Xavier groaned as his entire body felt like hot iron, with steam rising off of his body. He was shielded from most of the damage thanks to his leather armour and the Sanctuary's barrier, which blocked most of the flames. Seeing that there wasn't anymore they could do, the Diabolic Imps flew back towards the dungeon, making the guards and the few prisoners around sigh, before looking at the three on the ground.
"I had nothing to do with this, I literally left the Sanctuary only five minutes ago." Tsubasa said, but unluckily for him, that didn't help his case.
"The three of you stay there, I am going to get the Warden." One of the guards said
"No need, I am already here." The Warden said with a frown on his face, and he was accompanied by three other guards, one of which was Martin, one of the guards that possessed a stigma ability.
"What happened here?" He asked, his gaze icy cold as he looked at the three prisoners.
"We were completing the task you gave us just like we promised, but those things chased us after we finished off a few of their fellow monsters." Xavier said, leaving out a lot of significant details.
"Then does that mean you have the monster stones?" The Warden asked and Xavier opened the bag that was on Mickey's back, making sure to angle his body in such away that nobody else could see inside. They had a total of 40 monster stones inside the bag, and he wasn't keen on giving all of them to the Warden. He took out six of the Diabolic Imp monster stones, and handed it to him.
"And your tax?" The Warden asked, making Xavier's eyelid twitch. He took out fifteen of the imp monster stones, and handed them to the Warden, and he nodded his head in satisfaction. Tsubasa was looking at Xavier with squinted eyes as he wondered just how many monster stones they had in that bag.
"I would suggest that the three of you be more careful in the future. Oh, and keep up the good work." The Warden said as he walked away, with the three guards in tow. With the Warden gone, the three of them quickly left and once they were far enough, Tsubasa decided to ask his question.
"So, are you guys gonna tell me what really happened back there? Or how many monster stones you really have in the bag?" He asked, looking at the bag, licking his lips, but he held himself back. For one, he really didn't wanna piss off two people who literally hunt monsters that could shoot fireballs from their hands. Monsters that would easily be able to kill most of the prisoners and guards here. Plus, what would he do with extra monster stones anyway, stash them....give them to the Warden to earn his favour.
'A ludicrous idea, especially when I need their help to take down that bastard.' Tsubasa thought
"Nope." Xavier answered and he sighed
"Come on now, it is the least you could do considering I saved your friend's life." He said with a smirk, and both Xavier and Mickey stopped, and he simply walked past them.
"What are you talking about?" Mickey asked coldly
"This morning two idiots tried to kill her, I'm guessing because they thought she was easy points. But I doubt anyone will try again, not unless they want to be hunted down by the 'guys who hunt red devils for fun'." Tsubasa laughed
'Why do they call them red devils?' Xavier wondered, confused as he was sure they knew that they were called imps.
"And you just so happen to be there?" Mickey asked Tsubasa suspiciously
"I was heading over towards her this morning to ask where you idiots were. And I saw that she was in trouble and saved her." Tsubasa shrugged, but Mickey was still suspicious
"Thank you for that, but why were you looking for us in the first place?" Xavier asked and Tsubasa looked around nervously, before whispering something
"The Rising Dragons is hosting a meeting in two days, we want to discuss staging a coup, and I would like for you two to join...three if the girl wasn't injured." He said and Xavier thought for a moment. He was planning on doing something like this himself, and he knew he had to do it soon lest the guards become too powerful to stop.
"We graciously accept your invitation, and as a token of our gratitude, we want you to meet us at the cave tomorrow. The one at the East gate where you saw Maria two days ago." Xavier said, and Tsubasa frowned
"Why?" He asked skeptically
"That cave is actually a dungeon. Inside the dungeon is a boss and if we kill it, we get some kind of powerful reward. That is according to the system anyway." Xavier said, and Tsubasa frowned even more, before asking the system himself.
"Alright, your story checks out, and I'm guessing you need my help to get the job done. I'll round up a team of my most powerful and trusted men." Tsubasa said
"Three, you can only bring three and we will bring three of our own. We can't risk having too many people lest we have to hunt more goblins to pay for the Warden's tax." Xavier said, and Tsubasa looked at him for a second before leaving.