2025-02-15 06:49:50Alkan flinched and quickly looked ahead. The three men were already frowning at him. But because of the light he had seen, his earlier plan to leave now seemed unlikely.
He needed to find out which tribe the child belonged to and why it was surrounded by light. He cleared his throat. "What tribe are you from?" The three men narrowed their eyes at him and slightly lowered their heads into a stance ready to attack. A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly raised his hands. "I mean no harm. I just want to know if you're allied with the White Wing Tribe and if that’s the reason the Black Wing Tribe attacked you." At the mention of the White Wing Tribe, the tension in the air slightly eased. He couldn’t quite read the three men’s expressions, but he noticed the women averting their gazes. Soon, the man in the middle straightened his stance. He looked Alkan over from head to toe. "We are not allies of the White Wing Tribe, but neither are we enemies of the white sawikin. We have lived peacefully in the Black Wing Tribe’s land since our ancestors' time, but the black sawikin attacked us because they want to expand the influence of the Black Palace. Our ancestors once signed a contract with the Black Palace stating that the priest’s tribe would never ally with the Black Wing Tribe. Because of this, the first king of the Black Palace allowed us to build our settlement in his land, on the condition that in every generation, one of our priests would serve in the Black Palace. But the current king seeks greater power. He wants to conquer the west, which is ruled by the White Wing Tribe, and he started with the tribes within his land that have not sworn loyalty to the Black Palace." "The Black Palace?" Alkan frowned. The man looked at him with mild curiosity before answering. "The Black Palace is where the Black Wing Tribe resides." "If that’s the case... where is the Black Palace?" With that question, the tension completely dissipated. The two men on either side of the middleman straightened as well before walking toward the women. Only the man in the middle remained. "Now I know you weren’t sent by the Black Wing Tribe." The man took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "The Black Palace is in the south, while my tribe’s land is in the northwest of the palace. A few kilometers from this cave, you’ll find the river that serves as the border between the south and the west." Alkan frowned at his words. He no longer regretted coming here, even though he knew he had strayed from his intended path to the Black Palace. In the past few days, he had been unsure where the black sawikin had taken Valeria. But now that he knew what and where the Black Palace was, he was certain that was his true destination in Tribal. But now wasn’t the time to go there. He didn’t know what awaited him. It was better to be prepared. Besides, he needed the White Wing Tribe’s help. Now that he knew the white sawikin indeed held power and influence in Tribal, rescuing Valeria would be much easier. Surely Gio understood why he had rushed to Tribal, right? It wasn’t as if he had planned to end up in the black sawikin’s land so soon. He had intended to seek the white sawikin’s help to prepare for Valeria’s rescue. The man suddenly cleared his throat and continued. "But that river isn’t safe. The sirens allied with the White Wing Tribe dwell there. They serve as the first line of defense against the Black Wing Tribe due to their unique abilities." Alkan nodded, recalling what Manuel had told him about the sirens or mermaid. If the creatures in the San Roque River were real, did that mean the sirens living there were originally from Tribal? His eyes narrowed. He wasn’t sure about his theory yet, so he set it aside. He looked at the man. "You said your tribe is one of priests. I don’t know what kind of beings you are in Tribal." A smile played at the corner of the man’s lips. "The priest’s tribe is one of the beings capable of manipulating an exorcist’s magic. Our tribe is one of the five pillars of Tribal. Our ancestors were able to negotiate with the Black Wing Tribe because our tribe is vital to maintaining order in Tribal. We have the ability to suppress or nullify an exorcist’s magic. Likewise, only an exorcist can directly counter a priest." Alkan's lips parted slightly. He hadn't expected such abilities to exist in Tribal. "The exorcists..." he muttered. "Where is their tribe?" The man’s smile faded, and he frowned in irritation as he recalled their adversaries. "They are allies of the White Wing Tribe. I don’t know their exact location, but I’m sure they hold a high position in the White Palace, just as our tribe does in the Black Palace." Alkan nodded. It seemed there was a system of balance and checks in Tribal. Just as