The Innkeeper

Lex recalled everything he had heard at the Inn about the 'alien invaders'. A lot of people who faced them called the aliens, while a lot of people claimed to have fought some kind of robots. The assumption he had made was that the invaders consisted of a race that also used a lot of robots.

That was a concept that was easy for him to understand. But this robot having a wisp of a soul inside of it confounded him. Especially because… he was the one calling it a wisp of soul. In fact, he had no idea what it was.

Looking at it, his intuition told him that it was a sort of mirage of an actual soul, but the soul was not present in the robot's body. Instead, it was somewhere else, and was using the wisp to remotely control the robot.

Of course that was only a guess and could not be confirmed, but Lex more or less trusted his intuition.

Based on that, Lex guessed earth was dealing with a highly advanced race that could use robotic soldiers instead of fighting in person. It was an important piece of information to note, and maybe he'd need it in the future. For now, he had other things to do.

He channeled some spirit energy into the locator strapped onto his wrist and waited for it to turn on. The interface wasn't complicated. It was like a compass, but instead of pointing north, it pointed towards the facility he needed to reach.

Lex summoned Fenrir and got atop it, before guiding it in the right direction. He knew that if ever Fenrir was recognized from the Inn, it would make him hiding his identity redundant. But it didn't matter because he kept linking his identity as Lex to Leo.

He was purposefully leaving behind clues, though an ordinary person would not pick them up. Only someone incredibly astute, with enough reach to gather all the clues, would be able to see the connection.

The point was, it was a lot more believable that Leo or Lex were running around on earth with Fenrir, than the mighty Innkeeper. A lot of people at the Inn had already seen the Innkeepers power, so no one would assume that he was actually Lex.

After all, someone that powerful didn't really need to hide that identity, is what most people would assume.

Another important factor was that Fenrir was supposed to be the protector of the Inn. He had gotten a taste for hunting in the Crystal realm. In fact, Lex still sent him there from time to time to hunt.

But the more dangerous situations he faced, the more experience he would gain. Also, Lex wouldn't have to run a huge distance in case the facility was far. But that was completely and totally not the real reason Lex summoned him, and was only a convenient truth.

But Lex barely covered any distance when he encountered another group of robots. They were fighting against what looked like local police who had barricaded themselves, as well as a group of civilians underground.

Technically, Lex could avoid them. He didn't need to get involved. But it was much easier to dismiss helping someone when they weren't being attacked right in front of your eyes. He knew that if he didn't help, they wouldn't have a chance.

"I bet Belle would have no problem ditching them," Lex mumbled as he instructed Fenrir to move closer.

*****

Deep in space, there was a massive war being fought on a rogue planet, traveling through the expanse without anything to leash it. A majority of the planet was occupied by human forces while only a small portion of it was left under Fuegan control. Yet that did not mean the remaining fight was easy, or close to victory, for that matter.

Above the planet, in space, was the venue for another battle. This battle was not being fought by mortal soldiers, but by those nobles who had reached the immortal realm! Even if those immortals happened to be soldiers, by the definition of the empire, they would still be called nobles.

As such, this battlefield which often appeared in space to limit the damage was called the noble battlefront!

On this noble battlefront, there was one warrior in particular who especially radiated an aura that was both noble and domineering. She was clad in the signature armor of the Williams family. Her weapon was a double-ended scythe, and with it she had already reaped the life of an opposing Fuegan.

That was not an insignificant feat, for the death of an immortal was a rare occurrence regardless of what kind of battle it was. Yet she was not satisfied, and attacked aggressively!

But if all it took to defeat a Fuegan was aggression, this war would have been long won.

"There is news from the family head," a voice spoke to her in her mind. In the vacuum of space, spirit sense was the only way to communicate. Of course, masks with inbuilt communicators were also an option, but they never survived the kinds of fights they were exposed to.

"What does he want?" she asked, with no hint of politeness in her voice when talking about her own family head.

"It's good news. The ancestor has shown signs of returning, and even signs retaking the helm of the family to bring it to new heights!" The voice was tinged with excitement, but the woman did not share the feeling.

She took off her mask, revealing her beautiful, yet angry face. If Lex saw that face, he would instant hide, for he knew what it was like when his maniacal sister got angry.

"Tell that old geezer to get lost. I'm the next leader of the Williams family. We didn't need him before and we don't need him now!"

"Belle, you can't-" the man trying to rebuke her was never able to finish the sentence, for Bello kicked him hard enough to send him hurtling towards the rogue planet.

She looked at the next person who happened to be standing nearby and said, "convey my message to the family head. If he tries to give my position away, I'll kill him!"