"Straight to the point.. I like that." Said the young girl after smiling maliciously at Daniel. She then stood up, sat next to him, and after putting her elbow on the back of the couch and crossing her legs, she said "The Rose will keep you hidden.. But in exchange, we would like you to agree to three conditions."
Daniel ignored the enticing tone of the young girl, and responded by saying "What would these three conditions be?"
"We want the formula of your Partial Poison Immunity pills.. A pill that can grant a immunity to all poisons under the seventh tier within the next hundred years, and lastly.. For you to work on a project for the creation of a high level poison immunity." Said the young woman with a casual tone.
"That's a bit much, isn't it?" Asked Daniel with a hint of surprise. He was sure that this girl would demand the recipe of the pill he had already created, but he had no idea that she would demand so much from him. Unfortunately, he had no choice.. But of course, that didn't mean that he would accept right away.
The young girl smiled once again, and said "We both know you don't have the option to refuse.."
"That is true.. But I have the choice of accepting your request, and leaving the moment your eyes move away from my body. I would say that it is better if we are both happy about the agreement, don't you think?" Said Daniel while smiling seductively back at her for a moment, and standing up from the couch. He then started to walk out of the office.
The young girl snorted, and laughing faintly, then said "We'll pay for half of the materials you need, and we will look for them ourselves."
Without turning to look back at her, Daniel kept walking out of the office, and said "You'll pay for all of the ingredients that I won't be able to find by myself." He then stopped right in front of the door.
"Fine.. we have a deal." Said the young girl before hearing the door of her office open, and close right after. She then turned towards the black clothed middle aged man, and with a slightly flushed cheeks, she said "Make sure he has the materials he needs."
The black clothed man looked at the chairman of the poisonous rose with a dumbfounded expression. This was the first time he had seen someone come to fair terms with her.
What had escaped the man's observation, was the fact that the young girl had just as little choices as Daniel had. She couldn't allow her superiors of the Garden of Death to learn that someone like Daniel had escaped their control.
-----
In a small part of space located at a great distance from Daniel's current position, a small portal suddenly appeared. It was the size of a human's head, and on the other side, one could see the chaotic and dangerous void.
This portal only remained for a single moment, and in that moment, a small and transparent cube with a small bead and a golden medallion came out of it at an impressive speed.
This small cube kept moving forward for a few kilometers, until finally, a second portal which would take it back into the void appeared in its trajectory. This process had repeated itself for millions of times in the past few months.. But now, as soon as the cube was about to enter the small portal, it suddenly stopped.
"Got you.." Next to it, one individual after the other appeared out of the blue.
Amongst these individuals, two caught the eye, while the rest would immediately leave the very moment they would notice the presence of these two.
The first of these individuals, aside from being the person who had just spoken, was a young woman that appeared to be not older than eighteen years of age. Her oval shaped face was surrounded by a cascade of braided golden hair which reached all the way down to her bare shoulders. Underneath a pair of thin, and curved brows, her upturned eye shape hid two golden irises. Her straight nose stood right above a pair of pointy natural pink lips, whose crevices were colored in blood red, and were curved in a teasing smile.
The private parts of her athletic body were covered by patches of treated leather, and by furs of different beasts, while the rest was free to be seen. Her skin was almost completely covered by tattoos which depicted thousands of different beasts, monsters, and non-human entities.
She floated in space along with what looked like a bear cub which held onto her shoulder.
The second of these individuals, was a man of about twenty-nine years of age, with long black hair that came down his head like a lion's mane. His hooded eyes surrounded a pair of black-colored eyes, which stared at his surroundings from underneath his sharp, full, and angled brows with a seriousness which bordered into indifference. His defined and large jaw was locked in place, making it seem as if behind his thin red lips, he was gritting his teeth.
The only items of clothing which he was wearing, were a pair of black pants that were kept tightly pressed against his legs by a few dirty bandages, which were rolled up on his calves, thigh, and waist. His chest was bare, showing his muscularly built body. A a simple rope moved around his chest and arms to tie a massive scabbard on his back, which was completely covered in bandages as well.
In his left hand, this man was holding a single-edged sword, whose blade appeared to have moving veins of death essence engraved in it.
These two individuals had arrived at about the same time, but after they had noticed each other's presence, any matter for which they had come here, had disappeared from their minds.
