Chapter 255: Trouble Brewing
While Ben was busy with his investigation, back in Vlontera, a Nephirid arrived at the city gate. He exuded a powerful aura that made everyone instinctively avoid meeting his gaze.
His body was covered in grayish-white bone armor with almost no gaps, each piece forged from the remains of his fallen prey.
"Are you Sir Draeven?" Zarnak asked. He had been waiting at the gate as per Elvira’s orders.
"Show me the way," Draeven replied, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
Ever since the battle with the Magus and his meeting with Ben, Draeven had grown distant. The weight of guilt pressed heavily on him, he had been the only survivor. Both of his closest friends, like family to him, died that day.
Since then, he followed Ben’s plans without question. Revenge was all he had left. He had lost interest in everything else.
His days were filled only with training and missions. Yet despite his numb routine, he couldn’t help but be astonished.
He had heard the rumors, but seeing it with his own eyes was different.
In all his life within the kingdom, he had never seen a city so full of laughter and activity. People walked the streets cheerfully. There were no signs of abused slaves. Merchants lined the roads without fear of theft or harassment.
The sight stirred something in him, a melancholy he couldn’t suppress. ’If the entire kingdom had been like this, they might still be alive. My parents wouldn’t have rebelled.’