"Do you know brother," I addressed Lincoln as he struggled to get out of the chair I had him bound on. Since the points deductions for the shovels and axes were zero, I thought that using stuff to bond with my brother would also not deduct any points. "There are three types of people like you in this world."
"The people who follow. Their job is to follow blindly without asking questions. In other words, either loyal or stupid people."
"Then there are people who follow soone else's plan thinking they are in control. Utterly stupid people."
"And then there are those who know that they are dancing on soone else's palm. They know their fate depends on the whims of another person but they still choose to do it anyway. I call those people, hopeless."
"Now, what type do you think you are?" I asked as I plucked out the nail from his forefinger with a smile.
Lincoln scread which was muffled by the cloth in his mouth. I let him be and once the pain had lessened a bit, I plucked another one while I asked the sa question. I wasn't looking for an answer from him. The question wasn't directed at him anyway.
I pulled another nail and then another until he ran out of nails. His screams had started to sound monotonous now so I switched to his toenails.
The level of pain increased but even that soon began to lessen. I then grabbed a wistful of his hair and plucked them out all the while I continued asking the sa question.
And then it was the turn for his flesh to have the sa treatnt.
=====
"So that's how it is," I said as I drew a circle around Lincoln with my blood.
"Yes. That's all I know. I swear." He swore on his mother, father, family, his lover, her family, her little sister, god, and goddesses, and everything but the information I had been looking for wasn't given by him. He didn't know anything about it in the first place. He was a pawn after all.
"Ahan." I uninterestedly said as I finished drawing the circle and then moved on to the next one.
This circle was a different one from the first one. It had different types of runes compared to the first one.
[I didn't know you could do sorcery]
'Ancient dark arts. Magic that doesn't require mana but a price.'
A price of life. Life, that I had a lot to offer. It would take about a month to replenish the cost but it wouldn't kill at least.
"Yes. All I was asked to do was to hold you here until the test was finished." Lincoln spoke in his defense once again.
I wasn't interested so I refrained from replying and continued what I was doing. Once I was done, I infused my life elent into both of the circles and it worked like a charm.
"You know," I began and Lincoln went silent, not daring to interrupt . but unfortunately for him, I wasn't talking to him, "I had been hoping to get this aning across since the Elliot incident. I thought you listened but it seems you were just waiting for an opportunity. Well, now you will see."
As the circles began glowing I muttered, "A fire mage who is afraid of fire. Is it just or does it sound funny?" I said as the outer circle began to burn while the inner circle did sothing else. Sothing magical.
[Burning him and constantly healing him at the sa ti]
[Ingenious and funny indeed]
'I know, right?'
[How long will it last?]
'The inner array would last about an hour and the outer array would last a bit longer.'
[Which ans he will burn to death]
'Yep.'
Amidst the screams of Lincoln, I turned and made my way to the camp. If I was asked to be held here, it ant that sothing was about to happen at the camp and I couldn't waste any more ti here.
=====
The camp was more peaceful than I had imagined. No attack of several monsters, and no infighting. I wondered why Lincoln wanted to hold back there.
"Where were you? The attack is about to begin." Layla chided as I analyzed the surroundings making sure I wasn't missing anything. And I wasn't.
Which ans that whatever it was, it hadn't begun yet.
"Very well. Assu defensive formation around the camp." I nodded and replied. We moved over to the boundary of the camp.
"Does anyone know where Lincoln and his group are?" Layla loudly asked but no one seed to have known anything.
Alicia, who at so ti had co to stand next to , glanced at but kept quiet about it. I also didn't say anything because there was no need to.
The camp wouldn't lose points unless they died while defending. If they died at any ti except for defending, the points wouldn't be deducted from the entire team.
"No matter. Prepare yourselves. Defensive formation. Don't attack but defend and attack only if it is safe." Layla relayed many orders at once while I also prepared myself. The next attack was from the ice yetis. The last race I didn't encounter so I couldn't kill its overlord.
However, a long ti passed even after the tir for the next wave reached zero but there was nothing coming from the horizon. Hell, there wasn't any sign of any living being as far as my gaze traveled.
[It seems the program has been hacked]
'What?'
[An ergency quest has arrived]
[The Predators and the Protector]
[Rank: Impossible]
'What?'
======
"Sir, there is an ergency." Desmond was interrupted when he was examining the test progress. Desmond was keeping his eyes on a few individuals in the test so he remained on the site even though it was soone else's turn.
"What?" He asked, worried rembering the last incident when the artifact was cleared.
"A 'bridge' has been made, connected to the artifact." The employee reported while trying to control the magical fluctuations within the crystals.
Desmond himself stepped forward to put the fluctuations under control and loudly ordered, "Inform the headmaster. Compile a complete explanation before he gets here."
