The Embodiment of Evil

Several days later, Princess Donna and her Royal Guards approached the small town of Broken Tooth. Tyrannus called it a city, but it was just a large town at the edge of the Darkwind Forest. 

There was an enormous mountain in the backdrop of the town, which looks like a giant tooth but with a large crack down the middle, hence it's name. 

Although it was a town in the territory of the Kingdom of Avalon, they barely spent any attention on the town, and there was only an elected mayor and a sheriff that barely rules over the town.

The town was just filled with mercenaries, robbers and all other ruffians that the authorities barely control the town. In fact, the town is mostly controlled by gangs, and the largest gang here is the Bloodwolf Gang. 

Just as they approached the entrance of the gates of the town, two guards who stood by the gates yelled "Two silver coins per person to enter!"

"Two silver coins? When did our kingdom charge tolls for entrance to our cities?" Princess Donna asked

"Your kingdom? Broken Tooth is ruled by the Bloodwolf Gang. No other power rules Broken Tooth" the guard replied. 

"Is that so?" Princess Donna replied, preparing to take action. 

But surprisingly Captain Canaan stopped her and instead paid the entrance toll and ushered her in. 

"What did you do that for?" she asked. 

"Do you know how many crossbows were pointed at us? Most of these gang members are level 2 and 3. While there are only 5 of us guards left, and your majesty, which makes us 6 against who knows how many" he whispered. 

She glanced around and realized that indeed there were probably 20 guards at the gate alone, and most of them were level 3 gang members, which was indeed quite scary and impressive. 

In a rough town like this, indeed all the mercenaries were experienced martial exponents otherwise they would not be able to survive here without being bullied by other "citizens" of the town. 

It took them several minutes to find their way to a quiet corner in the outskirts of town to the Riverhouse.

Surprisingly, unlike the rest of the town which was rowdy and felt dangerous, this area was peaceful and quiet. Tranquil even, so much so, the water running could be heard.

The Riverhouse was a small tavern and inn next to a peaceful looking river. One had to cross a small bridge to enter the tavern which surprisingly had no door but instead a large open entrance, big enough to fit two large doors. 

Opposite the entrance, around 10 meters in front of the bridge was a large rock which was cracked and was covered in what looked like dried up blood stains.

Other taverns and pubs in town were chaotic and loud, with ruffians yelling and fighting everywhere. However, the Riverhouse seemed to be quiet with it's patrons having quiet polite conversations instead.  

"Look!" Princess Donna pointed expectantly. 

Just in front of the entrance was a chalkboard which stated "Today's specials: Titan Earth Wyrm, Golden Lion, Silver Wing Serpent, Iron Rhino, Shadow Wolf" 

"Golden Lion, Silver Wing Serpent. You don't think..." she said

"Yep, it's probably him" answered Captain Canaan as they entered.

They took a seat at a large table next to the entrance after being seated by a pretty waitress. There were two young girls as waitresses there and Captain Canaan was surprised that they were barely level 1. 

"How in heavens did they survive in this town?" he wondered. 

At that moment, an extremely beautiful woman walked into the room. She had a more mature look and didn't look over 30 years old, but had a calm expression, as if nothing can trouble her. Surprisingly, he could not see her level of cultivation. 

She approached their table and started telling them of today's specials. In a beautiful voice, she introduced herself as Mara the propriotor here and she explained that all the beasts mentioned outside could be served as steaks, stews, soups etc.

Also, all the relevant parts such as bones, blood, claws and even the cores are for sale. 

"Uh.. most of my soldiers are only Level 3. We would like some steaks. What would you recommend that they... uh." Captain Canaan asked. 

"Don't blow up?" Mara laughed. "Don't worry. The way my husband prepares the meal, you can eat anything on the menu and it will be beneficial to you, and you won't die from it" she laughed, flashing her beautifully perfect white teeth. 

"Then.. uh... we'll have the Golden Lion steaks" he ordered, mesmerized by Mara's beauty.  

