Lord of Annihilation

Chapter 369: Plans for the Next Phase. Part 1

"You're breaking my tender heart, Lil' Rey-Rey. How could you forget this big sister of yours?" Ka'lor'ah mourned with the most dramatic voice that she could muster.

An expression of heartbreak appeared on her face as she looked away to the side in an 'I can't believe you would do this to me' fashion. 

Seeing this cringe-worthy act, Reyna's face still sported an expression of confusion before suddenly morphing into realization. Pointing her finger at Ka'lor'ah she screamed, "You--! You're Ka'lor'ah!!"

Standing up and performing an elaborate bow, Ka'lor'ah answered with a smile, "The one and only." She then suddenly paused for a second and continued, "Well, not the 'only one', butyou know what, never mind."

"Pleased to meet you once again, Lil' Rey-Rey and Mrs. Anya." 

Sitting down on her seat, Ka'lor'ah clasped her hand and leaned forward into the table, "So then, give me all the deets! How was life in these past five years? Did you get a boyfriend yet? Oh, did I tell you, excellent work on your hair by the way. I'm totally digging your new look."

Without giving any chance for the two ladies to answer, Ka'lor'ah spiraled into an unstoppable monologue. With the passage of just a few minutes, Ka'lor'ah had rushed through at least a few dozen different topics, leaving the two ladies hopelessly overwhelmed.

"Wait just a second! I can't follow through with what you're saying! SLOW DOWN!!" Unable to bear it anymore, Reyna stood up and slammed her hands against the table.

SLAM!!

Unfortunately, she immediately came to regret her actions as the slam brought about everyone's attention to her. Olivia stopped reading the tablet of information in her hand and looked towards Reyna with confusion. Lucius, who seemed to have dozed off, had also opened his eyes and stared at her with narrow eyes.

Anya lowered her head feeling second-hand embarrassment from her friend while Ka'lor'ah

"Da~mn! Okay, girl. I get it, calm down."

kept being herself.

Stiffly retracting her hands, Reyna hung her blushing head and burrowed into her seat. Ignoring the gazes of the others to her greatest ability, she used her hands to cover her face, not daring to meet any of their gazes.

Chuckling to herself, Ka'lor'ah felt satisfied after teasing the young girl to the point of bullying. Her gaze then turned towards Anya, whose body immediately jerked in alert after feeling the former's predatory gaze.

Anya flashed a weak smile which was answered by a bright smile from Ka'lor'ah. The latter, however, did not start teasing her as she was not very familiar with the former(Anya).

Silence descended on the room for a few seconds before it was broken by a light cough by Olivia.

"Cough, Cough. If I could draw everybody's attention to the screen," Olivia spoke, pointing to the holographic screen that had appeared in the center of the round table.

The screen flashed a few times before landing upon the image of a poster.

[WANTED]

[First Name: Lucius Last Name: Unknown]

[Known Aliases: Black Blade]

[Power Level: < Low-Level Stage 4]

[Race: Nightmare (unconfirmed)]

[Soul Type: Killer, or similar variant]

[Last Seen: Royal Giant City, Sector 13, Land of Giants]

[Evil Subjugation Ranking: 39]

[Offered Bounty: 150 Million Sprit Coins]

A string of information was written underneath a full-size image of Lucius on the poster.

Looking at the image on the screen, Olivia bit a corner of her lip in worry while Reyna and Anya stared at the screen with a complicated expressions. Lucius remained as indifferent as ever, while Ka'lor'ah possessed a small smile on her face.

"That's not all," Olivia softly spoke before tapping the tablet in her hand. The image on the screen changed to show another string of information.

[Special Notes: Target is deemed extremely dangerous and can fight above his Power Level. It is advised to exercise extreme caution while engaging the target, preferably in groups with overall Power Level ranging around Peak-Level Stage 4 or above.

The above note originates from His Excellency 'Mountain Crusher' Klytius, who has personally engaged the target. Additionally, His Excellency has also promised personal rewards in exchange for veritable clues about the target.]

[Other: No prior information or history is known about the target. He is said to possess exceptional battle strength and combat talent, having completed the 'Twelve Labors' trail in record time. 

The target's Domain is estimated to be of the 'Superior' Rank with tremendous accomplishments in the Rule of Death. Extreme caution is advised.]

"That is all," Olivia concluded grimly.

"Ooh!~ Lucius, do you see this!? You are already ranked in the Top 50s of the Evil Subjugation Board and have a 'Special Notes' section!" Ka'lor'ah chuckled and exclaimed.

Hearing her words, the three women turned their heads simultaneously and stared at Ka'lor'ah with strange expressions. 

"Isn't this bad?"

"What's an Evil Subjugation Board?"

"Why are you laughing, Teacher!?"

Anya, Reyna, and Olivia asked respectively. Seeing their respective faces, Ka'lor'ah flashed a strange smile and replied.

"Of course, it's bad. But at the same time, it isn't so bad either. In fact, this is an opportunity!" she then turned to face Reyna and continued. 

"The Evil Subjugation Board is basically a list that contains all of the top, heinous demons and merciless devil from the [Evil] faction who have caused great trouble and loss for the [Good] faction. While it is equivalent to a death warrant within the [Good] faction territory, it is a badge of honor within the [Evil] faction's grounds. In fact, it is the dream and lifetime goal of many [Evil] factionists to rank high in the Evil Subjugation Board. In a way, it is a validation for their achievements."

Pausing for a second, she continued, "While I had a feeling that Lucius would appear in this list after the stunt he pulled in the Land of Giants, I had no idea that he would rank so high! Hell, looking at that reward, even I'm tempted. Just imagine the reaction from the tens of thousands of bounty hunters looking for a score!"

Finally turning to the fuming Olivia, Ka'lor'ah giggle slightly and spoke.

"Ah, my cute little disciple. Turn around and take a look at our poster boy. Do you see him worried?" 

Following her instructions, Olivia turned around and stole a glance at Lucius. The latter, sat with his eyes closed and a bored expression on his face. It was as if the person on the screen wasn't him but someone else!

"See? Lucius does not care and rightfully so. Just use your mind for a second. How many Stage 4 beings are there who can match Lucius in his strength? And how many Stage 5 beings are there, who are bored enough or poor enough to chase after this bounty?"

Clapping her hands, Ka'lor'ah answered her own question, "Effectively none! In other words, there's no point in worrying about this poster!"

Raising her finger, she continued, "Additionally, the Universe is incredibly vast! If a Stage 4 person really wanted to hide from others, nobody apart from a large organization with loads of money to spare or single-mindedly, determined Stage 5 powerhouse will be able to find them!"

"Do you understand now?" she finished.

After dumping a huge amount of information, Ka'lor'ah waited for the girls to process. A variety of expressions flashed across their eyes as they digested the new information.

"Why would you call it an opportunity?" Olivia sharply asked, referring to Ka'lor'ah's reply to Anya's question.

Hearing her dubious question, a bright smile appeared on Ka'lor'ah's face as she mysteriously replied.

"That, detective, is the right question."