The Messenger of Death

"What do you mean by 'we can't refuse?" Drake complained.

He was the first to get angry at the coachman. A stranger approached them and wanted them to do as he says, under the name of the academy, preposterous. This was how Drake was feeling at the moment.

The rest of the seraphim team members felt the same, but they couldn't ignore the fact that the school ordered it.

"It is just as I stated, young Sir. The academy ordered that I take your team to the Poduct village and make sure that you guys get there. They insisted that this offer couldn't be refused." The coachman repeated with a little more detail now.

Alex looked at the expression of the coachman, he didn't look like he was lying, nor did he look like he was scared of any of them there despite having below average cultivation. Alex listened to the coachman's heartbeat as he was speaking, there was no spike or fluctuation and this made Alex frown.

['If he was lying, his heart would have given him out. Unless he's as good as Al.'] Alex commented.

['Hmph, good as me? Not even beneath my feet. Is it so hard for you to figure out?!'] Al responded.

He wasn't planning on speaking or contributing to this dilemma of theirs, but after Alex compared the coachman to him, it triggered him.

['And what exactly am I to figure out?'] Alex questioned. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Al.

['The damn coachman is not lying.'] Al revealed.

Alex wanted to argue with Al, but he had to be practical and reasonable here so he decided to hold his piece back.

The coachman walked to the door of the carriage and opened the door, indicating with one of his hands that they should step in.

Without being left with any other choice, Alex and the rest made their way to the carriage. When they got closer to the carriage, they saw that the reins of the carriage were tied to two giant lizards that were bigger than horses.

Alex was stunned to see this, he paused and looked at the coachman.

"These beasts are perfect for this kind of long-distance travel. With them, we should be able to arrive at Poduct village and 3 days at most." The coachman explained with a smile on his face.

A smile that was getting on Alex's nerves. He felt as if the coachman was taking pleasure in their discomfort.

Drake was the first to step in, followed by Adrian, then Gustavo. The girls went in after that and Alex was the last to step in. Even if Al said that the coachman wasn't lying, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that something fishy was going on and he was at the center of it.

"Milo." He uttered as he took his seat next to Emma.

"Pardon, I didn't quite catch what you said," Emma responded.

"Don't mind me, I wasn't talking to you."

Silently, without his teammates sensing anything, Milo dripped out of Alex's hand. They only noticed Milo when he took his cat form and jumped on Alex's lap.

"What the!!" Drake flinched and jumped a bit when he saw Milo coming out of nowhere.

"What is that?!" He leaned closer to the wall of the carriage.

Emma shifted away from Alex a bit, in fear of Milo. Leaning on Katherine who was seated by her right-hand side.

Even if Milo, looks different from other cats, he still carried a uniquely attractive, beauty that came with the black and red color on him. Yet, it wasn't enough to wash away the fear that his pressure brought along.

Alex stroked Milo's back before he took a look at the frightened Drake. Alex couldn't understand why Drake was reacting like that, because, he couldn't tell that Milo was releasing a pressure that could suppress his teammates completely.

"This is Milo, my… pet," Alex replied.

"Pet!!?? This monster is your pet? Alex, are you alright?" Drake asked as he looked at Alex weirdly.

"I feel alright." He said to Drake before he turned his attention back to Milo. "Go outside and be our eyes, once you sense anything out of place, or any danger, inform me immediately." Alex order.

"Meow." Milo nodded his head as he replied.

Milo jumped on Alex's shoulder and licked his cheek before proceeding to do as he was ordered to.

He jumps to the ceiling of the carriage and turned into his liquid form, passing through little spaces in between the wood of the ceiling. In seconds, he appeared on the top of the carriage.

His teammates watched this happen and they were stupefied.

"Alex, is that thing… really a pet?" Adrian questioned.

"How strong exactly is this cat of yours?" Emma asked as she adjusted, the way she was seating was uncomfortable.

"Milo, he is a whole realm above me. A rank-2 earth realm beast." Alex mentioned like it was nothing. And clearly, it wasn't anything to him.

After seeing a bit of Nana's strength, Alex made up his mind not to be fazed by the strength of those below Nana's.

They all had their eyes wide open, looking at Alex like he didn't understand what he just said. In the academy, they didn't even have a student that has reached that cultivation realm, yet he owned a pet that was that powerful.

"What exactly have you been doing these past few weeks that you were away with your master," Katherine questioned.

"Nothing much. A little sightseeing, face slapping, dueling with swordsmen, stealing from a prince… wait, it's not actually stealing if it wasn't his in the first place." Alex said. "And then, later on, it was training in hell for me." He added.

"They couldn't understand what Alex was saying so they decided to leave the matter."

Alex's expression suddenly became serious. "If it is going to take us 3 days to reach that village, then how long will it take us to finish the mission?" He wondered.

['If I had known that this mission was going to be like this, I wouldn't have accepted it.'] Alex regretted his decision.

['Next time, don't be impulsive.'] Xander mentioned.

['It wouldn't be too late if we go to the capital city after we are done with the mission.'] Lex uttered.

['I hope so.'] Alex added.

Suddenly, the carriage started moving. It began moving slowly. The speed of the carriage gradually started to increase, and their speed kept on increasing for a good 4 minutes as if the lizards that were dragging the carriage had no limits.

Milo, who was standing on the top of the carriage, brought his tongue out and let it dangle, enjoying the feel of the breeze on his body…

…

Time had gone by quickly, in 3 days Alex and his teammates reached the boundaries of the Poduct village. They had nothing to do during the journey but talk and rest. Alex slept more than the rest did.

After the training that he had with Nana, one day of rest wasn't going to be enough to alleviate the fatigue completely. Though he was asleep, he was still on guard, ready for anything to happen.

When they were a few miles away from the Poduct village, the carriage came to a halt.

Then Alex woke up, he checked with Milo, wanting to find out if there was anything wrong.

"Young friends, we are a few meters away from the poduct village. This is where I was asked to bring you guys to. You will have to use your legs to complete the remaining distance." The coachman's voice reached their ears.

"What sort of despicable act is this? Why bring us all the way from the academy and not complete the journey for us?" Drake complained.

"Did you really expect the carriage to enter the village? Didn't you read the mission objectives?" Katherine glanced at the fuming Drake.

"I did, what does that have to do with my complaint?" The confused Drake asked.

"It asked us to fix the problems in the Poduct village, and if there isn't any problem, we are to investigate the village. Meaning that they are not sure of what has been happening in the village.

If we approach the village with a carriage like this if there are bandits or thieves, do you think they would be careless or even show their selves during the duration of our stay in the village?" Katherine questioned.

Her question got Drake thinking, trying to understand her reasoning. He was the only one that took this long to understand why the carriage wasn't going to approach the village.

"Ohh." He exclaimed when he finally understood what she was talking about.

Rich people don't so-often come to the Poduct village, they had nothing there that could attract their attention. But warriors and cultivators do visit the village often because of its closeness to the borders of the Eastern continent. Going in with the carriage might give away their status.

Ruining their mission even before they have started.

Soon they got off the carriage and then the coachman approached them with a bag.

"Here, the academy took it upon itself to provide these disguise for you guys. There are already two of the academy informants in the village, they will make their selves known to you guys once you enter. Good luck and stay safe." The coachman said in a rush as he quickly headed back to his position on the carriage and proceeded to leave.

Milo who was still on the top of the carriage turned into a raven and flew into the sky…