Inside the temple, the two elders were heading for the conference room. They were currently talking about the situation related to the case of the young Don.
"What the hell is Kilo taking so long, brother? It is just a simple job," asked Elder Wamo, holding the plans in his arms. "I don't know, brother. He must be torturing the target, so he can gather some information before he kills him. Or he's praying again at the place where he met the original body of the Emperor back then," responded Elder Kilo rubbing his beard as he contemplated it.
'Is he really worthy of our prayer? Aren't we atheists?' Elder Wamo sensed a disturbance upon hearing it.
As they approached the red huge double door, the eldest elder halted his advance. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and his hands closed fists.
Elder Wamo's left eyebrows raised up as he glanced at his brother's action. He was about to tell him to open it, but he realized his brother was anxious.
"The grand lord will pay a visit after the war is over. I guess we have to set a huge banquet for his arrival. Don't you think, brother?" Elder Wamo chimed in, tapping once his finger on his brother's armpit.
The eldest stumbled a bit, and his reaction convinced his second brother that he was in deep thought of something.
"Ah, yes. Yes, that would be necessary, brother," Elder Damaso opened the door with his palm, and entered the conference with an anguished look.
'You're still scared at the Grand Lord, huh,' Elder Wamo noticed.
Two guards, who were wearing dark cloaks, approached the two. They raised a hand and greeted them, "All Hail the Grandlord!"
"At ease," ordered Elder Damaso. "Yes, sir." the two nodded at once.
Elder Wamo moved closer to the chair and sat down properly. Then, he opened the textbook that the Grandlord prepared for them to read.
"Hold on, the war might take two to three days, brother. This will consume a lot of effort, blood, and sweat for many. I think it would be a better idea to review the stats of the strength of both sides. The Verdugo clan is not as aggressive as it looked... at that time. Whilst, the villagers were well-prepared for any type of assault," Elder Wamo pointed out upon his realization to their master's plan.
The eldest leader looked at the file and heaved a sigh. He looked at the moon through the open window, and his lips curled up.
"How many times did our master do us a favor, brother? Ten? Hundreds?" asked Elder Damaso as he continued to stare at the moon. "I... I lost count, brother. He is omniscient like our Supreme Leader. But he is better than him in terms of leadership and companionship. We have a large debt of gratitude to our Emperor. I mean, the Grand lord," Elder Wamo responded promptly.
"If he says the plan will work, it will work. Believe in his majesty's ability. He will bring us a huge victory. He has a keen eye for everything and anything. No one can beat his great foresight because he's a real thing," explained Elder Damaso as he glared his sharp eyes at his brother's pupils.
The cold breeze entered the room. The air swayed the hair of the two elders.
"My apologies. I sincerely apologize for doubting the plan. I respectfully agreed to his majesty's great plan to destroy our enemies. This plan might be impossible. But with his power, he will bring not only freedom but also justice for our race. We failed once to listen to his command, so it is understandable. That, we, the elves failed to win against Humanity. The human race might awaken their heroes, but it will be too late to stop us now. Because the people they will protect, they will no longer be there to live and see the ending of their race," Elder Wamo simpered as he rubbed his beard.
The eldest giggled, and he approached his brother. He placed a hand on his shoulder and tapped it twice in a silly way.
"Hey, we are on the good side. The Supreme leader and the Grand lord are good guys. We ain't the bad guys. Don't be sound like a villain in a novel, brother," Elder Damaso jeered. "C'mon, this is no joke. You're making my neck to choke. Who said we are the villains? We ain't that kind of being that madness vent. We are only recalling the honor of the past, and trying to return the crown to our master who became an outcast. I know. We know. Humans are humans. They are greedy bastards who could be killed in an instant. But they are clever as a rat that could potentially kill a dragon in this land," Elder Wamo debated, lips pursed.
"How's the progress of the ritual, by the way?" Elder Damaso heaved a sigh. "I'm afraid to say this, we have no update about the situation outside. Our contacts from the hideout are still unresponsive. No response is coming from them, really. It's almost like someone discovered it and killed them all. But it is impossible. Arak is the Great Tamer, you know," Elder Wamo shrugged it off.
