Altair said to Illi's group "But first, let's go to that city where Babel 3 is stationed." Altair snapped her fingers and they appeared at the base of Babel 3. Illi and the rest are surprised by this, because even for them, teleportation is not something that can be done easily. Hence Magnus says "Impressive. To think a meatbag of this world is able to use complicated magic that even madam Elisia had trouble mastering."
Altair says "It has mostly to do with my connection to Ao, but enough about that. Do you have people who know the way of the city we are in?" People start to gather as they see a star elf with stars on her eyes.
Illi says "We have Owl who knows a little. Speaking of Owl, where's Cassandra?" To which Cassandra says "Took you long enough to notice my absence."
Illi says "I completely forgot about you when the elevator came down. What have you been up to?" To which Cassandra says "I've been looking around Babel 3 and watched the reactions of the locals. There is a noble around that should soon…"
And then someone says to Altair "Aah. A citizen from the stars who is still branded with the graze of their god. Now what do we owe this pleasure?" A dark elf man comes closer to the group with an attire that suits the location but still exudes a noble aura.
Altair says "I have some business with this pla… the surface. Now if you'll excuse me." Then the noble dark elf says "But wait, dear madam, why don't you join me for a cup of coffee? I've just obtained a branch that is quite hard to come by, so I'd be happy to share it with someone from the higher realm."
Altair says "Thanks, but no thanks. As I said earlier, I have some business I need to take care of, so if you could…" But the noble dark elf didn't budge and said "No need to be too humble. Even though the products of this realm might not suit your illustrious self, I guarantee you that it is one of the best quality coffee that this realm has to offer. I also obtained a few humans not too long ago that are quite a hilarious sight to behold, so I would like to share them with you. Your friends are also quite welcome, though one of them looks too close to a human."
Altair says "Now you got me interested. A human that is a hilarious sigh, you say? Please, do show me." The noble elf says "Wonderful. Please do follow me, if you could."
The group begins to follow the noble dark elf and Illi asks "Why are we going with that long eared prick?" To which Altair says "Sorry, I just have to see one thing first before I fully commit." Illi asks "Commit to what?" To which Altair says "You'll see when we get there. But in any case, I guess there is no need for us to go and see this Owl fellow."
After traveling for about half an hour, the group enters a noble mansion fit to the location. There were carts that other nobles have used to come there and Altair asks "I assume my timing to come to the surface happened quite neatly with something of yours." To which the noble dark elf says "Oh, absolutely. We of the noble house Erelt are hosting a showing of the humans we acquired. To prove our prosperity, we also offer the qugafa coffee that is quite hard to come by."
The group go inside and after walking some more, they enter a hall where there is a stage in the middle with a cover on. There are many dark elves around who comment about the host's return with a star elf in his company. You can hear incoherent spouts of shouting behind the veil and all in the group, with the exception of Altair, don't know what is behind that veil.
Erelt then says to Altair and the group "If you could please wait here as I get the show started." The group does as the man says and the man leaves to be in front of the whole crowd. Standing right next to the stage, Erelt says "Greeting dear quests. I apologize for my sudden absence just now, but due to the Terrotertuska working suddenly, I had to investigate what was happening personally. But luckily my visit wasn't in vane since I found an esteemed star elf with the grace of the abyss watcher."
The audience begins to chat amongst themselves for a moment, until Erelt continues "And since you all have been so patiently waiting here even as I left so suddenly, I think it is about time for you to see my latest human farce. Staff, open the curtains."
Then the curtains of the stage opened, and what Illi and the crew saw next was something that they didn't expect to see. On the stage, they saw "human" figures shuffling about, their forms twisted and contorted by generations of selective breeding. Their faces bore the marks of grotesque experimentation, with eyes too large and vacant, mouths twisted into perpetual grimaces. Limbs hung limply from misshapen torsos, some unnaturally elongated, others stunted and withered. Some of their bones were clearly in an abhorrent state, as proven by a few figures whose skulls clearly were misshapen to almost alien form. There were doubts of whether or not the reshapen skulls were just made of bone, if the brain tissue was malformed alongside or if it was something other that humans shouldn't have on their heads.
