The Black Necromancer

Crack!

With a sickening sound, Onyx twisted off the head of the creature that he had been fighting. He was covered in blood and was no longer in good condition. But thankfully, they had taken care of all the enemy's A ranks. While more would surely come, according to the predictions and warnings given by the Gods, at least, they had some time to recuperate.

One thing that did not stop, however, was the constant wave of weaker beings. Even beings as low as E ranks appeared from the portals, and while the singular strengths were nothing impressive, their numbers were overwhelming.

"...If it is this bad down here, how much more worse can it be up there?" He sighed and shook his head before turning to the two experts that had come to help him. Unlike him, their forms were still pristine, and not even the blood of their opponents had managed to touch them.

'Are they actually Gods?' Onyx thought to himself as he felt a wave of uncertainty come over him. He had caught snippets of their fights and he was thoroughly impressed. While he had always been hailed as a powerful expert, even he had suffered under the relentless onslaught of an enemy who did not care for his own wellbeing.

As he studied them, they also studied him. The first to speak was Isaac.

"Do not be wary of us, friend. We mean you no harm. We were actually expecting to do a lot more, but who would have known that such powerful A ranks would be watching over this city?" The dark skinned bald man laughed and held out his hand. "The name is Isaac. I was once known as the Master of Night." Isaac introduced himself.

"And I am Sword Saint." Sword Saint bellowed.

"...Master of Night and Sword Saint?!" Onyx's eyes opened slightly wider. Onyx was an expert whose time was before these two. However, he had actually run into them some time ago!

Before he became the final boss monster of the Labyrinth of Madness, there was a time when two mad men had come into the dungeon and began wantonly killing all the creatures they had come across. At that time, he had still been trying to recuperate after the loss that their side had suffered at the hands of the Gods, so he was not even close to being able to match up against them.

He did not hesitate to turn tail and run away as fast as he could.

"Ahem." Onyx cleared his throat and returned to his human form. The horns on his head fell to the side and turned back into his long black hair that reached the center of his back. His scales returned to the tattered robes that they once were before his transformation. "I am Onyx. A pleasure to meet you. Truly, your help is greatly appreciated." He maintained a civil front with them.

"Ahem, ahem! Is there a reward?" Sword Saint suddenly coughed to draw attention.

"...A reward?" Onyx was lost. Then a memory of a young man with a head full of luscious silver hair surfaced in his mind. This young man held a sword that was covered in the blood of dungeon monsters as he laughed like a maniac while harvesting the cores of the monsters and mumbling about money nonstop.

"I am not the one in charge of this city. I am only the strongest combatant stationed here. Come, let us go down. The city lord is waiting for us." Onyx eventually said with a neutral expression. He was astounded by the sudden request, but thinking about it, it was only normal for a lone fighter to ask for a reward when he assisted people who were in need of help.

Together, the three of them descended from the sky and landed within the barrier that protected the city. Down at the city square, a tall, white haired man stood, his hands folded behind him as he beheld the three powerful A ranks that were descending.

They were not the only ones, as those that had been injured had been rotated and brought within the barrier to heal and recuperate while others took their positions.

"Well done, Onyx. I am sure Emperor Raegan will be happy with what you have done for us." The City Lord, Miguel, a Royal White Millipede, said with a smile.

Not all White Millipedes chose to focus their efforts into increasing their combat power. While Miguel's combat power was not in any way weak, as he was a B rank, he did not put too much focus on increasing his strength, as opposed to increasing the level of his other skills and abilities, like his administrative abilities and skills.

As such, he had been granted the post of City Lord of one of the many cities that were within the territory of the Cromwell Empire.

"Thank you, Miguel. I am happy to help. But our friends here also deserve some of the credit. Things would be much worse if they had not shown up to help." Onyx nodded his head and gestured to the two experts.

"Isaac, Master of the Night." Isaac held out his hand and Miguel shook it enthusiastically.

"Sword Saint." Sword Saint also shook hands with Miguel, a wide grin plastered over his face.

"A pleasure to meet you both. Your efforts shall not go unrewarded. I will surely forward your names and deeds to Emperor Raegan. I am sure he will appreciate your efforts greatly." Miguel smiled graciously.

"Errr... No immediate rewards?" Sword Saint leaned forward and whispered to Miguel without letting go of the white haired man's hand.

"..." Miguel's eyes opened slightly wider. "Everything is free for as long as you are here?" His lips twitched. He already understood that Sword Saint was the kind of person who loved rewards. However, he could not open the city's coffers to reward anyone wantonly, especially during wartime.

"Ah, that sounds much better." Sword Saint finally let go of Miguel's hand with a grin.