Devil’s Bodyguard

Asura Castillo frowned as he saw the mysterious blue-robed man disappear.

Before the party, he was able to sense the man following him but now, he had no clue where the man disappeared to. Did this mean he previously allowed him to sense his location?

He was lost in his thoughts before he shook himself out of it. There were more important things for him to do.

Asura turned to look at the nobles and his subordinates.

"From now on, I want you to improve the village as much as possible. Get the villagers to trust you so that when war comes they are willing to fight for you."

The nobles nodded frantically to agree and his subordinates moved away from the nobles. They stood respectfully behind their lord and waited for further instructions.

"Take a death count. For the nobles who died, I want their will to say that they have given all their wealth to Lord Zachary. Tell the public that they have given their wealth to charity hence the village reconstructions."

"Yes, my lord!"

Asura nodded at them before walking out of the stone house. As soon as he reached the dirt path outside, he stomped his feet and used that force to fly up onto the roof.

Overlooking the village, his lonely figure was outlined by the bright moon as his white robes splattered with red blood gave him a demonic vibe.

While his subordinates moved around quickly and efficiently with the noble's cooperation, Asura felt coldness in his heart.

He was moving closer to his goal, step by step yet he didn't think that it would be worth it treading this path.

But, as he looked at the pitiful houses of the peasants and the grand manor of the nobles, he decided to continue onward.

In the worst-case scenario, he would die but if he succeeded everything would change.

~~~

Evelyn Phoenicia landed heavily in her courtyard, breathing hard. She held a hand to her c.h.e.s.t and breathed for a few moments before wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Shadow Shift was a skill that only Tier 3 Shadow Elementals could use. She was at the peak of tier 2 so using it was stretching her limits.

In this world, only secret books allowed a person to refine their inner elements. Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and different subsections of each such as gold, light, nature, and shadow.

These secret books were passed through the royal family, noble families, or powerful sects. They were variations of each other and the efficiency of each method in refining inner elements depended on the quality of the method and the potential of the learner.

Evelyn was apart of the royal family of Phoenicia and naturally had to learn from these secret books.

But, to her family, they only knew she had a Tier 1 Fire Element. She didn't want them to know what her real abilities were otherwise she would become a prized cattle ready to be sold for political connections.

She would've ended up with the same fate as her mother whose named she would never mention. She was a Tier 2 Water Elemental and a Tier 1 Earth Elemental which is why she married off at the first instance to the Emperor.

Evelyn closed her eyes tightly and reigned in the burning fury at the thought of her mother before regaining her previous calm.

Plastering a bright smile on her face, she started humming back to her room. Maids pasted by her and respectfully tilted their heads towards her.

Naturally, as a Tier 1 Fire Elemental, she didn't earn this much respect from the maids and they used to disdain her.

Until one day, she "accidentally" burned her palace to the ground along with all the guards and maids. Rumor had it that it was because someone had insulted her mother which resulted in her fiery rage.

Her potential was retested after that but it still listed her as Tier 1 Fire Elemental. Many thought it was a fluke caused by severe emotions from an unstable inner elemental but only Evelyn knew that the fire had been perfectly controlled by her.

Had anyone arrived at her palace a minute earlier, they would have heard the screams of the maids and guards. The reason for her cruelty? Well, it was exactly as the rumors say, they insulted her mother.

Other than that one incident, she was known as the timid princess with weak Elemental Potential.

Evelyn ended up in front of a fancy door that opened up to a luxurious and big bedroom.

She ignored it and went to a separate door with a closet full of beautiful dresses. At the very end was a large mirror.

She stepped onto a tile on the floor in a specific pattern before the mirror opened. She entered a laboratory full of plants.

This is where the mystical doctor, Sage worked, also known as Evelyn Phoenicia but no one knew that.

Evelyn's eyes became tranquil and calm as she took in the smell of herbs. Relaxing with the healthy and plentiful plants, she took a pail of water at the end and sprinkled water onto them.