=====
"Have you found out where the bridge is connected?" A teacher loudly asked while another asked, "What do you an by bridge? Wasn't it a failed experint?"
There were more questions during this mont of panic but what was for sure was that there were no answers yet.
"Contact the Cortum empire. Request for the first elder's help. If there is a problem, tell him it's his granddaughter and all the Imperial family mbers in there." The headmaster, Sirius calmly spoke while the rest were still asking questions.
Desmond nodded and left himself to carry out the order. "Michelle, what is happening in the artifact?" Sirius next asked Michelle.
"Nothing for now, Sir. The teams are preparing for the next attack." Michelle reported.
Sirius nodded and asked, "I see. And what of the bridge? Have you located where it is connected from?"
Michelle remained quiet and so did everyone else. Which ant they knew nothing of it yet.
"I see." Sirius understood and asked, "What will happen in this phenonon?" All Sirius knew was that it was a failed experint, he didn't know what it did.
"It was Zeren's project, Sir. He claid that he could trigger a phenonon that could connect an artifact with a temporary one, creating a doorway on the other side of the world. The goal of this research was to backdoor into enemy artifacts and clear them for ourselves." A professor replied in detail.
"And where is this Zeren?" Sirius didn't know of this person since he was clearing a gate during the ti the conference for this research was held. Afterward, he was simply told that it didn't work out.
"That is…" the professor didn't know how to reply. No one did.
"What?!" Sirius loudly exclaid because there was sothing that had happened and he wasn't aware of it.
Threatened by the overwhelming mana wave of Sirius, the professors caved in and told him everything. When the matters were revealed, Michelle couldn't believe what she was listening to. She was about to erupt when Sirius raised his hand to stop her.
"Make sure Desmond never finds out about this if you all want to live," Sirius spoke in a serious deanor. The rest of the professors also gulped. Although Sirius was aware and disgusted by the politics involved in his academy, he wasn't aware that the kingdoms would take things this far.
If Desmond, who already hated nobles and royals, ca to know of this, Sirius was afraid they would have another problem on their hands soon.
'Once this is over. I might have to think of my neutrality.' But this also helped Sirius decide sothing. Sothing he had been putting off for a long ti.
======
It wasn't long before the communication sent by the Academy was personally responded to by the first elder of the Cortum empire.
And after that, it only took monts before Raphael appeared inside the eting room.
"What is the situation?" Raphael didn't bother greeting anyone and got straight to the point. He wasn't going to bother with useless things when his granddaughter was in potential danger.
"A bridge seems to have been sohow connected to the artifact of Frost Fire. We need your help to figure out what is happening." The headmaster, an SSS rank entity, asked Raphael without following any useless conversation.
Raphael nodded and began to examine the artifact. He remained like that for so ti before he let go of it.
"The bridge has a seal on it. Is soone here familiar with the na Zeren?" Raphael asked after he thoroughly analyzed everything.
Sirius didn't reply. No one did. What they feared ca to reality.
"Can you tell where this artifact is connected to?" Sirius asked, instead of answering Raphael's question.
"Alora." Raphael simply replied which was all the explanation everyone needed.
Raphael examined the faces of everyone present and ca to a conclusion of his own.
"Sirius. I don't know what has happened but know this, after this crisis, you and the seven kingdoms would have a lot to answer for." It took Raphael a few monts to figure out the problem given how Sirius and his staff were behaving.
It was an open fact that half of the academy professors were actually in cahoots with the seven kingdoms. All the more so now that six out of seven apostles ca from the seven kingdom alliance this ti.
Sirius didn't reply because he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge this one. He was embroiled in this the mont he failed to keep his academy from the outside influence.
Soon, more and more people began to arrive in the artifact room. Most of them were the nobles of the seven kingdoms and soon, the royals began to arrive as well.
When the matter was revealed, everyone made solemn faces. The matter related to Zeren was also revealed which the seven kingdom alliance was fully aware of.
Cornelius was the last one to arrive and as soon as he was made aware of the situation, he addressed the seven kingdoms and Sirius, "I will make sure to deal with you later."
There was a threat in his eyes and his reputation made the concerned parties wary but they weren't overly concerned. It was just the central governnt against the entire alliance and even the Academy. The extent of damage wouldn't be enough.
However, that thought was soon to change when Raphael entered the room after doing so analysis on everything. The first words he spoke when he saw everyone were simple, "If sothing happens to my granddaughter, I will raze everything you hold dear to the ground."
His words held no weight. No mana was infused in his voice yet the fear felt by everyone in the room at that mont was sothing they had never felt before.
=====
'I think it is safe to say that my luck is cr*p.'
[Yep]
'And I take it that I won't be getting out of this unscathed.'
[Yep]
'So in essence, I'm screwed?'
[Yep]
Fu**ing Fu**.
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