the White Wing Tribe opposed the Black Wing Tribe, the priests countered the exorcists. "You," the man suddenly said. "What tribe are you from? I don’t see any signs that you belong to the Black Wing Tribe’s allies. Does that mean you’re with the White Wing Tribe?" There was no malice in his voice, only curiosity. But because of the cave’s silence, everyone heard his question. All eyes turned to Alkan. Some looked at him with curiosity, others with suspicion. Some even stepped back, putting distance between themselves and him. Clearly, while they weren’t enemies of the White Wing Tribe, they didn’t trust the white sawikin either. Alkan swallowed and clenched his fists discreetly. His gaze flickered to the baby that had caught his interest earlier. His heart sank even more when the mother stood up and took a few steps back, pressing herself deeper into the cave’s corner. It seemed she was afraid of the white sawikin. He cleared his throat and looked at the man. "I don’t belong to any tribe, nor am I directly allied with the White Wing Tribe." He exhaled. "But I can manipulate shadows, so you can be sure I’m not from the White Wing Tribe." Instead of relief, more suspicious stares fell upon him. The man’s lips pressed into a thin line. "If you're not with the White Wing Tribe, does that mean you’re allied with the Black Wing Tribe?" Alkan quickly shook his head, especially when the man’s gaze sharpened. He sighed. "I am not allied with the Black Wing Tribe. Like you, I am free and unaffiliated. So you don’t have to fear that I will betray your tribe." A tense silence filled the cave. Then the man spoke, his voice serious. "You say you can manipulate shadows. Only one tribe is known to have that ability—the witches, who are allied with the Black Wing Tribe." Gasps echoed through the cave and Alkan's face darkened.
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Yes, there were times when he could control the shadow without knowing that it had a mind of its own because of Ambong. But now, Ambong was no longer inside his body, so he didn’t know how to summon the shadow. "I am not part of the witch's lineage. There was someone who taught me how to manipulate it..." His lips pressed into a thin line. "Besides, if the black sawikin had sent me here, the women would have already been lying lifeless on the ground." "Then show me your ability!" the man demanded. With no other choice, Alkan closed his eyes. He focused on himself until he felt the creeping cold from his soles, rising up his legs, arms, neck, and finally to his face. His muscles shivered with dread. This was the familiar sensation whenever the shadow touched his body. And it seemed his suspicion was right when he heard a woman scream. Footsteps followed, scurrying away from him. He knew the women had taken refuge in a corner. When he opened his eyes, even he was taken aback.
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 14: Captured
The woman glanced at the child and shook her head. "When the baby was born, a light surrounded it. After that, we didn’t see anything strange—except for the fact that Ester’s child is incredibly beautiful." Alkan’s gaze deepened. His suspicions were correct. The tribe couldn’t see the white light wrapped around the infant. This would make capturing the child much easier. However, he was growing concerned about Ester. If he couldn’t take the baby, he might have to abduct Ester instead.Alkan spent several days in the cave with the tribe of priests. In the past few days, he had been trying to push away his thoughts of abducting the baby, constantly reminding himself that it was not yet the right time. His patience seemed to pay off when Ester called him over and had him sit in front of her. The woman smiled at him. “This is my daughter, Wakin,” she said, revealing the face of a young girl. Alkan’s gaze deepened as he looked at the child. At last, Ester herself had introduced her da
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 15: Silent River
The women roared in unison. Even the exorcists were taken aback. They were no longer the weak, weeping women from before. They were resolute, determined to fight. Seizing the opportunity, Alkan grabbed the baby and fled through a hole in the cave wall, running without looking back. He didn’t know how long he had been running. He only knew that the sun was setting when he left the cave with the baby. Darkness had swallowed the surroundings, and the wind had turned cold. The only sounds he could hear were the chirping of crickets. Panting, he stopped running. His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so he knew he was standing under the shade of a large tree. He lowered his gaze to the baby, still surrounded by a white glow. He smiled. He hadn’t seen any shadows earlier, so he knew he had made the right decision. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound not far away. Alkan became alert. Holding his breath, he turned toward the source of the noise, but he saw no movement in that