"Ok then...anything else?" she asked

"We... uh.... met someone in the Darkwind Forest. His name was Tyrannus, and he said he lived here" Princess Donna suddenly blurted. 

"Oh, you are Ty's friend huh? He's in the kitchen, through that door" she said with a smile as she walked off to put in the orders. 

Princess Donna happily got up, and was just about to go to the kitchen when a rough voice growled. 

"You, pretty waitress. Why don't you come home with me? You're too beautiful to work in a tavern like this" a large muscular man in leather armor said as he grabbed onto Mara's arm as she passed by. 

Princess Donna and her guards were just about to defend Mara when they noticed all the other rough looking customers sat silently with a gloating look on their faces, some even pity, as they looked at the ruffian. 

With a twist of her wrist, the ruffian was pulled to stand right in front of her, and her other hand punched him so hard, a large crack sound could be heard as the man flew out of the tavern, through the large open doorway, over the river all the way crashing into the far away rock. 

The man never made a sound and slumped to the ground leaving a huge bloody mess on the rock and the ground as he lay completely still. 

Mara then continued towards the kitchen as if nothing happened, and the rest of the tavern continued on. Even the table where the man was sitting, none of the other men dared to make a fuss.

Instead they quickly paid and left the tavern, dragging the body of the non-moving man away leaving a long trail of blood. 

"Come on. The kitchen is this way" Mara said, looking at Princess Donna. She nodded nervously and followed Mara to the back. 

"Ty! You have a guest!" Mara said, then she shouted out the orders for the steaks. 

Donna entered the large kitchen only to see an amazing sight. There were two people there. Besides Tyrannus, there was another man there. The man was strikingly good looking and looked around 40 years old. 

Looking the older man, then at Tyrannus, one could clearly see the resemblance, except that Tyrannus looked quite alot like Mara too. She realized that the man and Mara were probably Tyrannus' parents. 

But then again, they looked so young! They looked perhaps like his older brother and sister, rather than his parents. 

"Their cultivation levels must be pretty high to be able to maintain their good looks" she guessed 

Only then did she realize that Tyrannus was expertly and effortlessly slicing up the large carcass of the Golden Lion with a butcher's cleaver and throwing a large slab of meat into the air at the older man. 

The man controlled the steaks and while still in the air, he sliced the large slab into 6 slices which landed perfectly on the grill. 

"Oh hey!" Tyrannus said, seeing Donna. 

"Hi!" she said sweetly. 

"You can go play with your friend Tyrant. I can handle things here" the older man smiled. 

"Thanks dad!" he said, grabbing her hand and excitedly brought her out of the kitchen into the back garden. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked happily. 

"I.... well... you said you were living here, so I thought I would visit you on the way back to the Royal Avalon Academy" she answered. 

"Oh! It's good to see you. I don't get visitors alot" he admitted

"Why are you living here? This place is quite rough, isn't it? There are so many gangsters here" she asked

"Those weaklings? Nah, they don't bother us. I think everyone is afraid of us" he laughed

"Afraid... of you mother right?" she asked

"My mum? No, she's the nice one. My father is the one they are afraid of" he answered.

Donna thought of the nice handsome man in the kitchen but could not imagine how his father could be scary at all. He looked so serene and peaceful, like a scholar. 

They chatted for hours, even as her steak was brought out to her. Tyrannus ate with her, offering her bits of the other beasts to taste as well. They were delicious. 

Suddenly, she started feeling hot, causing her to sweat uncontrollably. Her body started tensing up, as every muscle clenched to the extreme. She gritted her teeth in pain as her whole body cramped up. 

"Ah.... help" she said helplessly. 

"You...you're having a breakthrough!" Tyrannus said, picking her up in a smooth motion and running off to another area. 

He stopped in a private pool area where the river water swirled like a whirlpool and started stripping off all her clothes. He had never seen some of the layers she was wearing before, but he quickly figured how to remove them without tearing them. 

She was in shock, but unable to move as even her mouth had lockjaw and every muscle tensed to its maximum, to the extent she was cramping up all over. He then removed his own clothes in a flash, carried her and jumped into the pool, both naked. 

