"Serve me well, and become my right hand. Gerard."
"Your wish is my command, Lord Luka."
The platinum flash upon granting Gerard access to the system almost blinded Luka, who quickly scanned the information and nodded.
[Destiny Record]
Name: Gerard de Alverain
Age: 68
Race: Huma
Rating: Platinum
Level: 0
Class: Knight Commander
Talent: Increased Vigour, Drill Master, Exquisite Touch
Skill: Leadership (Level: 10), Advanced Swordsmanship (Level: 2), Advanced Horsemanship (Level: 5), Intermediate Shield Technique (Level: 6)
[Combat Attributes]
Strength: 17
Endurance: 17
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 14
Willpower: 14
[Extra Attributes]
Loyalty: 100
Affection: 86
Corruption: 2
Charm: 12
___
Luka asked Gerard to become the commander of his new force. He would strictly train them while pushing them to the physical and mental limits. However, Gerard would learn the entirety of his role in the near future.
For now, he used the example of the Hobgoblin.
"Our territory borders the forsaken lands of the Fallen. If we are to survive when their main forces try to invade, we need stalwart shields, defenders who cannot and shall not break under any circumstances."
Gerard glanced up at Luka, silently listening and nodding.
"Your thoughts are much like your grandfather's. He also considered the greatest threat to our lands not the foreign kingdoms, or other nobles, but those monsters! It is pleasing to see his blood flows thick through your veins, My Lord."
The old knight paused and bitterly smiled.
"Alas, he did not have the heart to put them into action."
Although the memories of the original Luka lingered in the body, there were many things that Lucifer didn't understand. He couldn't know about these things because Luka never showed any interest or committed them to memory.
"I will protect Babylon, no matter what it takes, Gerard."
"!!!"
"Now then, about the woman who almost killed me, what happened to her?"
The moment Luka spoke, both Gerard and Zack's faces scrunched up, both of them frowning with sharp glares.
"That foul, dark-skinned bitch is locked in the temporary prison, My Lord! Her disgusting tongue and blasphemous words shan't reach your ears ever again!"
'Hm?'
Luka never expected Gerard to be so aggressive towards a dark elf, though on the side of chaos, there were quite a number living across the entire continent of Avalon. He thought it was strange, but Zack also carried the same level of aggression.
'Something isn't right here. What don't I understand?'
"Gerard, while your loyalty and desire to keep my ears unsullied are commendable, I am unable to keep your wishes true. I need to—question that woman."
"You cannot, My Lord!?"
"Sire, please no!"
Both begged him to stop, but Luka wouldn't change his mind.
A woman able to use the Destiny System before the world collapsed.
She was far too dangerous to ignore, and if he couldn't bring her to his side, he would do so via anymeans.
Then he would have to kill her.
"Silence."
Luka rarely shouted, but this time it was necessary.
Although the two knights meant well and tried to stop him for his own sake, Luka wasn't some sheltered fool.
"Take me to her immediately, or I shall no longer require your services."
The pair appeared shocked at his forceful method, but they could only shake their heads and accept this was their fate.
"Please, be on your guard, Sire. We cannot lose you to that vile, heathen."
"I understand, she killed me once. I won't take that risk again, without absolute certainty."
...
Luka examined the area while following Gerard out.
He spotted Galatea's tent to the right of his and Gerard's to the left, as if blocking him like a pair of shields. Other knights like Zack slept in the outer layer with the hunters and Iris's warriors.
They walked a few dozen yards to a small wooden building with a thick tent made of leather and hide propped up in the centre, where five fully armed knights stood outside with their helmets down in complete silence.
"These are my most trusted and earnest men, Sire."
Gerard hesitated for a moment at the entrance and glanced back. Meanwhile, Luka strained his eyes trying to see past the heavy leather door blocking the light from inside.
"And this is the makeshift prison we created for now."
"She's inside?"
It looked just like a tent to Luka, but he shook his head and glanced at the guards, then Gerard, before giving them one final, hard-to-swallow order.
"I will enter alone.
No one is to peek or set foot inside; no matter what you hear, this is a direct command from your Lord.
Understand?"
He glared at Gerard as if to silence him.
The aged knight shook his head and grumbled before accepting his fate.
"Understood, My Lord."
Zack alternated between Luka and Gerard but remained quiet, standing with the other guards while putting on a straight face.
'This kid is good.'
Without taking another look, Luka pushed through the heavy, triple-layered hide covering the entrance, helping block most sounds from the inside.
The moment he entered, Luka felt the change in atmosphere.
He could smell the sweet, metallic scent of blood and an unnatural heat from the massive brazier billowing in the centre of the dark tent, where barely anything was visible. He sniffed the air, able to detect the sour hint of something alive.
"..."
Luka approached the distant wooden pillar buried in the ground.
He followed the faint jangle of metal, likely the restraints keeping the women locked in place.
"Mmmmgh...!"
The sound of someone shouting, or maybe it was moaning through cloth, grew louder and more violent with each step he took towards the darkest spot of the tent. He grabbed the small candle holder from the table beside him and held it up.
Jangle!
Chains sounded more and more as he came to the pillar, and though almost pitch black, he finally saw her in the faint golden candlelight.
There she was in all her glory.
The tall athletic woman stood with her arms raised, tied to the pillar by chains, reinforced with a metal bar that locked them in place behind her head.
Under the golden light, her glossy dark skin covered in bruises and wounds shimmered like dark almond while a pair of thin golden slits glared up at him from below, snarling under the cloth gag in her mouth with her legs spread wide, both tied to smaller pillars two metres apart from each other.
"Oh, what a fine body you have. Elf."
A soft tuft of silvery-white hair glistened with moisture between her thighs, and just below, a soft pink flower peeked from beneath, and remained well kept, pale and neat.
Sweak dripped down her plump, plentiful breasts that shook each time she desperately tried to struggle free, her large, dark pink nipples standing erect inches from his face as he examined her closely.
Her breasts jiggled violently as she began to hyperventilate, breathing rapidly with her eyes wide open upon seeing his familiar face. He slowly lifted them, feeling the sheer weight as they sank into his palms, a different feeling from Galatea's.
The elf's body was tight and well-maintained.
Yet her breasts remained squishy; in contrast, Galatea's were a decent size but firm. He couldn't see this woman's innate, deadly allure that surpassed Galatea's. A more obscene and vulgar attraction that made him want to see her beneath him, panting in tears.
"Mgmmh!?"
He tore the drool-soaked cloth from her mouth and let her speak.
"HOW!? You... should have died!?"
Luka watched her silently for a moment, his face calm and void of any emotion.
PAH!
He slapped her face with the back of his hand.
"Argh!?"
She threw her body back, jerking from side to side as she slammed against the pole and shook dust from the ceiling beams.
Luka ignored her reaction and wiped his hand with a cloth as if it were dirty, before raising it a second time.
The dark elf quivered.
Blood dripped from the cut on her swollen lips as she glared at him.
However, he didn't plan to let her off so easily, because she likely had a hand in destroying Babylon in his previous life.
PAH!
So he slapped her again.
"I am the one who will be talking.
You are here to answer my question.
Ignore me, and I'll throw you bare into a pit of goblins.
Now then. How about we start simple and you give me your name, dark elf bitch."