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 16: The meeting of land and water
The mermaid laughed at what the female exorcist said. She looked at the woman from head to toe and smiled. "An exorcist tribe?" Her smile widened. "It's been centuries since I last saw one of your kind, woman. But I won’t deny that you are strong." The mermaid pointed at Alkan. "I was the first to find him, so he belongs to me," she declared. The female exorcist raised an eyebrow. "Are you unaware of the White Palace’s decree? The man named Alkan Buena must be taken to the palace." She crossed her arms. "Did no one inform you, or... are you planning to defy the order?" The mermaid pursed her lips and scoffed. "I just want to take him on a tour of the mermaid kingdom. What’s wrong with that? I’ll return him after our little trip!" The female exorcist smirked. "We came all the way south to find that man. If you think we’ll just let you mermaids take him sightseeing, you're mistaken. Now that we’ve found him, we’re leaving for the palace!" "No way!" the mermaid shouted. The e
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 17: Under the balete tree
If it weren’t for the group of black sawikin heading toward the river, she would never have given Alkan to the siren. Even though she could have taken Alkan away at that moment, she worried that the black sawikin would realize that three exorcists had come to the river. They might also catch the scent of the infant Irwin had been holding earlier. If that happened, the Black Palace would immediately know that the rumor about the child of prophecy being from the priestly tribe was a lie. She hadn’t gone far from the river when she heard the faint whistling of wings. Looking up at the sky, she saw a group of black sawikin passing through. Her jaw tightened, and she raised her hand. Dark light shone from her palms as she ran faster. The rustling of leaves and the crunch of her footsteps against the dry foliage echoed in the air. She sensed the sawikin hesitate before turning their attention toward her. The exorcist grinned widely and sped up. In no time, she felt the black sawikin p
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 18: Under the balete tree (2)
The sawikin grinned. "Why don’t we find out?" He opened his mouth, about to shout. Without thinking, she removed her claws from his throat and leaned down—pressing her lips against his. Her expression darkened. She couldn’t believe it. She had just kissed a sawikin. His lips curved against hers. And before she could pull away, his hand slid behind her, pressing her even closer. She inhaled sharply, eyes widening. She struggled to move, but his grip was like stone. He deepened the kiss. And to her horror—he was enjoying it. Damn it. This was not part of the plan. She let the sawikin kiss her, and several minutes passed before he finally released her. Only then did she push herself up from where she had been pinned down. She shot the sawikin a glare, but it only responded with a mischievous smile. Despite the anger simmering inside her, she refused to use magic for revenge. If she did, its companions would immediately sense an exorcist’s presence. Taking a deep bre
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 19: A necromancer's magic
She stood frozen as countless skeletal figures dragged themselves toward her. What kind of creatures were these? There's no records in history that mentioned skeletons rising from the ground. "My lady, this is not the time to be surprised," the black sawikin said, sounding mildly disgusted as it eyed the approaching skeletons. "If you don’t move, you’ll be their dinner." Snapping back to reality, she took a deep breath and raised her hand. Wind gathered in her palm, forming a small whirlwind. She unleashed it at the cluster of skeletons nearer to her. The force shattered them, but they kept crawling toward her, undeterred. Her lips pressed into a thin line. She summoned another whirlwind, but it still wasn’t enough to diminish their numbers. The black sawikin frowned. "You might need fire to get rid of them completely." She turned to him with a glare. "If you're not going to help, just shut up!" she snapped, focusing on summoning another whirlwind. Relief washed over h
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 20: Under the river