As her body touched the cold water, the water cooled down her body which was feverish. She suddenly felt his hands touching her all over her naked body. 

Just as she was about to protest or scream, she realized that her body was excreting black slime from all over her skin. To her embarrassment, she realized that she was also defecating and urinating out murky blackish substances uncontrollably. 

The water was completely black as it washed out from the pool and new water continuously entered the pool from the river. 

But Tyrannus was gentle as he washed her cleanly all over, waiting and continuously cleaning her until her body stopped excreting the black substances. 

Slowly, Donna's body stopped tensing up and she started relaxing. Her body was completely worn out, tired from the exertions. She realized that she was seated on his lap and he was hugging her naked from behind. In fact, she felt something poking her from behind. 

"There, you're done. Your body has excreted all the impurities from your body as you broke through. You rest here while I get you a towel" he said as he quickly got up and out of the pool.

She caught a glimpse of his body, and blushed realizing that he was aroused as he disappeared. 

She remembered him cleaning her whole body, and that included even her private areas. She was blushing and didn't know whether to be angry at him or to be thankful.

But she found that he did a thorough job, not even a speck of black substances were left on her body. 

He appeared again, fully clothed and passing her a towel, his eyes again looking as if he would devour her naked body. After all, he's just seen her whole body naked, and it was quite a sight. 

"I..uh... will wait for you outside" he quickly recovered his composure and turned around as he left her to dry and dress herself. Looking at her naked body was too much for him to bear. 

Not long later, she walked out blushing as she looked at him. 

"Thank you" she said

"Oh, that's no problem. I think of you as my friend" he said. 

"No I mean, thank you for not taking advantage of me when I was helpless" she said. 

"Um... I won't do that. I like you too much" he said as he blushed and turned away. 

She smiled and gave him a peck on his cheek and walked back to the tavern. Tyrannus followed her in. 

Donna was now prettier and more radiant after her breakthrough. She had gone from mid Level 3 to peak Level 3 which meant that she went through 2 small levels just by eating the food here. 

She entered with Tyrannus only to find her table empty with all the gear of her guards still at the table. 

"Where are my guards?" she asked. 

"Oh, they are in the men's room achieving breakthroughs" Mara answered. 

Tyrannus explained that there was a larger mens pool where all the men shared a large pool when they achieve their breakthrough. There were toilets there too.

But he didn't bring her there as it was filled with men, and there were no similar facilities for women, so he brought her to their private family pool. 

Not long later, they returned one by one, looking radiant after receiving s minor breakthrough. They all only broke through one small level while Donna broke through two levels.

She felt grateful, not only for the breakthrough but for Tyrannus' help during her breakthrough, as she couldn't imagine being helped by her guards. 

After dinner, which Tyrannus' parent refused payment realizing that Donna was not only Tyrannus's friend but also the princess of the country. 

Donna then invited Tyrannus to join the Royal Academy of Avalon. They talked about it for a while before she convinced Tyrannus' parents that it would be good for him to get more exposure, meet more friends, serve the country. 

Ragnar winced imperceptibly when she mentioned serving the country, but he didn't let it show. Mara squeezed his hand, knowing Ragnar's thoughts. Ultimately, they agreed anyway as Tyrannus should get more exposure and experience as he was growing up. 

Tyrannus was incredibly happy. He had never left home before, as his parents were contented in a peaceful life at Broken Tooth. 

The Royal Academy of Avalon could perhaps help him with his troubling dreams too. As he continued growing, his dreams that plagued him from young kept getting clearer and clearer.

From young, he kept dreaming of being different people. But in all his dreams, he was always involved in catastrophic wars and deaths of millions.

But were they dreams? While his parents did teach him how to use weapons and hunt and protect himself, he also learned many tactics, moves and techniques from the many people he was in his dreams. In fact, he surprised his parents on many occasions with his sudden bursts of knowledge. 

He hoped to find an answer to his dreams, which his parents could not give him.