Lord Shadow

Chapter 1342 The Return of the Monarch

　　He had his fair share of dealing with powerful people

　　But he sure as hell did not have the same guts as he has when dealing with Death Monarch. He knows very well of the reputation of Death Monarch.

　　'I am Robert, the Tavern Keeper of the hanging Head in Turbulent Sea' 

　　Azief look at him for a few second. That few second felt like years for Robert. Katarina who saw everyone on the ground slowly landed herself beside Azief.

　　'He recognize us?' Azief nodded.

　　She then shakes her head.

　　'I guess we no longer have to fight' Azief nodded. They both understand. The moment their identity is revealed these people would not dare to do anything to them.

　　Both Katarina and Azief always acted according to circumstances. Before, they were cautious because they did not know how much time had passed.

　　But the moment they knew that it was only six months, they did not feel that afraid. From what they could gather, a lot of things had changed since the Multiversal Convergence.

　　But some things did not change. The Seven Great Power is still the top premier force in the world.

　　Azief then said

　　'Old friends have already noticed I am back'

　　'Jean?' Katarina asked. Azief only smiles at this. 

　　Then he added 

　　'I thought I could rest a bit in this island. But it seems we have to cut it short.'

　　'You want to return back to Pandemonium? I thought you want to scour more information'

　　Azief smiles bitterly. 

　　Sometimes, even when he wanted to be low profile, circumstances did not allow him to be low profile. 

　　It is really the case personality determine fate

　　Azief could just act like a weak old man and he could easily blend in. 

　　But he has always been accustomed of being the strongest person in the world and the pride that is etched on his bone is hard to ignore. And it is also related to his own Grand Path.

　　His Grand Path always fluctuated between Perfection and Invincibility. 

　　And maybe it is one and the same. Perfection means no flaw. 

　　Like a person who had cultivated the method of stealth would not attack people directly, Azief could not just let provocation towards him go unpunished…especially when he had the power to contend.

　　This would hurt his own grand path.

　　It is the same reason why Azief was not suitable with the method of Shadow Lord and why he discarded it.

　　'You found out where Pandemonium is?' This is one of the reason why Katarina and Azief went to the Hanging head. 

　　Other than buying information about the powers that be, they also wanted to know the location they are at. 

　　And where is Pandemonium? Where is Moscow now. They did hear someone mentioned that Moscow still existed but it what form?

　　Katarina really didn't know. And Azief also did not know about Pandemonium. Of course, he could kidnap a few people and tries to get the answer from them 

　　And it was suggested by Katarina. Katarina could be a rouge sometimes. Of course they would not kill these people but Azief never saw the need to do such a thing.

　　And he reckons that the information that a passerby could give them would be lacking compared to a real intelligence gathering places. 

　　And that is why Azief chose to go to Hanging Head, a place where almost everyone in the city acknowledged its intelligence gathering power. 

　　Because of the side effect of their encounter with his future-self inside the Time and Space tunnel, Azief and Katarina controls over Time and Space is affected. 

　　But even if it's not, Azief also recognize the problem. 

　　The problem is, even if he could use the energy of the world to teleport anywhere else in the world, he needs to have at least a few information to the place where he wanted to teleport.

　　The process of teleportation is different for every practitioner. 

　　As for him, he needs to know the location of Pandemonium for him to teleport there. 

　　Usually, he would leave a trace of himself in some places so that he could easily teleport there later. 

　　And he did leave a trace of himself in Pandemonium. 

　　So, even though his Time and Space is affected, Azief thought that it would at least gave him a sense of an approximate distance between him and Pandemonium

　　Azief had always prepared himself when he was going through that Time and Space tunnel. He even had thought that his future-self would appear again.

　　What he didn't expect was that he suddenly couldn't use his Time and Space Laws. This did not happen before. 

　　And there is another factor that hinders him to quickly returning back to Pandemonium 

　　Azief believe that after the Multiversal Convergence, the energy of the world had become too chaotic. 

　　While it solves the energy problem, it brings a new set of problems 

　　Azief did not answer Katarina question instead he looks at the sky and waves his hand finger around the breezy wind and said

　　'My Divine Sense could no longer enveloped the entire world' he said. 

　　'There is more danger...in this world right now'

　　Katarina smiles and she said

　　'I might not be stronger than you…...but I think other than Jean and Hikigaya, there is no one else in this world that could restrain me or hurt me'

　　Azief heard her words and said

　　'You don't include me in that list of people?'

　　Katarina look at Azief with a gentle gaze and said

　　'You will never hurt me'

　　Azief look at that gaze and he said

　　'But, I did'

　　She then smiles and chuckles as she began understanding what Azief is implying. She could not help but sigh a bit.

　　Azief always likes to talk in this way. She is more straightforward. She loves honestly and hates honestly.

　　She was not always like this. 

　　But maybe it is like a repressed personality. When she gained power, she was unlike many of the others that gained power

　　She did not use it to abuse people with it because she knew how it felt to be a victim. Her brother takes all the beating for her….so she always felt guilty for that.

　　But she is also a victim. It is hard to see a person you love, turns to a monster. But, even through it all, her brother kept that hope alive for her.

　　And when she became so powerful that there is only a handful of people in this world that could fight her, she did not go around fighting, or trying to create some powerful faction or forces.

　　She simply wanted to see all the beautiful things in life and experience it all. 

　　So, in this journey she become outspoken. She did not say many words but she is honest and straightforward. 

　　Azief on the other hand is always silent. But he does talk and when he talks she likes to listen. And when she talks, he likes to listen

　　In that cold eyes of his, Katarina knows there is fiery passion for life, love and desire to be understood.

　　Yet, there is contradiction in his heart. He wants to be understood but he knows no one is going to understood him and he accepted that.

　　So, there is always a trace of sorrows hidden behind those eyes. Katarina was speaking directly, and Azief is speaking with meaning

　　But she understood so she chuckles a bit. 

　　'Silly. Everything with you always have some meanings. I simply said about physical harm. Though, from what you are saying, I think you are implying about the time when you choose Sofia and gallivanting around the world with her while I was in my Ice Palace?'

　　And she laughed like she had caught his weakness. 

　　Azief could tell that Katarina is teasing him and she added

　　'I know what I am getting into.' She grabs his hand, hold it tight and then said

　　'If we are talking about my heart.... I think you will break this heart a couple more times. And I think it is going to hurt. But….' and she pauses for a second, look at the hand she is holding and said

　　'I think it is worth it' and she chuckles. 

　　There is silence between them for a while. 

　　Azief did not say anything to that because if there is one promise that he could keep to Katarina, it was that he promises her that there would never be false promise from him.

　　So, he could not say anything because he is not sure. 

　　The path in front of him seems clear but only he knows how treacherous this path that he is walking and the road ahead is full of fogs and mist, and it is hard to even take the next step, fearing that one more step is a step down to an abyss.

　　Yet, he also could not turn back. So, could he promise her that he would never break her heart again?

　　Lying is unbecoming of him. And so, if he is not sure and he surely would not want to lie, the only thing he could do is be silent. And Katarina understood Azief thought

　　'The world has become too big. I need more information' he said as he let go of her hand. Many people are looking at them right now

　　And it is not wise to show their affection at least not in this kind of setting. 

　　Katarina also understood because while they could be unrestrained in the Seresian world, on Earth, they have certain responsibilities 

　　While some of the more private things that they said is shielded by Azief he Azief did not hide what he had said about needing more information

　　Instead, that words seem to echoes all over the destroyed area 

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