of men guarding a door. I hadn't even noticed, but we were in an alley between four houses, a somewhat... suspicious corridor.
"It seems we have company," I said, and felt two people looking at me from above, over my shoulders.
I heard footsteps, and in a matter of seconds, I was surrounded by some men... well, we already know how this was going to end, don't we?
"What do we have here... I smell princess," a tall, muscular man said. He had a scar on his arm along with a black carp tattoo.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir, I was just with her Imperial Highness, the princess," I replied.
"Hmm, a knight," I heard from the other side, a slender man holding a knife while licking his blade, disgusting.
"Oh, so it's a knight," the big guy said, and two more men appeared, the two who were behind me.
"I see, you guys are the bad guys," I said with a mischievous smile... I can't believe I'm doing this.
"But you know, big guy, I like bad men... how about you take me down there, and we can have a little fun...", I said pouting, this was completely embarrassing!
"A determined woman, I like that," he said, seeming like the boss. "So, miss, how about you entertain me a bit," he said pulling my arm.
Men... are so stupid.
SHIN
My sword severed his fragile little worm and his two legs. He didn't even have time to react and just fell screaming in pain.
AHHH~
"Oops, looks like you slipped," I said with a big smile on my face as the man screamed a lot, but no one would hear anything, after all, I could still use [Silence], although I no longer had the fire element in my arsenal.
"So, any of you want to show me what's so special behind that door to have so many people guarding it?" I asked, with some drops of blood on my cheeks as I thrust the sword into the neck of the man whose legs I had severed.
"Oh? No? Alright, I can find out myself," I said and lunged forward at considerable speed, severing the slim man's head as I turned to strike both of the remaining ones.
One of them dodged; he was much more practical than the other two who were led by my appearance. Of course, it wouldn't be any different from those two; the two idiots fought but still eyed me with their predatory eyes, a pity.
SWIN
Quantity was never quality; experience determined the fight very quickly. They were potato chips while I was a great dragon, useless lackeys who follow orders, with not good enough skills, yet they guarded something questionable.
I headed towards the door. I thought I could just walk in, but I was wrong, locked. Well, not that it would stop me.
With a mighty kick, the door broke entirely, and thus, I entered the premises.