When Zolovat came to that realization, the world suddenly crumbled like a shattered mirror. Dozens upon dozens of shards fell and he found himself standing in his original position, holding his spear in one hand and Aquarius looking at him ahead.
He was fine, with no gaping wound on his shoulder or blood staining his coat. However, he did look a little more fatigued than when he saw him last, with large bags under his eyes.
The man smiled, his glassy, empty eyes sizing him up.
"You broke out of that faster than I thought," he said, holding an orange-red vial in his hand.
When Zolovat looked down, he saw the same vial strewn all around him, the liquid inside glistening under the light of the moon. They were all there, dormant. Ready to detonate at any moment.
Zolovat closed his eyes.
"What do you want?" he said, his voice low and gentle.
This was unusual of him.
He couldn't see the man's face, but he knew that he was smiling when he said, "I want to know why you're here. And what the deal you made with Exousia is."
The corner of Zolovat's eye twitched.
"I want an accord," he said, raising the tone of his voice. "Promise that I'll make it out of here the same condition as I am right now after I tell you."
The man guffawed.
"That's a little excessive, don't you think? If I make that Vow, then I might as well hold your hand and take you out of here myself. My apologies, but I'm not really into that kind of… stuff.
"Tell you what, after we make amends and fulfill each other's promises, I'll promise to leave your hair for next day or two, hmm? I believe that should be doable. Besides, I don't believe you have the luxury to make this work in your favor, Mocný."
Zolovat opened his eyes, his gaze low as he watched the vials reflect the moonlight.
'He's bluffing… he wants to know what mission the Exouisa gave me… well, I can just say it outright. The problem lies in what "mission" he wants to know is. The one the Exouisa letter gave me, or the one I have appointed to myself—the current "mission" I am now pursuing.'
'Vows are very tricky things. Once they're made, they can't be broken. And if they are broken, god help whoever does that, then only the worst of circumstances await them.'
'And yet, that doesn't make them absolute. Nothing about magic is absolute. Vows can be circumvented, used for one's own devious purpose. Even Manipulating someone through the "link" it creates is possible… should the right circumstances apply.'
'As long as he asks me what the "mission that the Exouisa gave me is" and not "what the mission I am currently pursuing is" then I can still get out if here relatively scot-free.'
His brows knit together.
'And then, there's still the problem of specifying what his side of the Vow shall be. I can't make it anything too excessive, and the promise he offered still puts me at a disadvantage.'
'Aquarius—Naruse Silata—is in a very precarious position in his family. As the "backup" candidate, he hasn't had much backing and influence in the family, lowering his status and authority in the Silata family. The other higher-ranking family members must be itching to replace them with one of their own, and the only reason they haven't done that is because of somebody high enough like the head or the head's close relative is backing him, serving as deterrence.
'Though I doubt that would last very long. On that note, the people under him in the family shouldn't exceed a certain number. And that number shouldn't be too high.'
'A dozen... no, half of that. That's how many people should be under him. And if they "suddenly" gain the idea to kill me after we've made the Vow "not to harm me in coming few days" then it'll be our of his control. The person I made a Vow with is him and not his subordinate, after all.'
'What else could he have done? It's not like they're the same person, after all.'
With a fleeting thought, he let the spear crumble, turning into dust and debris. Straightening his posture, he looked up and offered a hand.
"What level are you?" he asked congenially.
To make a Vow, one party at least had to be level 7.
Aquarius smiled. "Don't worry, I've got that covered."
As he said that, his hand twitched. The same hand adorned with a beaded bracelet.
Smiling, he offered no hand as he inched closer.
*Clang!*
Illusory chains rattled in their mindscape, and when the two opened their eyes, they found themselves more connected than ever.
Aquarius smiled.
"Speak. What did the Exousia request of you and what are you still doing here?"
Zolovat took a deep breath, then explained:
"Tonight, approximately two hours ago, I obtained a letter addressed from the Exousia. It had their crest and official regalia on it, as well as the name of the heiress's own personal attendant signed at the very bottom, so I knew it was real.
"The letter addressed the problem of the Special S-class monster, and how heated the problem has become. I sent a response letter through my butler saying that I accept, and then left.
"And then I came here and saw that thing fighting what I assume is a B or A-class monster and decided not to participate. One monster was enough, another one would just kill me if I'm not careful. Worse yet, the B or A-class monster seems to have Accomplice powers, and thus, I chose not to participate.
"Having gained information concerning the disappearance of Aries after our battle, I pieced together that he must have been captured by another contestant. The Mad Hatter, Sagittarius.
"And so, I stayed to investigate that and maybe bring him back to the Exousia family in exchanged of my proof of participation."
Taking a breath, he smiled and said, "Happy?"
Aquarius smiled in return and nodded, turning away.
"Don't follow me," he whispered, then snapped his fingers and looked away.
