Gathering around the table, Hex reached into her pocket and unraveled a mysterious paper that was a lot longer than physically possible to fit in her pocket. It was a map of the area.
I've never seen a map with this much detail on it, but it laid out the land perfectly. By the ocean stood New Olympia, which was marked with a "Z" on it. In the middle of the ocean, right off of the dock of New Olympia, was a small island with a "P" on it. Due west was the rest of the cities I've been to, with Dorrendale in front of Gaia, Sieve, Hecate, and Zyphilia. It was weird to think only one of those cities was still standing.
The entire continent at this point was on the verge of collapse. New Olympia was the last major city, besides the small ones around like Jane and Janice's cities, this was it. All citizens were forced to disperse and head to Dorrendale or whatever was left. Zeus has ruined this landscape. I never thought about something like that before, and now understanding it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Why in the hell should his city get to live above all else? Could it be because he was a Patriarch or something like that?
"We can take all we know and use it against Zeus. If his element is air, he's weak to the Earth Element or the Dark Element, and of course the Ether Element. We have Ken, so you'll be essential to the fight. Ken, you'll be on the frontlines no matter what, supplied with as many health potions as you can use." Hex said, tracing her finger on the map to a specific location.
"Ipa, I need to know your abilities. Do you contribute anything to a group fight like this?" Hex asked him. It sounded pretty rude, but Ipa didn't take it that way, luckily.
"No. I'm a single-target kind of dude. I'm the most useful when I'm alone, and I'm good at investigating whatever I need to if you call for it. I can supply you with information if you leave me in a place that flourishes with it. I will help, whether you want me to, or not." Ipa said. Hex began to seem skeptical about his abilities, and Ipa tried defending himself. The aura Hex was radiating now was a complete turnaround from her usual. I couldn't even recognize that it was her. She was... barren, so to speak.
"Ruby, what can you do? I haven't seen you fight at all." Hex said, putting her finger on the map again.
"I... nothing..." Ruby said, looking down at the floor. Hex and Ruby's relationship saved that self-loathing that Ruby was about to take part in, as Hex put her hand on her head.
"Not being able to do anything is the start of something huge. It's fine, if you sit out, you're guaranteed another chance to learn a skill so you can be a part of our next battle. Anyway, Soul and Tama, you two, especially the fire girl who was an idiot. What can you two do?" Hex said with a sharp tone.
I didn't realize it was this easy to sit back and take orders. Maybe I'll make Ipa or Ken the leader of our group because this was easy.
"I'm a general mage. I can do everything. Tama is a Fire Element User. She can use attacks with fire attached to them." Soul explained for Tama.
"I don't care about hearing it from you. Tama, what are your strengths, and weaknesses? I need to cover every single piece of information." Hex clarified for her.
"I'm erratic and stupid... if that's what you wanted to hear. My attack power is probably one of the most potent here, but I have trouble making good decisions when I'm mad. That's what Soul is for." Tama told Hex. Hex was satisfied with the answer, but she turned to me next with a look of irritation.
"And are you more than just a backpack? It seems like we have a general mage who has more experience than you. Anima, what can you do?" Hex asked me.
"Deduction, intelligence, deception, anything you need me to. I'm fairly flexible and I've gone against Zeus twice now without dying. I learned the air element from him and I'm his personal interest, as I'd make a great vessel. If he thinks I'm good enough to be a vessel, I'm sure I still have something up my sleeve." I told Hex.
She had no way of knowing... but my Limit Breaker would be sure to end Zeus as long as I have a wide enough area.
"That makes it seem like we should be protecting you. Is you being a probable vessel for Zeus a good thing? I'm not understanding." Hex asked me.
"Zeus isn't a very smart man. He'd lose his cool if he saw it was me battling him. I'm sure I set an example of how willing I am to come close to dying so he stops attacking me. He'll have an opening there and we can move forward from that." I told Hex.
"That's pretty risky, Anima. Are you sure you want to do that?" Fuki asked me.
"A lot has happened since we last talked. It's not about being scared, it's about getting it done. I trust in everybody around me to use their abilities to save me if need be, but I'm the one thing Zeus has to limit himself with. He won't use any wide-range one-hit moves if I'm standing nearby, so we're considered free. My main question, however, is for you, Hex. Are you going to be hiding in here while we're fighting, or what do you contribute to the team? You know, since you're talking to my friends like they're more tools than they are people." I asked her.
The aggressive tone I took with her was attempted to be defused by Ruby, but she did not affect the two of us.
"Are you proposing that my strategy would be so useless that I shouldn't even be here?" Hex asked me in the same tone.
Oh, so we're using a battle of wits now?
"I haven't heard a single word come from your mouth to contribute to a strategy, so yeah, I daresay that you're not doing anything besides making everybody spew their weaknesses. I've met a ton of people here, and I'm afraid you're seeming to become more like the people that want to take advantage of us, rather than help us. In fact, your arrival is suspiciously timed, isn't it? How do we know you're not an agent of Zeus?" I asked her.
"Please, don't get skeptical with me now of all times. Why wouldn't I have killed you when we hid together behind those boxes? I could've picked you off one-by-one before this scenario even came to be, couldn't I have?" She asked me in reply.
"Depends. I've yet to determine this, but watching the hope from people's eyes slowly drain as you betray them is a lot more satisfying than just killing them. The people we hate are people we want to die, but not before making them realize why we hate them. This could be a slow-burn operation that I haven't seen you contribute anything to, so I'm more convinced that you're even more useless than you think Ruby is. Should I take that back? Are you offering anything to this team, Hex? How about your strengths? Weaknesses? What makes you more intelligent than I am to form this plan?" I asked her.
"I never took you as the kind of man to be this cocky, Anima." Hex slammed both her hands on the table and looked up at me.
"Safety shouldn't be held back. And, just a warning, if you are on Zeus's side, and you decide to attack me, I'll blow this goddamn place to the ground with my Limit Breaker. Nothing will remain of you except ashes. Now, tell me what you're capable of." I demanded from her.
"Soul Anthropomorphism. Sound familiar? I don't have Mana, so I can stay in the fight forever. I have infinite stamina. On top of that, I can morph between my Animal and Human forms at will, depending on the situation. My weakness is that my attack power is weak, so I want to contribute on this war map rather than fighting, to trade off my strength for my weaknesses." Hex told me.
I had been watching her behavior this entire time, seeing how she acted to my aggressive retorts. Hex was always an innocent-looking person, which first awakened this sense of doubt within me, but her facial expressions were genuine. She wasn't an enemy, obviously, but I wanted to push her to her limits to see what kind of person she truly was. I do believe that she is smart, but I don't believe she should take the lead in our plan.
"I can help you think of it, and you can return to Dex before things get bad here. It's pretty obvious that Soul, Tama, Fuki, Ken, and I will be on the frontlines no matter what. Give Hex and me some time to discuss our new plan. Guard the outside." I told everybody.