Chapter 18: The Ambush
Duke Negan shook hands with the old man in front of him. It was Ace Snake, the archbishop from the Church of the Lord of Storms.
"Are you alright, Duke Negan?" Ace Snake asked.
Duke Negan nodded, "Qilangos was taken by surprise, so he wasn't prepared." He looked at Earl Hall who had arrived, "I am grateful for Earl Hall's warning. We managed to complete our preparations. But it is regretful that he still managed to escape."
Ace Snake nodded, "Don't worry. We will try our best to capture him. Please excuse us."
Ace Snake brought his men with him and left the mansion to trace back Qilangos' escape route.
Duke Negan shook hands with Earl Hall, "Thank you very much for your help, Earl Hall."
Earl Hall smiled, "It's nothing. It's my duty to report any anomalies to the authorities."
Duke Negan asked, "How did you notice that Baron Gramir was acting unusual?"
Earl Hall shook his head, "No. I did not notice anything amiss."
𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦.
𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳? 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦.
Duke Negan thought for a bit before saying, "Still, I have to thank you, Earl Hall. I'll have my secretary contact you about a project that I am sure you will definitely like."
Earl Hall did not refuse, "I'll have my wife coordinate with your secretary."
Duke Negan and Earl Hall made small talks, while the Official Beyonders tried to calm down the crowd. In a corner was the Third Prince Edessak who observed Duke Negan from afar.
𝘘𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘳 𝘒𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.
𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
Edessak sipped on his wine, before he slowly stood up and went to Duke Negan's position.
Duke Negan noticed him and asked, "How are you, Prince Edessak?"
Edessak smiled, "I was quite far when the chandelier fell so I did not sustain any injuries. I was rather lucky."
Duke Negan nodded, "That's very good."
An Official Beyonder approached Duke Negan and whispered to his ears a few words.
Duke Negan turned his head at Edessak, "Prince Edessak, the church has prepared an evacuation route for me. Do you want to follow?"
Edessak nodded and looked grateful, "Thank you, Duke Negan. I will rely on you."
Duke Negan and Edessak was escorted by the Official Beyonders into the living room of the mansion. There was a fireplace in the room. The Official Beyonders pulled some switch which activated a secret mechanism that revealed a path behind the fireplace.
Edessak looked back at the Official Beyonder who did not follow them in. That Official Beyonder was left behind to deactivate the secret mechanism.
He asked Duke Negan, "Where does this path go, Duke?"
Duke Negan looked straight at the dark path before saying, "The exit is located at my other property that is near the Church of the Lord of Storms."
𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥.
𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.
𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
Edessak fell silent and followed them all. After a while, they finally saw stairs that led to above.
One of the Official Beyonders said, "We're here." Before signaling one of his teammates to open the secret door that obstructed their way into Duke Negan's another mansion.
Edessak looked at the Official Beyonder pull out a necklace.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦...
𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮...
The door slowly opened, as the wide living room appeared in their sights.
Duke Negan heaved a sigh of relief, while Edessak shook his head.
Duke Negan seemed to notice Edessak's actions, as he asked, "Why are you shaking your head, Prince Edessak?"
Edessak looked at Duke Negan and smiled, "Duke Negan, are you aware that you have attracted 'His' attention?"
Duke Negan frowned and backed away from Edessak. He did not answer.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘬?
𝘐'𝘮 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 6 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐... 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮?
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦!
The Official Beyonders also noticed that something was amiss with Prince Edessak. One of them attacked Edessak and did not hold back at all.
Edessak's smile became wider, as a figure appeared behind him.
The figure easily caught the Official Beyonder's fist and twisted it. The Official Beyonder screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground.
The Official Beyonders' gripped their weapons, as they assisted Duke Negan to escape. But then, they noticed that they could no longer move.
Duke Negan's eyes widened in fear as he saw dozens of figure wearing pure dark violet robe appear from the shadows. They wore cheap white masks.
𝘞𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥?!
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯?!
A tiny figure that wore oversized clothes walked forward. His face couldn't be seen because of the cheap white masks, but his presence made the Official Beyonders' tremble.
The tiny figure clapped before saying, "Duke Negan, please surrender. You cannot escape."
Duke Negan whose back is filled with cold sweat tremblingly asked, "What do you people want?"
The teen laughed, "Hahaha-!"
𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?
𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴?!
Duke Negan felt afraid because he knew that the Official Beyonders around him definitely wouldn't be able to protect him. He was not stupid.
These robed figures are all mid sequence beyonders! Imagine that kind of lineup, even the Orthodox Churches will tremble before it. Unless a high sequence beyonder interferes!
After a while, the teen stopped laughing before saying, "Duke- No. Negan. You're very pitiful. You don't even know that a secret organization from Third Epoch is targeting your @ss."
Duke Negan shuddered, "W-what are you talking about?"
The teen slowly said, "Twilight. Hermit. Order."
