it has almost been a week since I have been captured by my enemy, or in this case Stephen.
he has been quite kind to me, considering he thinks that I have kidnapped his disciple. he is not far from the truth over there, though he won't get any information from me at all.
both of us know the futility of my being here, but I am mainly here to satisfy his anger. anyway, I have pieced together what happened from what Stephen has been blurting in front of me.
it was as I had expected, phantom had used me as a diversion to get to the target. all they know right now is that the crown is missing and I had something to do with it. benefits of having to talk about my plan before executing them.
that is why these guys are so annoying, at least on the battlefield life is not that boring, but then again, if I were to be on a battlefield then I would have already killed.
keeping me would be an extra threat. you know just how many forts fall due to them keeping prisoners that they should not have. arrogance and overconfidence are the cause for such stupid actions.
anyway, I have been bored out of my mind for the duration of my stay here. you know just how annoying it is to stare at a wall. in some ways, it is worse than torture.
well, I have been sleeping most of the days nowadays. normally sleep does not come too easily to me, especially after a major battle or you can say witnessing the destruction of a city. normally I can deal with such kinds of things easily, but I really have been too far from a battlefield nowadays. well, I will toughen up soon enough, there seems to be no difference between a peaceful place and a battlefield nowadays. the door to my room opens revealing Stephen, who seems to have been in a really bad position the last couple of days. he can't hide his emotions at all. he sits In front of me
Stephen - tell me where is ted. you don't understand what is happening. I need to know where he is.
(it is rare to see a person break down like that, especially in my field. )
me - are you recording this in some way.
Stephen - no, I do not need all of that, even you know why I was sent to this Academy. I have no interest in setting the hounds after you.
me - fine, then that student of yours is in a safe place. he will be fine, that much I am sure of.
Stephen - why will I trust a liar like you now.
me - fine, then a contract where I shall speak only the truth should have some effect on your trust.
Stephen - but you need a counteroffer for that don't you.
me - the recipe for the armour that wind bane has should do. it should be some kind of an alloy, isn't it?
Stephen - I can't, I am contract bound not to leak it.
me - grant me one of those armours then, that should be something you will be able to do.
Stephen - fine, but don't expect that you shall find anything useful there, we have our tricks to deal with others knowing our things.
me - don't worry about that. I have my tricks too.
Stephen - fine. then we shall summon a contract god then. I will be the one to choose a god.
me - as you wish.
Stephen - okay, then. (chanting)
the one who sits on the iron throne of bones, the judge of kings of past and knights of present, I call upon the emperor of humans to stand witness to this contract.
me - the fourth emperor chants, I wonder how did you get it. they were all the rage once upon a time.
(I could feel the atmosphere in the room change, there was a pressure that is quite familiar, I felt it once before during a time that I rather not remember. this was the ability of the fourth emperor, blood man. the pressure is unique, almost like there was a hand reaching, clawing me from the back. it was what motivated me to join the army.)
me - let's get this over with.
(I could feel a phantasm, behind my back, which is the being that is going to be the witness for this contract. )
me - I speak a blood oath, that I shall speak the truth about your young crown honestly for the next five minutes, unless there is some form of recording or if somebody is listening in on us.
Stephen - I speak a blood oath, that I shall give you a god seeker armor model 72 if the other side manages to fulfill his side of the contract.
me - I agree to this contract.
the phantom that appeared behind me disappeared almost as instantly as it appeared, leaving me with a blood-red mark on my shoulder. if I don't speak the truth about the crown, the curse will spread and kill me.
me - your student will be safe, that much I am certain off. my ally is the one that has the main planning. she is way smarter than me, so I think that she will be able to manage to keep that young one safe.
Stephen - where are you planning to take him?
me - I am pretty sure that you know about our most interesting mission recently.
Stephen - Yeah, the one with the minotaur and their dungeons. you managed to create so much chaos, that you caused a civil war.
me - I never wanted that, it was the teacher, he was the one that sent me there. anyway, what you don't know is that I have managed to relocate a dungeon to this place.
Stephen - you were the one that caused a hurricane in enemy territory. you need to be careful of that weapon of yours. you had trouble controlling that weapon of yours even before.
me - time is running out, ask what you want to ask.