The black sawikin sighed. "Because I have a fairy blood, I can recognize the energy of every tribe belonging to the five pillars of Tribal." She fell silent. She had forgotten. That must have been why he warned her earlier. He must have sensed something strange in the area. A few minutes later, as they continued flying through the air, she became alert when she sensed a group of black sawikin a hundred meters away. She quickly grabbed the arm of the sawikin holding her. "Put me down, quickly! Your companions are here!" But the sawikin didn't listen to her. ... As the female exorcist desperately tried to escape the persistent black sawikin, the mermaid carried Alkan’s body into the depths of the river. Alkan was unconscious as the mermaid held him. His head was encased in a bubble the mermaid had created to keep him from drowning. At that moment, the only thing he could remember was the occasional singing of the mermaid, lulling him into a sense of peace. He couldn't fig
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Chapter 119: The mortal
The sun shone brightly, and its rays hit Alkan’s closed eyes. He frowned, slowly opening them as he sat up from the grass. He let out a deep breath. It had been seven years since his family died in an accident. All of his parents’ assets had been passed down to him, but he was too lazy to manage everything. So, he decided to buy several hectares of land in Alegria to turn into a farm. He entrusted his most reliable staff to handle the companies left behind in the city. Just the other day, while negotiating with a landowner, a man suddenly called out to him. The man claimed to be a priest whom Alkan had saved from the Black Palace. But Alkan denied it, thinking the stranger was mentally unstable. Because of that weird encounter, he decided to postpone his land purchase. His assistant came running toward him. "Good day, Sir!" "Did something happen?" he asked, standing up. "The office in the city called. They said your travel documents for your flight to Europe have been proces
Chapter 118: End of first region
Her name was Matilda, one of the loyal followers of the ancient king. Since the first century, when the king fell into slumber, and up until Alkan’s time, the woman had remained faithfully by his side. She was also the one who set Alkan’s destiny in motion, leading him to this dimension. "Your ancestor was the descendant of the ancient king. He sent his own heir to another dimension to keep them safe from those who lusted after power." Matilda sighed. "At that time, not a day passed without blood spilling upon this land. When the ancient king learned that others sought to kill his only heir, he did not hesitate to use half of his power to open a portal to a world he believed would accept them." Alkan stared at the sleeping man. Time had not affected his appearance—in a single glance, one might mistake the ancient king for his older brother. "He tasked me with setting the fate of his descendant’s heir so they would one day return to this world—to save a land filled with conflic
Chapter 117: Destroyed barrier
The rain fell gently that day. The entire land was silent after the third region was consumed by fire. The rain had not stopped since that day, filling the witnesses of the gods’ and goddesses’ wrath with unease. But what everyone anticipated was the next move of the one who had dared to challenge the strongest beings in that world. "Master, there is still no movement from the first region," Asha reported. Alkan swung his sword slowly. At that moment, he was studying a new form of combat. He had discovered this mysterious technique from books salvaged from Ashura’s palace. After the palace burned, Asha’s serpents had found a secret door that remained untouched by the flames. She informed him, so he went to investigate and found an ancient library. It contained many old tools and battle techniques. According to Drako, they were from the first century—the era of the ancient king. Without hesitation, Alkan took everything and began studying them. "But a strange creature has been
Chapter 116: A land engulfed in fire
Alkan nodded. "They never witnessed any movement in or out of the wasteland." He turned toward the third region. "And it seems there's an imposter among the ministers of Ashura’s palace." "What do you mean?" "No one should have known about the pit inside the wasteland unless they had planted a spy. But I rule the wasteland, and no one from the third region has infiltrated it. This can only mean… that minister is from the first region! We need to return—it’s a trap!" he declared, flying back to the third region. Just as Alkan suspected, the minister who first spoke at the meeting was an agent of the palace from the first region. Once he confirmed that Alkan was in the wasteland, he quickly signaled his allies stationed around the third region. A battalion stormed and took over Bendito, another army occupied Ashura, and the prince of the first region went to Celes to seize the queen. Whe
Chapter 115: A trap
