Affinity: Chaos

The duo left the hideout under the Prince's watch as they stepped out with one sole purpose, to kill all humans.

….

While the duo went on their journey to kill humans, Grey decided it was time he left those of the Gnome race alone and focused on training here. One of the reasons he killed so many of them was because he was annoyed by the fact that he was pestered for being marked, now, he had vented his anger.

Training was the reason he entered this place, and there might also be some fortuitous encounters waiting for him. With Void around, he wouldn't have too many problems with getting some good things since he could quickly sense which places have secret spaces.

Grey started to explore the place with Void in tow as they ventured across the lands. He soon started to regret not bringing the triplet with him. If they came here, they would've been able to advance quicker. Having helping hands like them was very useful at times since they help him with little things.

While Grey was busy going from place to place in search of treasures, the duo, as well as the Prince from the Gnome race had started their hunt for humans.

….

Three weeks went by in a flash.

Grey and Void were currently standing close to a waterfall as they studied the corpse in front of them.

Grey had gotten to the Seventh stage of the Sage Plane, and his aura was not very far from the Eighth stage. Void on the other hand was almost at the Peak of the Sixth Rank. This placed Void on almost the same level as a Peak Sage Plane Elementalist.

"Who do you think did it?" Void asked since Grey had been staring at the corpse for over five minutes now.

"I'm not sure. I can't say it's those guys from the Gnome race, even though they are the ones who have a good reason to kill humans, there's a good chance another human might've killed him for a treasure." Grey replied after contemplating it for some time.

"There's also the Giant race. We haven't seen much of them during our time here. And it's quite odd." He added with his hands placed on his chin.

Void nodded before asking, "So… what now?"

"We should head to the hideout, we'll get a general idea of what's happening when we get there." Grey replied.

With that, the duo left. Grey buried the body before leaving. He recognized the young man, he was one of the people who followed him inside the secret realm.

​ …

A few hours later.

In a building hidden in the mountains.

A group of people could be seen gathered. If Grey were here, he would recognize some of them since they came in together. The number compared to when they came in had reduced drastically, and even a few notable faces were not there. For instance, Sylvia's brother who was the leader of the group was nowhere to be seen. Not just him, but most of the people at the Peak of the Sage Plane when they were entering the realm were gone.

Those gathered in the building all had worried expressions. It was evident that something major was happening.

"What do we do? We can't fight against them, especially now that they've turned them into puppets." A young lady said with a worried expression.

"What can we do? I'm afraid we'll have to leave sooner than expected. I heard they killed us, but I never thought it was to this extent that they would hunt us down." Another person said.

They've all heard of how brutal this place was, but honestly, none of the stories they heard said anything of them being hunted down. At most, whenever they encountered those from the Gnome race a fierce battle would take place. But now, the case was different, those from the Gnome race were hunting them down and killing them. Those who are strong are turned into puppets while those who are weak are discarded after being killed.

Presently, only three people were present who were at the Peak of the Sage Plane, they were the leaders of the group since there was no one else. Each of them had a sour expression.

They were still staring at each other when they sensed an unfamiliar aura approaching.

Everyone went on guard, only after Grey walked in did they calm down. One of the three at the Peak of the Sage Plane recognized Grey since he was part of the group that participated in the competition.

His eyes showed a bit of excitement when he saw Grey. He knew how powerful Grey was, and at that time he was still in the Fifth stage of the Sage Plane. Sensing that Grey had broken through to the Seventh stage put his mind at ease.

Almost everyone present disregarded Grey, after all, he was only in the Seventh stage of the Sage Plane, and there wasn't much he could do.

"You're here." The young man who participated in the competition with Grey stood up.

Grey turned to look at him, he was lost at first, but Void recognized the person and reminded him, "Yes."

He walked over to the young man. The others turned to look at the young man in shock since they didn't think he would act in such a way toward a Seventh stage Sage Elementalist. From Grey's reaction, it was clear that he was trying to recall where he had seen the young man.

The young man stood up from where he was sitting and walked over to Grey, ushering him towards his seat. The eyes of everyone present bulged, including those at the Peak of the Sage Plane who was sitting beside the young man. Since he was one of the few who participated in the competition, he was given the role of leader. Now, their leader was seemingly bowing to someone they wouldn't even spare a glance.

Grey didn't stand on ceremony and immediately sat down where the young man directed him to.

"What's the situation?" He asked after seating.