Stephen - what is the point of that, you just said that you know nothing, and knowing your nature, you would make sure that you know nothing. you just made me waste a god seeker armour for this, at least I know that my ward is safe.
me - well, you know me so well?
Stephen - well, let's see, what do you think about ted's ability, and how do you think that it can be developed.
me - you know me so well don't you. let's see, based on the information I got from the third emperor, his ability is some kind of an elementalisation ability, if I am right.
Stephen - yeah, he can convert parts of his body into a kind of wind crystal. though he can only do so when he is hurt.
me - tell it a bit more clearly, if possible show me.
Stephen - Yeah, here you go.
the room around me began to glow, growing brighter and brighter until I was in a different place. the seals of the wind academy are quite powerful.
the scene in front of me are two kids fighting, almost in their teens. I know one of them, he is the present prince. if I remember correctly he has an ability known as arsenal, it is one of the rare contract type abilities. he can control weapons.
well, today I have to focus on the other one, who I have never seen before.
he is a somewhat young kid, and his ability is unique, quite like my own, though his ability is even more combat-worthy than mine.
that kid's ability if anything is the opposite of mine. every time he is hit by the weapons of the prince, he does not bleed, every cut of his has this crystal layer covering it, like really expensive scabs and with each wound on his body, he is growing faster and faster and his hits strike harder and harder. the prince had to use up to twelve of the weapons of his. at that time the prince had up to fourteen weapons on his hand and had a power level of class four. for a person that did not pass the age of a hundred, he is quite the powerful. the fact that ted could hold his own I am surprised.
those powers of his a are a double-edged sword. those wind crystals that he forms do help in battle, but do not help him a lot with those wounds of his.
me - why is he even wearing armour. that is the opposite of what he needs.
Stephen - he would already be dead, if it were not for the sake of that armour of his. he is a bit too fragile in his ability to take damage.
me - so I except that is the major problem with that ability of his.
Stephen - yeah, I have been working with the life academy, to see how exactly that ability of his work.
me - the life academy are good at what they do, but they are only good at healing people. their understanding of human bodies is still inferior to erniksons and they don't have my level of expertise in taking damage.
Stephen - if you have not noticed, they are completely destroyed by you and it is not like they would share their secrets just because I asked them nicely even if they did exist.
me - well, I happen to have almost the entirety of their knowledge and research. they used to allow me to learn their knowledge whenever they were not sawing of my hands and legs.
Stephen - so, I should let him go with you and you will train him.
me - well, you are the one that said it.
Stephen - why are you so obsessed with taking ted, killing him would be quite simple, you literally gave yourself to the enemy.
me - you know the reason.
Stephen - that stupid academy of yours is never going to work. there is a reason that we have five academics. one to counter each of the families. you think that it is a place meant to teach anybody. we are just training soldiers to kill each other. even now the emperors try to kill children, just so that the crazy idiots from both sides don't kill each other completely.
me - well, I don't like it myself, but we deal with the cards we are dealt with.
Stephen - sometimes you don't make sense, but do you think the empire will let anybody set up an academy, especially one like you who has served in the phantom zone.
me - well, I won't know until I try right. what do you think is causing this civil war.
Stephen - you, it was only after the bloody banquet that the fifth emperor began to start supporting the nobles.
me - well, that is the truth, but it was an inevitability. after the fourth emperor's wars, the throne was so weak that the nobles were supposed to completely take it over. it was the fifth warrior and us that somehow managed to bring the throne back to power.
Stephen - we succeeded didn't we, or we would have already been dead.
me - the academies are too effective, within four generations we managed to reach from a state of certain defeat to being slightly stronger than the nobles.
Stephen - fine, I don't know how that academy of yours will help. I don't think you plan to give such a place to the nobles.
me - that is a personal interest for me, nothing to do with the empire.
Stephen - allow me to meet my student and I will let you leave with him, and if I find that ted has been hurt or damaged in some way, I will mobilize every troop under the wind academy to destroy you and the emperor behind you.
me - are you stupid, you have troops in the military. right now, if the military is affected in some way, our enemies will have a chance to attack us.
Stephen - that should be within my powers, enough that I will use a contract to seal our deal.
me - Stephen I don't have that kind of authority, you will need to talk to my boss, for any details.