Lord Shadow

The walls are full of green mist. Loki turns back as he seems to be looking at something. He clicked his tongue and then mutters to himself

‘Not quite yet’ he mutters to himself.

He then looks back at Riana. Riana in that one second when Loki look back toward the door, she grabs Nathan and flew toward the back door. 

The ground crack and with her speed it causes the space and Time around her seems to be pushed away.

In that one moment, she changes her class to that of an Assassin, maximizing her speed even more. A few of her items glows and increases her speed even more.

Everything seem to slow down

But the moment that she did that a tall wall of thick green mist acted as barrier in front of that back door. 

Loki only smiles.

She charges into the green mist and when she came out of that green mist she was returned back into the house.

‘Disobedience. Traitorous’ Loki said. He said it calmly. There is no trace of anger in his voice. His expression also did not indicate any anger.

But to Riana it did not seem that way. Even though Loki did not seem to be angry, Riana had always felt to judge her father using his face expression is a stupid move.

Everything is a trick. One must remind themselves of this when dealing with Loki. 

Look carefully because when dealing with the Trickster, the most dangerous is the unseen trick

Nathan on the other hand was shocked when Riana wanted to go out of the house. After all, their precious treasure is still inside the house. He looks at her and tries to send a telepathic message

But it seems his telepathy message is being jammed. He is quite sure this has something to do with the green mist all around the forest he is in and in this house.

He could only whisper it to Riana

‘What about-‘ Riana understand what Nathan was trying to say and she said

‘I intend to throw you out of the house. At least one of us need to get out and find a solution’ Nathan expression turns hard

Riana knows that Nathan is angry with her so she said something that she did not know would make him even angrier.

‘And then I would face him. I would have begged him to let you live. We will think of a way. I would never leave…. our precious treasure here’

Nathan did not know what to say. The reason he was angry is because this is not what she should have to endure.

This is his past catching up to him. She……He did not love her so that she would be…. suffering.

‘You don’t have to do that.’ Nathan said. There is determination in his eyes. 

‘This is my matter’ But Riana shakes her head.

‘You don’t know him like I do’ Nathan could only scoff at that 

‘Let me negotiate with him’ Nathan then grab Riana hand and put her behind him. he was shielding him

Not that she needs any shielding. After all, the target has always been him. Even Loki would not be so coldhearted that he would kill the woman he had raised, right?

He then looks Loki straight in the eye

Loki is still vey casual. 

He did not seem to care whether Nathan is in the front or whether it was Riana. But at the same time he also did not make any other moves.

He seems to be thinking of something

Behind him the green thin membrane seems to distort reality, space and time all inside and outside the house.

‘You have change, Broker’ Loki said as he clicks his finger and some of the green mist spirals toward him 

He guided the green mist with his finger and pointed in front of him. 

The green gaseous substance swirls in that area for less than a second before a wooden chair appears. 

He sat on the chair, his eyes look lazily toward Nathan

He clicks his finger again and a table appears in the space between him and Nathan. The debris around the house seems to morph into beams and pillars of the house. 

Loki is conjuring and creating matters from the destroyed pieces of the house. 

To create something from nothing is quite hard. 

But to morph energy and matter from an already existing matter is a simple matter for Loki whose class is a Transformation Lord. 

Of course, his transformation magic had also improved after all of this years. 

Riana narrowed her eyes. It looks like the tricks Loki had always done when he is interrogating criminals in the Nowhere Land. 

They could not run. 

Riana look behind her. However, she knows something. Something that she did not share with Nathan

If she wanted to, she could run alone. She was quite confident of it. But if she wants to take Nathan and her precious treasure with her, she would not be able to.

This is the way Loki tempts her. Or maybe this is his way of ascertaining her loyalty and her traits.

She has long been beside Loki. While she did not dare to say she knows all of the peculiar trait of Loki, she does know some of them

He likes to test people before he did anything. This is the reason why his plan rarely strays from what he had predicted.

She felt that feeling. Loki is testing her. 

If that was the test of loyalty or a test of honor, Riana knows she just had failed. She could escape alone. But not if she brought someone else with her.

The fact she did not escape shows that she is insisting to fight against him. Loki then understand her stance.

Maybe that is the reason why he seems to be thinking of something. Loki might look playful and nonchalant, but he is quiet cold when he already decided on something

And Riana knows this

‘Another test’ she thought to herself. But she only looks at that back door for a second before she holds Nathan hand tight.

‘Together’ she thought to herself. Then she said the same word to him

‘Nate. Together’ Nathan turns back, look at that clear eyes of this woman nodded and mustering his courage he smiles and said

‘Together’

Another chair was conjured and Loki gesture to the chair and said

‘Please’ Nathan still frowning sat down on the chair. Beside him another chair appears. He then looks at Riana.

One look is enough for Riana to understand. It was disappointment and there is even a trace of anger hidden underneath that casual expression.

Loki could only sigh.

‘It seems you did not appreciate the kindness that I gave you Riana.’ The moment he said that, the back door of the house changes into an exquisite door. 

There is a faint fluctuation of magic from the door and Riana knows that Loki had sealed all of the exit

Riana still have a few trump cards but as long it did not reach the most critical point she would not easily show her full hand. She learned a lot from her teacher.

A trump card that is shown, is no longer a trump card. She sits down beside Nathan. Nathan then said

‘I could give you the Book of Secrets’ Loki only smiles but he did not say anything. Nathan then continue saying

‘I know why you want to kill me. I understand what you wanted to do and what you needed to do. I live among them. Among the beast of the world, those criminal lord would not easily be convinced that you have gone to their side.’

Loki tap one of his finger on the table. He is still not saying anything. Nathan continue by saying

‘I don’t know how much you had planned all of this. But I never put it pass you. I know some of my old enemies would one day be able to track me. And out of all of my enemies, you were on the top of the list’ Smiling bitterly, he then said

‘During your time as Regent of pandemonium, there are some questionable things you have done’

Loki only raises his eyebrows as Nathan continue saying

‘You might be able to hide it from the eyes of the populace, but people talk. And people in dark places talks a lot’

Loki just look at him with amusement

Nathan continued

‘You were quite lenient to some of the crime family. You did not allow it in Pandemonium, of course, since that would surely raise objections from the Central Government and the Three Army. You have many enemies in the court after all. Not everybody was glad that you were to be Regent. The Military wanted Wang Jian or Athena. The Central Court wanted their faction leaders. The Keepers…. well, the Keepers like always, remain neutral. But they were a lot more that wanted to see you fail then to see you succeed’

Loki nodded. 

Nathan let a few moment pass before he said

‘But, I know you mobilized certain military arms of the Central government to aid a few crime lords’ 

‘You use the operatives of the Central Government to sanction a few black ops. Black sites were created all over the world. From the wilderness of the Amazons, the Sahara Desert to the frozen tundra of Siberia, you have created so many black sites for Pandemonium clandestine operation that even some of the Centre Intelligence Agency headed by the Central Government might not know all the secret sites you have constructed.’

‘Off the book trials. I know you uses it to cut a deal with some of powerful criminal family. Kidnapping some rival crime family heirs or authorize some assassination that would help a rival crime lord to prosper. A cunning man as always’

Loki only smiles at this as Nathan continue saying

‘You executed any crime lords that dare to make business in Pandemonium, yet if there were only visiting you will let them go. You made deals with them and even aided some of them. One feet in the criminal world another in the glorious and powerful mortal world as the Regent of Pandemonium’

Nathan shakes his head but there is admiration in his tone

>>>>