As the teen said those words, the surroundings seemed to turn into pure white glow. As if it was they were all transitioning from reality to the dreamland.
The teen ignored the changes and muttered loudly, "The Great Lord's Personal Artifact that lords over secrecy and misfortune!"
"One of the Personal Artifacts that supports the cosmos!"
"The Great Lord's Mask, The Mask of Secrecy!!"
Rumble~!
The pure white glow distorted and was instantly erased. Everyone sensed something, as they looked in the air and saw a shadow of a mask. The mask emitted white lights that formed a pure white robe. This robe turned into a curtain that surrounded Duke Negan's entire mansion.
The teen bowed respectfully, "This servant thanks the Great Lord!!"
The other robed figures bowed, as well as Edessak and the figure beside him, "This servant thanks the Great Lord!!"
Duke Negan and the Official Beyonders looked at this scene in fear. They could feel that when the teen said the name of 'that' organization, 'something' tried to spy at them.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳?!
𝘞-𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳?!
Duke Negan gritted his teeth and turned his head at Edessak.
𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳!!
𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨!
The teen stood straight and said calmly, "Now, even a True God cannot easily pry here."
He looked at the Official Beyonders and said, "Stop wasting your time. Your Gods cannot help you."
Despair appeared in the eyes of Official Beyonders, some of them even stopped resisting.
𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱...
Duke Negan smiled helplessly. He dropped to the ground and knelt. "Please spare my life!"
The teen ignored him and waved his hands.
The robed figures all moved and suppressed all the Official Beyonders in a single instant. They did not kill the Official Beyonders, but only made them faint.
The teen said calmly, "Good job. You can all retreat now."
The robed figures did not say anything, just simply vanished into the shadows.
The teen looked at Edessak and said, "You did a great job of accompanying them, Third Prince."
Edessak smiled wryly, "I did not really help with anything..."
The figure beside him, who helped him block the previous attack, said, "Not really. Your role is the most important in today's plan."
Edessak nodded and said seriously, "I will not betray His Highness' expectations."
𝘏𝘮𝘮𝘮... 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥...
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.
The teen slowly approached Edessak and introduced himself, "I'm Levi. Sequence 5: Desire Apostle."
The figure beside Edessak also introduced himself, "I'm Henry. Sequence 6: Devil."
Edessak looked at the two and said, "I'm Edessak Augustus. Sequence 9: Monster."
The three looked at each other. Levi pulled out a cheap white mask and gave it to Edessak, "Here, this is the White Mask that every member of our organization has."
Edessak carefully inspected the cheap white mask and noticed that it was only an ordinary cheap white mask that can be found anywhere.
Levi noticed his thoughts and coughed, "Don't underestimate the White Mask. It is directly connected to one of The Lord's Personal Artifacts. This grants us absolute secrecy under the level of King of Angels."
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?
𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴?!
Edessak's hand that held the White Mask trembled, before he asked carefully, "What's a King of Angels?"
This time, it was Henry who spoke, "They are Sequence 1 archangels only a step away from reaching Sequence 0, the realm of true gods!"
Edessak's eyes widened in shock. Even Duke Negan who knelt on the ground shuddered.
𝘈 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴?!
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵?!
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?!
Duke Negan asked himself in fear. Compared to the secret organizations and Orthodox Churches that Duke Negan had encountered, they were nowhere near the level of these guys' organization!
Edessak took a deep breath and said excitedly, "Our organization is really strong!"
Levi and Henry agreed with him, Henry said, "This is thanks to the Great Lord!"
Levi and Edessak looked at each other before saying as well, "This is thanks to the Great Lord!"
After a while, Levi said, "We can begin the next phase."
Edessak nodded and said, "His Highness only said that when the time is right, I will know what I need to do."
Levi only nodded, before asking, "Where is Sir Kottman?"
"Are you looking for me?" A voice appeared, as the three turned their heads at the figure that also wore a cheap white mask appear.
Levi, Edessak, and Henry bowed a little, "Greetings, Sir Kottman."
Kottman slowly moved his cheap white mask to the side of his head, revealing his handsome features and deep blue eyes. He said, "I dealt with the angel that appeared."
Levi and others nodded. They did not ask any further. But Duke Negan was obviously thinking in another direction.
𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭?!
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴...
The four ignored Duke Negan who prostrated on the ground. While they talked, Edessak suddenly froze. The three noticed the phenomenon and stood away.
The three all knew what this was.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯!
Edessak's gaze turned serious, as he slowly assumed a kneeling position. He bit his thumb and used the blood to draw a mysterious symbol.
After a while, a sophisticated symbol appeared in Edessak's both hands.
He clasped his hands and began to pray.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ePythagoras
ePythagoras The updates will become irregular. Pretty busy this few following weeks. Ah yeah, this is how the symbol should look. https://imgur.com/gallery/rJpRWRs
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