Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs Chapter 87. Breaking Ice Walls

The woman glared at them and spoke, but her voice was rough. "The Archon has been looking into the corruption for years."

"The Archon...?" Rick looked confused.

"It’s their leader..." Fredrich answered his confusion.

"We have been taking samples, searching for patterns, and writing down how the barrier is getting weaker."

"Nobody else on the continent knows more about what’s going on than the organization."

Rick said, "And you’re not telling the authorities about that," as he began to understand. "You are using it."

The prisoner smiled in a cold way. "The fall is going to happen."

"The Archon wants to make sure that when the old world ends, we are the ones who can decide what happens next."

Rick felt sick hearing that. "You’re killing people! Villages are being torn down, and thousands of people—"

"Are irrelevant," the prisoner said with a shrug. "The weak always die when the balance of power changes! That’s just how change is...!"

Rick got up so quickly that his chair made a loud noise when it hit the stone floor. Natasha’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing sothing he might have regretted.

"Easy," she said softly. "Don’t let her win over your head."

Rick made himself sit back down, but his hands were still clenched into fists on the table. "Dammit..."

Fredrich went on, keeping his voice neutral. "We now know the na of their leader."

"People call him ’The Archon,’ but no one knows who he really is. None of these prisoners have ever t him or heard his real na."

Roderick said, "What we do know is that they’re going to try to kidnap soone again. And this ti, they’re going after one of your other partners."

Rick’s blood ran cold. "Which one?"

"They don’t know specifically," Fredrich said. "Their orders were to capture any of them."

"Natasha, Liora, or Sylvia. Whichever target presented the best opportunity."

Natasha’s hand tightened on Rick’s shoulder once more. Rick could feel her fear rise through the bond before she ruthlessly pushed it down.

"So what do we do now?" Rick asked.

"We get ready," said Fredrich.

"We make things safer and make sure that none of you go on your own."

"We’ll need to set up more wards and alarms so that we can make it as hard as possible for them to win."

"We hunt them down," Roderick said with a grim look. "We can start getting rid of them now that we know they have cells in every big city."

"We can take down their network one piece at a ti, but it will take ti."

Rick slowly nodded. "When do we begin?"

"Right away," Fredrich said. "I’m sending a group of Academy mages to help keep you and your bonded partners safe."

"Roderick is also doing this with guild security."

They talked about security protocols, safe houses, ergency signals, and combat strategies for another hour after the eting started. By the end, Rick was ntally exhausted.

Natasha was quiet next to him as they left the interrogation room. She didn’t even let out any sound at all.

Through their connection, Rick could feel the stress coming from her. "So... uh... wanna go to your workshop to talk about it?" Rick asked in a soft voice.

Natasha nodded quickly in agreent.

They walked to Natasha’s private workshop on the edge of the guild district, where she got it as an honorable gift after saving the Valdris from the dragon’s attack. The outside of the building looked plain, but the inside was full of magical tools, research notes, and experintal spell matrices that covered every surface.

Natasha went straight to her workbench and started taking things out. Ward stones, crystals, and enchanted silver wire. She worked quickly and aggressively, with movents that were exact but tense.

"Natasha," Rick said.

"I’m busy," she said without looking up. "These wards against kidnapping need to be perfect."

Rick looked at her work for a mont. Her hands were steady, but through their Spirit Bond, he could feel the fear behind her calm exterior.

It felt like ice water running through her veins—cold, sharp, and desperate. Rick said again, "Natasha," but this ti more softly.

"I told you I’m busy."

"You’re afraid."

Natasha’s hands stopped moving. She didn’t move for three seconds.

She slowly put down the crystal she was holding and turned to face him. "Of course I’m scared," she said, her voice still steady.

"How many tis should I say this?! They took Carmilla! CARMILLA CRIMSON!"

"The battle-hardened knight who has been fighting for twenty years! They can take any of us if they can take her."

Rick moved a little closer. Natasha didn’t move back, but he could tell she wanted to.

Natasha’s ice blue eyes were locked on his as she said, "And I realized sothing."

"If they took and hurt to get to you, I’d be a burden for you!"

"My magic is strong, but I have to use my concentration and focus so that I don’t eventually give in to torture!"

"Eventually, everyone breaks. I’d beco the weakness that destroys you."

Rick said, "That’s not true."

"It IS true," Natasha replied, her voice rising slightly before she caught herself and lowered it again. "And worst of all, I’ve realized that I’m not afraid of the torture itself."

"The pain may not last long, but death is inevitable for soone who’s not part of one of the seven major powers!"

"I’m scared that I won’t see you again."

"It doesn’t make sense that I’m feeling this emotional—it just shows how WEAK I am!"

Rick closed the distance between them and took her hands. They were cold, almost ice cold, and trembling slightly despite her rigid control.

"Being emotional isn’t weak, Natasha," Rick said. "It ans you care."

Natasha said, "I’ve spent my whole life building walls," and for the first ti, her voice broke a little. "I act by staying cool and being safe all the ti."

"I keep everyone at arm’s length because I believe that being close to people makes them weak, and being weak leads to getting hurt."

"And now?" Rick asked in a soft voice.

When Natasha looked up at him, Rick could see the fear she had concealed behind her cold exterior. "Now I’m scared because I care too much... about you... about everything... about who we are..."

"I’ve let you into my life, and now I’m unsure how to protect myself if sothing happens to you or if they capture and use against you."

Rick hugged Natasha tightly, and for a mont, she was stiff against him. Thereafter, she slowly relaxed and let herself lean into the hug.

Rick whispered into her hair, "Then let’s be scared together."

They stood there for a long ti, simply holding each other. Through their Spirit Bond, Rick sensed Natasha’s fear gradually transforming into sothing different—not disappearing, but being acknowledged and accepted.

Natasha pulled back slightly to look at him. "I need sothing."

"Anything," Rick replied.

Natasha continued, "I need to prove to myself that we’re real."

Her voice was steady again, but it held a different tone this ti. "This bond isn’t just magic..."

"That’s what I feel—it’s not just a system chanic making care about you."

Rick understood what she ant, so he held her face in his hands. "How do you want to prove it?"

Natasha kissed him in response. Unlike Carmilla’s kiss, which was desperate, or Liora’s, which was sweet, this kiss was planned, controlled, and powerful. It embodied the sa careful intention that Natasha applied to everything she did.

She led him to a small room off the main workshop that she used as her bedroom when she worked late into the night. There wasn’t much in the room, but it was clean. There was a bed and a few personal items.

"W-Whoa?! Again?! I already had sex with Carmilla yesterday, and now she’s going for it too...?!" Rick was shocked inside him.

Natasha turned to look at him, and her face was serious. "I’m not as good at being open about my feelings as Carmilla is."

"I don’t know how to cry and break down... it’s so not ."

"I know," Rick said.

Natasha stepped closer and said, "But I can do this."

"I can be there and be intentional."

"Actions speak louder than words, and I can show you how much you an to ."