"Arak is over a thousand years of age. He is like a snail, a sticky insect hitting the small size of a stick. From which the other kind of small anthropoid animals would feel disgusted to see the result of his record. He will leave an infamous title of being a pedophile," condemned Elder Damaso. "That's a bit exaggerative comment, brother. He's still our younger brother," Elder Wamo appeased gently.
Elder Damaso shifted his gaze at the window, and a fallen star caught his attention. He mesmerized his fallen country, his friends, and his parents. He recalled how his parents cared so much about his little brother back then.
"Every human evolves. Of course, it depends on his decision in life. All of his actions will make a tremendous hit upon their payback. He should remember that there is always karma that accumulates the number of our movements through words and action, you see. This tiny living karma is like a magic gem. It collects and collated our karma, bad or good, like a page... to form a book of our autobiography," Elder Damaso explained briefly. "But that doesn't change the fact that we're invincible beings. We are elves. Time is no longer an issue. We're immortal, brother," Elder Wamo responded respectfully.
"You don't know what would happen next. Any type of small thing could put us in our place. Every wrong decision we made, will hit us back. Double than what we did against our victims. Elves or not, we are all the same," Elder Damaso's raised a finger to point it. "You're wrong. We are not. We are high species. Don't compare us to the mortals," Elder Wamo heaved a sigh.
The eldest closed his eyes, and he took a breath before he spoke again.
"Humans, elves, demons or angels, all of us are the same. We're living things that were created for an unknown purpose," Elder Damaso frowned. "I... I stand firm to my response. I disagree. The moment we reach our eternal life, mortals will never see the truth from their eyes. We're atheists. We only believe in the words of our Supreme leader, and our enemies suffered from their own incompetence," Elder Wamo opened the orange folder and folded it to the second page of the file.
"I guess, I am not worthy of his majesty's praise. I cannot even convince you, brother," Elder Damaso frowned again. "Stop it already. This world doesn't punish us for a thousand years. Why? Because we are elves. We have a stroke of high luck than mortals. Better than the dead warriors of the past and the soldiers of the present. Not even the Heavenly General of the former emperor surpassed it," Elder Wamo declared.
The eldest elder was bemused upon hearing.
"But Arak needs to learn self-restraint. We don't know what the future is yet," Elder Damaso reminded with a downcast look. "Brother, Arak is Arak. He can handle himself," Elder Wamo corrected.
As the eldest tried to contact the communicator of his little brother, he received no response from the receiver.
"My goodness. What in the world is happening to him lately? Is he playing with a male child again? That freaking child predator. Has he no shame in doing the nasty thing to those children? Man, I wish he could be treated," Elder Damaso covered his face with his palm. "Relax. Try to contact him again," Elder Wamo advised.
"I already did. But still no response," Elder Damaso sighed. "That's strange," Elder Wamo's left eyebrows raised up with a confused look.
"Brother Wamo, please do me a favor. Go and visit our hideout. Check our foolish younger brother tonight. See what's he up to. Take my horse and ride with the other cult members," Elder Damaso massaged the center of his forehead. "Tonight?" asked Elder Wamo for confirmation. "Yes, tonight," confirmed Elder Damaso with a grave look.
"But we have a meeting with 'him', you know," Elder Wamo pointed his nose at the mirror behind his elder brother. "You're excused tonight. I will handle the meeting with his majesty," Elder Damaso confirmed.
"I... I just want to meet him... too. Never mind, I will move immediately. Please excuse me, elder brother," Elder Wamo stood up as he slowly slid back his chair. "Thank you. Please call me once you reach the hideout," Elder Damaso simpered.
'I will,' Elder Wamo promised.
"Oh, before I go, do you have a message for him?" Elder Wamo questioned. "Rendezvous with Kilo. I need his minions to visit his brother's location. I'm pretty sure he will bring the child outside of the village, and he will assassinate him inside the forest, so no one can see him there," Elder Damaso advised.
"As you wish. I will relay this message to him properly. Without fail. May the Grand lord be with us and the spirit of our God be with us," Elder Wamo lowered his head in respect before he opened the door. "Amen," Elder Damaso stood up firmly as a sign of salute.
As his brother left the conference room, the large golden mirror behind him began to materialize the image of a teenager.
"Greetings, you're majesty. Long time no see," Elder Damaso raised a hand and saluted the person he met tonight.