"W-We're here, please let me go..."
A man that's not older than thirty years old said with a fearful tone as he pointed at his front, his entire clothes are shriveled and haggard due to the sandstorm that hits him earlier. However, it seems the man doesn't mind the condition of his clothes at all.
Beside him is another person riding a mutated camel, he has no expression on his face.
Glancing down at the man that has a rope wrapping around his neck which attached him to the mutated camel, the expressionless man gets down from the mutated camel and sands in front of the man without any change in his expression.
Upon feeling the burning gaze, the man started to stutter, and his heartbeat quickened.
"I-I swear to God! Please, I'm a nobody but I love my life, I wouldn't lie!"
Without even needing to say anything the man started to plead for his life, the way his eyes are looking at the expressionless person was akin to looking at a monster. In fact, the expressionless person is definitely not a human.
Numerous cracking sounds can be heard as the expressionless person started to transform.
Slowly the terrified man's face turns paler and paler seeing that the thing in front of him transforms from a middle-aged man with bronze skin and cat-like yellow eyes, into his own self! Only the face turns into his face, and it only takes a brief second for the thing to take the man's face and becomes identical like twins.
Feeling satisfied with the fearful expression the man is wearing right now, the Shapeshifter smiled.
Splash!
"Huhkk!"
Blood suddenly splashed out of the terrified man's chest as a thin crimson line drizzled down the corner of his mouth, a spike made of ashy skin but still retaining the sharpness of a steel blade penetrate the man's chest from below.
At the last moment of his life, the man can only see his own face smiling back at him.
Upon finishing off the man that has guided him to the place he needs to find, the Shapeshifter glanced back and focus on the translucent barrier that wobbled like water. Soon a frown appears on his face, he can feel the sinister air leaking out of the translucent barrier.
"It's here, the Executor...", the Shapeshifter mutters with a cold tone.
Despite trying his hardest to keep on a stoic expression in the presence of such a sinister air that brought back bad memories, the Shapeshifter finds himself unable to move forward. It's like there are nails pinning his feet on the spot.
Gulping harshly, the Shapeshifter then glanced to the side before three figures appears.
Clad in the same kind of clothes, these figures appear out of nowhere as if they are one with sand. From the same weird feeling these three figures have, it seems they are also Shapeshifters. "Find out what kind of formation is this translucent barrier using, I'll create the distraction myself. We'll retreat immediately after we get the information and bring it to the Undead"
"Yes, my King.", the three of them replied in a union before they dashes away.
With them doing what they were told, the Shapeshifter's eyes started to glow yellow as the sand started circling around him and lifts him off of the ground. Concentrating the sand on the surroundings, the man started to amplify the sandstorm around the translucent barrier.
It's clear what it was trying to do, fortifying the place until they are done getting its objective.
Despite Shapeshifters having no affinity to the Sand Element, the middle-aged man that he mimics earlier is a Sand Elementalist and that allows the Shapeshifter to harness his power when still retaining his form.
After doing that, the Shapeshifter landed back on the ground.
Many thoughts are traveling inside the Shapeshifter's mind as he tries to inspect the translucent barrier in front of him, but then a chilling wind breezes his skin which definitely isn't a natural wind. In a desert like this, cold wind is practically non-existent.
Slowly fixating his eyes forward, the Shapeshifter saw a pair of eyes through the translucent barrier.
"King...?"
A deep and haunting voice crawls in the air, coming from the pair of red eyes that appeared in front of the Shapeshifter, just beyond the translucent barrier. It doesn't appear at eye level, but the pair of red eyes appears at least 16 foot high.
Soon a derisive chuckle follows as if the pair of red eyes are laughing at the Shapeshifter.
"It's a new era, you're not the Supreme race anymore"
Upon hearing what the Shapeshifter said the chuckle suddenly disappear completely, and the sound of the sandstorm overwhelmed the place again as the pair of red eyes are staring at the Shapeshifter in silence.
Based on what the three said earlier, this Shapeshifter is certainly King Oddity in disguise.
King Oddity wanted to keep a strong front to manage the Supernaturals' face. In this era, they are equal if not superior to humans so he should be lifting his chin high and broadening his chest, but his body refused to do that.
In the presence of the pair of red eyes, the sense of inferiority resurfaced again.
Piercing through the air and even creating the sound of a sonic boom, an invisible energy fired straight at King Oddity without even him being able to react. Out of nowhere, he can feel something grabbing his neck before lifting him off the ground.
Looking down at the thing grabbing his neck, King Oddity finds that it's an ancient energy.
Ancient energy that is the shape of an arm is grabbing his neck and choking him tightly, it was covered with countless mixes of elemental mana that are able to bring devastating force to actually choke a ninth-rank realm Awakened like King Oddity.
Finding that this is repulsive, King Oddity's eyes flashed as two arms sprouted from his side.
With the addition of the two arms completely made of fire arcane energy belonging to an Awakened, King Oddity grabs the hand choking his neck, and tries to break free. But even then, the hand is unmoving like an absolute force.
Despite the additional two arms, King Oddity still can't break free from the choke.
If there are other Awakened that saw King Oddity's form that of a middle-aged man with a trimmed beard and blazing fiery eyes, their eyes would've definitely popped out of their sockets in surprise and fear.
King Oddity has taken the form of one of the deceased ninth-rank Awakened.