"Brother! It's nice to see you here, how have you been?" Said the young woman as a grin formed on her lips. She then turned her head towards the small bear cub, and kissed the side of its head, causing the small bear to brush himself against her in return.
The man did not react to the girl's words, and instead, tightened his grip around the hilt of his impressive sword. His eyes started to show a hint of golden hue, just like those of the young girl herself.
Many in the conquered universe would be able to recognize these two individuals. They were none other than Minah, commonly known as The Tamer.. And Verrah, feared by all under the nickname of The Sword Wielder.
As soon as the blade of the man's sword moved, the tattoos on the girl's body shone with golden light, and took life. They then separated from her skin, and dashed into empty space, turning themselves into four massive beasts.
The first of these four beasts was an immense winged hydra with seven heads.. each as big as a small planet. The second one, was a manticore. A massive lion with reptilian paws, multiple lines of mountain-sized teeth, three scorpion tails, and large leathery wings. The third beast was a qilin.. With the body of a horse, the head and tail of a dragon, and lastly, massive horns made of pure lightning. Last but not least, was a metallic dragon. A gargantuan four-legged reptile with a crown of metallic horns around his head, gigantic leathery wings, and metallic scales.
Each of these beasts seemed capable of turning an entire planet into a random cluster of stones that floated pointlessly in the empty space.
"Try it.. It won't go as easily as last time." Said Minah with a threatening tone.
Instead of talking, Verrah gripped his sword tightly, and injected some sort of power into it through the effects of his own gift, making the sword increase in size, only to stop when it had reached fifty thousands of kilometers in length.
At the same time, the horns of the qilin started to brighten, and behave more like proper lightning, the mouths of the hydra lit with the blue flames which it was charging, black smoke seeped out of the dragon's mouth as the crevices in between the scales of his chest light of a bright red and yellow color, and the manticore pointed its three stingers at the swordsman.
"You always have to do this? Every time? It's starting to get annoying.." Said a disembodied voice which caused the two to calm down immediately.
In the empty space right in between the two, two more people had appeared. They were both covered by large coats, with hoods that hid their faces completely. It was impossible for others to see who they were.. but of course, Verrah and Minah did not need to see the face of the person who had talked to know who he was.
"Brother.. Why are you here?" asked Minah to one of the two covered individuals.
The man turned to look at her, and with a faint smile, he said "For the same reason as you.. I wanted to say hello to our little brother's host.. But he isn't here it seems, he played us."
"Hehe.. that's right.. But that doesn't mean that we can't have fun by ourselves." Responded Minah. She, just like Verrah, could not help but want to fight against her brothers and sisters.
Usually it would be the same for the newly arrived too, but something was different in him. Instead of jumping into the fight like he had done countless times before, he had stopped the two from fighting the umpteenth pointless battle.
"Another time maybe.. There is one of us in particular that I am looking for.." Responded the clothed man with a calm tone. The meaning of his words was clear. He wasn't here to fight against them, but to look for Daniel.
An odd expression appeared on the faces of Verrah and Minah, which looked at their brother with confusion, as he was behaving oddly.
"Who is that?" Asked Minah after turning to look at the second clothed individual.
From underneath the dark hood, only a pair of lips, and a pale neck could be seen.. When suddenly, two golden lights lit where the person's eyes were supposed to be.
For a moment, Minah and Verrah which were currently looking at this hooded person stood immobile.. As if in a trance. They appeared to be under the effect of the power of the second individual.
This went on for a few moments, when finally, the eyes of the manticore became dull, and it started to attack the other three beasts.
At that point, Minah shook her head, and without waiting for a single moment, she called back the four massive beasts, and teleported away.
Something similar happened to Verrah, which after being caught by the spell of the second person's eyes, was forced to sacrifice a portion of his sword to keep his sanity.
As a part of his sword's body drifted away in space, he was ready to attack the hooded individual, but then, he noticed waves of flames, waters, lightning, wind, and other elements, being emanated by his brother's body. A clear sign that he was ready to fight.
Conscious that he wouldn't be able to protect his mind while fighting with his brother, Verrah left as well.
Now alone, the clothed man took his hood off, showing the face of a middle aged man with grey and black hair. His expression was disappointed to say the least, and looked at the second individuals apologetically. "I am sorry my love.. The next time, I swear."
"Don't worry, we will surely get them." responded the second individual while slowly taking her hood off, and revealing Kreah's face.