Nodding, Zolovat looked down and frowned when he saw that dozens upon dozens of orang-red vials disappear like dust swept away by the wind.
"That ass…"
When he looked up, the man was no more.
Alone in the dark alleyway, Zolovat sighed and moved onward.
"I have to find Aries before that guy does. He already has one proof of participation, another would push him further into power, and by then, who knows what will happen…"
Deep in the night, a fierce scorpion and a slippery fish race under the light of the moon.
◇◆◇◆◇
Leading his team toward the dark dungeon. The man beside him held a lantern in one hand, chasing the darkness away. Every now and then, the fire will flicker, despite the lack of wind and the fire being contained in the lantern.
'Something odd is happening here…' Keeping a vigilant air about him, Harita made sure not to show his uneasiness to his subordinates. A bead of sweat fell down his cheek despite the cold feeling, and suddenly, a sound rang out.
"What was that?!" A Squire exclaimed, drawing his blade and pointing at a collapsed pile of rubble.
"Debris… here? How come?" he wondered, knitting his eyebrows.
There was a cold air about, and he shivered under its embrace.
Inching back slowly, his sword still raised, the Squire looked side-to-side, his eyes darting slowly.
"Draw your weapons!" Harita said, raising his voice.
Summoning a watersteel dagger, he lowered his body slightly and hunched forward, like a predator about to pounce any second. Holding his breath, he ignited Manavision and felt through the darkness, raising his night vision.
When he saw what lay ahead in the darkness, his brows naturally creased, and he clicked his tongue.
'How did Edsin and Sekiro not notice this?'
"Ambush!"
*Clang!*
At the same moment, steel met steel, and a deafening clangor resounded in the darkness. Sparks flew as a result, and they ignited darkness, illuminating the figure of twenty people carrying steel and wooden weapons. There was an odd air about them.
The ambushers moved. Unfortunately, Harita did not possess any anti-ambush or crowd control spells capable of dealing with multiple people or create distance between two people. At most, he can make his enemies kneel under magnified gravity with just a sight, but under the darkness, the effectiveness of that spell was limited.
Right now, what he needed was time. Time for the Mages to cast their spells.
And so, without another word, he dashed forward, raising his dagger. The enemy ahead raised a straight sword, staring straight at him through the darkness, and slashed diagonally.
Side-stepping left, Harita used the opportunity to launch a counter attack, and he Enhanced his legs and feet, using a sudden burst of speed to stab deep into the man's side, then cut horizontally.
Blood splattered the ground below, and the man swiftly swiped his sword at Harita, but the wound definitely did a number on him and Harita extricated himself easily.
The man clutched his side, covering his gaping wound with a bloody hand. His grip on his short sword staggered, and his eyes… Harita could not see the man's eyes through the darkness, but such a severe wound definitely should have shaken him.
Harita eyes caught a faint glimmer at the corner of his periphery, and he immediately backed away, feeling a blast of air whip his face as a silver arrow streaked across the air, surrounded by a wind that swirled around the head.
Glancing at the man who let loose an arrow, he Enhanced his legs and feet and immediately brought himself closer to the Ranger, holding his dagger in one hand. The man with the short sword bad been injured severely, so he doubt he would catch up.
In a defensive battle where their numbers are thin and under a sudden attack, Harita judged it best with his heightened agility and speed to take care of the long-range ambushers before they could do serious harm.
"Gah!"
Already, behind him, pained groans resounded. He recognized the voice as a Squire, somebody appointed to his team by the Order.
Tightening the grip on his blade's hilt, Harita dodged one arrow after another, careful not to veer of course and allow one of the wind arrows to get too close to him. When he drew close to the Ranger, a Barbarian approached, holding a metal club that seemed to be made out of some dense metal.
With a grunt, the Barbarian swung his metal club, threatening to take down Harita with one fell swoop!
Pivoting, Harita stuck low and ducked underneath a potentially killing blow and raised his dagger, cutting through the Barbarian's tough skin and sturdy flesh by pouring extra mana into the edge, sharpening it further.
Bam! The burly ambusher tried to grab his body to trap him and create a moment of weakness, but Harita was too nimble, and he escaped at the very last second.
Exploiting the brief moment of weakness the opponent offered, he slashed again at the Barbarian, then whipped his head when a sudden piercing pain spread across his severed arm, and he immediately ran away, using his concealment spell to hide among the shadows.
'Curses! I should have been more careful…'
Unfortunately, his concealment seemed to be ineffective against the ambushers. Arrows continued to hail him, and combined with the wind that surrounded it, his range of motion became limited. Luckily, he had already experienced dodging the arrows just a few short moments before. Armed with that knowledge, he was able to inch closer forward to the Ranger at astonishing speed.
As the sounds of spells activating raged in the air, the Mages exclaimed their arias, and the entire fight turned for the worse.
It wasn't long until the battle became extremely chaotic.