Even though it has been years since the death of this ninth-rank realm Awakened during the following war after the Great Barricade Bloodbath, his ruthless style of fighting that relies on the physical prowess that of a brute is still known today.
With the power of a Shapeshifter, he can pretty much take anyone's power within the requirements.
But even with that King Oddity still finds himself stuck in this spot, struggling fiercely with veins bulging all over his body as he tries to break free, he's not able to do anything. "Shapeshifters superior to humans? I think you forget your place, insect. Did you perhaps forget who you are talking to right now?"
"Even daring to take the form of a human. Unacceptable... maybe the era has made you forget"
"Kaahk!"
Under the tight squeeze on his neck, King Oddity spat a mouthful of blood in pain.
Following the tightening grip on his neck that seems to want to crush his neck, a stream of energy was injected into King Oddity's body when the pair of red eyes chanted some ancient language that is short but terrifying at the same time.
"Ignargh Minen"
"RAARGHH!!"
King Oddity screamed at the top of his lungs feeling a burning sensation invading his forehead.
Emerging from beneath the skin on his forehead, the pair of red eyes finds a burning red symbol shaped like chains slowly coming into vision. "Smirch of Slaves, you surprise me insect. Do not forsake your purpose in life, you're meant and only meant to die and live to serve humanity under the Supreme Being"
Remembering that sentence, King Oddity gritted his teeth and slammed his arms down.
Bam!
Under the powerful force brought by his four arms hitting the hand directly, the ancient energy shaped like a hand that is choking him dispersed before the same chuckle penetrates his ears once again.
Flaming anger is riling up inside of him as he glared at the pair of red eyes.
"Be grateful that the Supreme Being is merciful enough to keep this barrier strong against the might of time. Because if it crumbles, I will see to it that an insect will be forever an insect. Even if that insect has become the King, it will still die under my feet"
Echoes of what the pair of red eyes said keep on penetrating King Oddity's ears.
Slowly the pair of red eyes started to fade while still looking at King Oddity's glare sharply, but right before they disappears a couple of dead bodies landed and stacked right in front of King Oddity. "A parting present from me, your majesty...", the pair of red eyes said condescendingly.
King Oddity looks at the dead bodies before he clenched his fists with a darkened expression.
Although the Executor that is residing inside the barrier is still trapped and unable to come out, it is still able to display its power clearly by killing the three Shapeshifters that King Oddity brought with him to infiltrate humanity's territory.
Not that killing three Shapeshifters is an impressive fear, but these are not regular Shapeshifters.
Knowing that he needed Shapeshifters that he can rely on for this infiltration mission, King Oddity brought three of the Five Conversions with him. One of them is dead from way back, and three of them are now dead leaving only one left.
It's an unnecessary loss, King Oddity can't believe that the Executor is still able to do this.
Despite the ancient barrier that should be made specifically to contain the Executor, it's still able to choke him strongly and kill three of the Five Conversions. Living in this dreamworld, King Oddity sometime forgets just how powerful and menacing the Executors are.
"Elders, we need the Elders to wake up before this thing breaks free or we'll be doomed..."
~
"W-What?! You find a living Ancient Human?!"
Upon hearing the report brought by the man, Sebrof can't help but exclaim as he had never expected to see results this soon. It's not even a month yet since the Exploration Department has been established, but the fruit is already ripped.
Sebrof's eyes lit up as he finds his decision to create the Exploration Department is right.
Finally receiving one good news after a series of bad news, he can't contain the exhilaration inside of him as he puts on a wide-toothed smile on his face. It was so shocking that he even heads over to the man and held him by the shoulders.
While being escorted out, Evelyn heard this and immediately frowned.
Maybe due to the fact that she's been with Rex all the time, but he has never heard of these Ancient Humans. Not a popular subject in the 25 Golden Crest Family circle, or a newly hot topic but she definitely doesn't know anything.
'Ancient Humans? Are there really Ancient Humans out there?'
But as she thought of that, Giana snapped out of her surprise before she remembered that Evelyn is still there. With a flick of her fingers, Evelyn's ears were covered by water bubbles that prevents anything aside from Giana's voice to be heard.
"It's confidential information, please let me escort you out", Giana said lightly.
Upon hearing this Evelyn have no other choice but to be escorted out of the room with the immense curiosity of hearing what the rest of the report was. But she can only cage that curiosity, she's not a part of the humans anymore with this decision.
An hour later,
Evelyn used a teleportation formation to get to the city nearest to the Great Barricade.
Looking around the city that seems to be a level three city judging by how developed they are, she finds that the city is dominated by military men and Awakened which is taking the task of reinforcing the strongholds that have been reclaimed back.
With a sigh as she was dying of curiosity about the Ancient Humans, she looks in a direction.
"Okay, that way is the Great Barricade...", Evelyn mutters.
But instead of heading there as she should be making her way to meet with Rex and the others, she takes out a piece of paper and turns in the opposite direction. Only a couple of items written with ink can be seen on the piece of paper she's holding.
Taking a quick look at the items, Evelyn nodded her head.
"Wedron City, Qrila CIty, Beah City, Lountain City, and Eqosa City... let's see if they still remember"
---
'Ignarch Minen' means 'State your scar, insect/lesser being'
It's made-up words so don't think too much of it.
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