Alkan’s appearance never returned to the way it once was. His hair and eyes remained split in two colors. But that didn’t stop the monsters from recognizing him as their new master. With the council—once the pillar of the third region—gone, the highest-ranking officials of Bendito and the remaining leaders of Ashura’s palace decided to appoint Alkan as the ruler of the third region. He had no choice but to accept the position laid before him. Now, three regions of the world followed him: the wasteland, the third region, and the second region. Yet, despite having the power to command these territories, his concerns in the past few days had not disappeared. There had been no movement from the first region, which puzzled him. Based on the information he had gathered, the first region would never retreat unless they were planning something ominous. "Master, my serpents cannot enter the first region. There is a barrier repelling all monsters at the entrance. They tried to circle around,
Chapter 114: Goddess of Death
"It has been millennia since I last saw you. You were just a small child then, but now, here you are, planning to slaughter the very beings who once nurtured you." Alkan clenched his fists at the words. "Nurtured?" He let out a dry laugh. "You stole my power and stripped me of my freedom in the name of the fairy kingdom. You murdered my parents. All you've ever done is ruin my life and the lives of the beings in Tribal!" A smile played on the anito’s lips. "Why wouldn’t we? The inhabitants of Tribal are nothing but weak creatures. A mere flick of our fingers, and your lives would vanish into the wind. Shouldn’t you be afraid of the council? And yet, what happened? You established three kingdoms and enslaved all the beings in Tribal. You made yourselves gods, but… before us, you are nothing more than an ant." "An ant?" Alkan laughed at the insult. "So that’s how you see Tribal?" His grin widened. "Why don’t you ask the gods and goddesses of the first region who the real ants are? Did
Chapter 113: Welcome to the Council of Anito
The blood had already poured from the top of his head, but the general still tried to stand and face him. "Do you even know what you're doing, fool?" "You wanted to fight, so I gave you a good one. What? Can you still go on?" The general gritted his teeth in frustration and immediately charged at him. Alkan just shook his head. Even though he was wounded, the general refused to back down. One of his subordinates finally spoke up with concern. "General, we still have a battle later tonight." "Silence!" the general shouted, continuing his attack. Alkan dodged repeatedly, occasionally slashing the general’s face. By now, the general’s entire body was covered in bruises and wounds, and his blood wouldn’t stop dripping. Alkan’s brows furrowed. He had no time for this fight, so he decided to end it. With one decisive strike, the general collapsed. He didn't kill him, but who knew if the man would still be able to f
Chapter 112: War in the first region
By the time they reached the entrance to Ashura, the sun was already high in the sky. The closer they got, the worse Alkan felt. He had a strong feeling that something terrible would happen the moment he stepped into the council’s territory. But they were already here—there was no turning back now. With firm resolve, he stepped into Ashura. What greeted him was a row of warriors. Alkan blinked in surprise. "I, the general of the First Region’s army, have been tasked with stopping the Third Region from invading the Second Region—the land of the monsters! Prepare yourselves! We will strike at nightfall!" a man on a shining white horse declared. It was no ordinary horse. Its radiant body glowed under the sunlight. "Master, it looks like a war is about to break out in Ashura," Asha murmured, glancing around. "I can't sense any snakes nearby, so I can't gather any information." Alkan’
Chapter 111: Fall of Arelano
Alkan conjured a whirlwind mixed with water. Arelano narrowed his eyes and released shadows that engulfed the entire palace. But shadow manipulation was also one of Alkan’s abilities, so the darkness had no effect on him. He spread the four-colored flames from his feet, sending them across the furniture, up to the ceiling, until the entire palace was engulfed in fire. With the darkness dispelled, he saw sweat forming on Arelano’s face due to the heat. The corner of his lips curled. "Is that all you’ve got?" "Don't get ahead of yourself, mortal!" Arelano shouted, summoning two massive black wings on his back. They spread wide, creating a powerful gust of wind that extinguished the flames and once again covered the surroundings in darkness. Drako transformed into a dragon, while Asha turned into a serpent. The two worked together to defeat Arelano, while Alkan focused on casting a curse.
