RISE OF EROS

The assassins fled the city as if there were no tomorrow. Despite their urgency and speed, they remained assassins, moving silently through the shadows, unnoticed by anyone as the five figures ran.

What they didn't know was that they had never stopped being watched. Oliver was following them closely, but without allowing himself to be seen. At Oliver's level of strength, concealing his presence from people like them was not difficult.

A few minutes after the assassins left the city and believed they were safe, a shadow appeared in front of them, surprising them. Due to the darkness of the night, they couldn't see who it was, but they all knew it wasn't a simple person.

This reasoning came from the fact that they hadn't sensed the person's arrival, and even with him standing in front of them, they couldn't feel his strength, which indicated that he was at least more powerful than them.

"Who…?" began the leader, but at that moment, the moon shone through the dark clouds of the night, revealing Oliver's appearance. The assassins were startled upon seeing him, and with suspicion, the leader asked, "May I know the reason for your visit, sir?" Although suspicious, he wasn't rude, knowing that Oliver was powerful and it was better not to offend him.

Oliver looked at the five assassins and, with a mocking tone, said, "Did you really think we would let our enemies go?" This surprised the hooded figures, but they quickly regained their composure.

"Do you intend to break your master's oath? He will die," said the leader in a threatening tone. He didn't want to become enemies with Oliver, but he wouldn't let himself be killed either, and since Andrew's oath was the only thing they had, he had to threaten with it.

Oliver's smile widened even more at his words, and he replied in the same mocking tone, "You really didn't listen to the oath." Oliver's words caused them uncertainty and a bad feeling.

When the assassins were about to ask what he meant, Oliver said, "The young master only swore to do nothing within the city." Oliver paused, looked around, then looked back at the assassins and said, "Now we are outside."

The assassins' eyes widened as they replayed the oath in their minds and quickly realized their mistake. Just as Andrew had said, the pressure of being surrounded and defenseless had only made them focus on the fact that they would be spared, not on the city's restriction.

Realizing their error, they immediately tried to plead for mercy, but then they felt a burning pain in their chests. Stupefied, they looked down to find a bloody hole where their hearts had been.

The assassins didn't even have time to scream in pain before the light left their eyes, and they collapsed lifelessly to the ground. "Wasn't that a bit hasty?" A voice suddenly came from the sky.

Alerted, Oliver immediately took a defensive stance, as he hadn't sensed the visitor, but upon seeing the old butler of the Pixoy family in the sky, he relaxed a bit.

Lucian smiled at Oliver's reaction and landed nearby. Oliver greeted him with the proper etiquette, for not only was Lucian a benefactor but also a powerful demigod deserving of respect.

Lucian paid little attention to these formalities and asked again, "Wouldn't it have been better to extract some information from them?" Hearing the question, Oliver responded, "We already know everything we needed from them; there was no reason to let them go."

Lucian was surprised by the comment and couldn't help but ask how they knew. Oliver then explained everything that had happened. Andrew had already informed them that the Pixoy family was trustworthy, especially Zaros and Lucian.

They were trustworthy enough to share this information, so Oliver didn't hold anything back. Lucian listened to the story and agreed with how they had handled the situation, also informing him that they had noticed the assassins.

Although they had noticed them, they hadn't acted, wanting to see what they would do. Seeing that they entered Andrew's territory, they knew there would be no problem, so they didn't intervene.

Oliver knew that Zaros was a survivor of the war against the fallen god a millennium ago, so he knew that Zaros had much knowledge about gods and god candidates. Thus, he wasn't surprised that they knew the Cannes Palace was a temple and that Andrew was practically invincible there.

It was obvious that Zaros knew more about this than he did and probably more than Andrew himself, so Oliver wasn't worried about them knowing. Even so, he thanked Lucian for what he had told him.

There was no need for Lucian to share that information, but he still appreciated it, understanding that they were being treated with respect and protected. And there was nothing better than having two powerful demigods watching their backs.

After a brief conversation, Lucian left after warning Oliver to stay alert. Oliver didn't linger either and returned to the Cannes Palace. Upon his arrival, everyone looked at Oliver as if asking what had happened.

Understanding them, he said, "The job is done." This relieved everyone, as there were no loose ends, but then Oliver spoke again, "Elder Lucian also appeared." Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

This piqued everyone's interest, but no one asked, as they knew Oliver would tell them. So, they waited in silence, and as they thought, Oliver explained what had happened.

Though it wasn't anything significant, everyone was a bit concerned about Lucian's warning. It wasn't the first time he had warned them to stay alert, which made them think that he knew something.

Not only did he know something, but it was a serious matter, as he didn't dare to tell them directly. What was worse was that they couldn't demand that information, as they understood well why they weren't being told.

The reason was easy to infer—they were too weak, and knowing more would only overwhelm them. That's why it was better for Lucian and Zaros to protect them from the shadows while they strengthened themselves.

Only Oliver and Andrew knew this, as the others weren't familiar with these individuals. However, since Aki and Zany were present when they met them and had told everyone what had happened, they had an idea of what was going on.

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting weighed down with negative thoughts, Andrew changed the topic to business. The Cannes Palace would soon open its doors for business, so they discussed the final details.

The food, beauty products, and clothing businesses of Candice and the others were also progressing, but they decided to wait for the creation of the shopping center.

Although Andrew had suggested to Damon that they wait a while, the vampire was excited about the idea and quickly found a location and began construction.

Everything was moving so fast with that project that Andrew proposed to Candice and the others to wait until the shopping center was built to open their businesses there. Opening stores now would only cost them money once the shopping center opened.

Their initial idea was to open independent shops and move once the center opened, but since Damon had been so efficient, the shopping center would open soon, making opening stores irrelevant.

That's why they decided to wait and start when the shopping center was finished. After discussing for several hours, everyone went to rest, or at least some did, as many who had partners went to enjoy themselves in bed.

The days after this incident passed peacefully, at least for Andrew and the others, though for many others, things were a bit chaotic. In the kingdom of Bastilla, the flames of the five assassins sent to investigate were extinguished, alerting the Black Wings organization.

They had already sent nearly 20 assassins to carry out this mission, and none had returned. In fact, most had died, raising suspicion. The leaders began to think that this mission was not as simple as it seemed.

Because of this, they sent an elite assassin to investigate but warned him only to limit himself to that. This assassin was not like the others; his power and techniques were formidable, so they expected no mistakes.

Meanwhile, the liquid spirits arrived in Dunnas to speak with the elder Emaliene. While other demigods might not be able to locate her, as she was very powerful and could hide, these liquid spirits were of the same level.

In fact, they were comrades in arms during the war against the fallen god, so finding her was not difficult. They had been sent by Elidyr to investigate Galicia, so as they had to pass through Dunnas, it was only polite to visit her.

Fortunately, Andrew had already informed her of the situation, so their conversation was quick and smooth. After explaining what they would do, they headed to Galicia, as the likelihood of remnants of the fallen god being there was high.

In the demon realm, the situation was also far from calm. Nearly a week had passed since the elder Lugia had ventured into the swamp, and there were still no signs of her return.

This worried Vaelyra, as she didn't want anything bad to happen to her. Still, she remained strong and waited. Her days hadn't been peaceful either, as while she found a good place to wait, the constant battles nearby kept her on high alert.

It seemed that everywhere, the situation was critical, but in the Duchy of Cannes, the long-awaited day had arrived, and Andrew, along with the others, prepared to open the doors of Cannes Palace that night.