Their movements were jerky and disjointed, betraying a lack of coordination and understanding. Utterances escaped their malformed lips in guttural sounds, devoid of coherent language. Each step they took seemed to be a struggle against their own bodies, as if burdened by the weight of their twisted existence.
Some bore additional deformities, with arms disproportionately small or elongated, resembling grotesque caricatures of human anatomy. They were objects of morbid fascination, their very existence a testament to the depths of the elven cruelty and manipulation.
Yet, despite their pitiful state, there lingered an air of mockery and derision in the hall. Visitors gawked and jeered at the unfortunate creations, finding amusement in their misfortune, suffering and exploitation that had led to their existence.
The moment they saw it, Illi gawked, Molly threw up, Lili looked away out of reflex, Cassandra simply closed her eyes and even Magnus made a slight sound of shock. But Altair, Altair didn't have any change in expression. The serious expression on her face told Illi that she had anticipated this turn of events, though there was a slight hint of sadness in Altair's face.
The visitors, other than Altair and Illi's group, were having an amused chatter while drinking coffee and looking at the "humans" at the stage who would make screams at random intervals. A servant came to the group with a tray of coffee on them and only Altair had the guts to still drink what these people served.
After Altair drinks some of the coffee, Erelt says to the people there "Now that we have shown the main event, how about we have a few words for our special quest?" He points at Altair, who is still drinking.
Altair closes her eyes for a moment, places the coffee to a table, goes in front and then says while opening her arms "As someone who values freedom above all else, I feel touched to see how far you have gone with your acts of human cruelty." The dark elves, other than Lili, hear it as a compliment.
Then Altair places her left hand at her chest, right hand forward and says "For over ten thousand years, my kind has not put sight on you for several reasons, but now, due to unforeseen circumstances, I have been brought back here once more to see the doings of the people of the middle realm."
Altair does a fist pump with her right hand and continues "So as one of the council members, I hereby declare that Aquila will give you a well deserved reward." For a moment, Illi and the others think that it was wrong to trust Altair, but the next moment, the other visitors, the host and the staff fell to the ground as if they lost control over their body. After that, Altair put her hands on her hips and said "There".
Still, they could talk, so many started blabbering in confusion of what was happening. Erelt especially shouts "What is the meaning of this?!" To which Altair says proudly "As I said, I'll give you all a well deserved reward. That is, to face the wrath of yours truly, Altair the flying one."
There were a lot of people shouting in confusion, but Altair managed to hear one person asking "What did you do to us?" To which she answered "I used my magic to make lasers and…" She points at the back of her neck and says "I made a little snip that disconnected your nerve system from the neck down. Aka, forced quadriplegia. Aka, I paralyzed you all from the neck down."
People speak in disbelief and Altair takes a hand sized thin metal stick, pressed a button on it which opens a "holographic" screen on it. There, she pressed a few buttons and soon the place was filled with star elf officers.
One of the officers says to Altair "Miss Altair. We have answered your summons. What is it that you need for us?" To which Altair pointed at the dark elves and said "I need you to take the dark ones to custody for a moment. Meanwhile, I'll go and see what the king of Elysium is about and ask him how he would like to deal with them."
The officers start to take the dark people and to a spot where they would soon teleport back to star elf territory. Altair then asks Illi's group "So, how do you wager your king will deal with this?" To which Illi says "You are planning to make him decide?" To which Altair says "Obviously. Since the man plans to change the middle realm for good, he has to sort things like these out while doing so. It'll serve as a wake up call in case he is blinded by the ideal image he has for the world."
Then Cassandra says to Altair "While I do think it is necessary for him to figure these things out, can you leave the details a bit obscured and leave it to the ninth battalion?" To this, Altair responds "You are planning to shelter your king from the ugly parts. I'm sorry, but for you to have my people's assistance, we'll need him to see things as they are first and foremost."
Then one of the officers comes to Altair and asks "Excuse me miss, but what will we do with those… things…" To which Altair says with a stern voice "Even if they are physically and mentally incapable of survival, that doesn't mean that they are things. You need to get your act together young lady or you won't be staying in Aquila much longer."
To this, the officer reacted by saying in panic "I'm sorry miss Altair! I'm sorry! I'll make sure to not make the same mistake again!" And Altair responded "Good. As for the "humans"... Take them to custody as well, but in a separate area from the dark elves. Also make a full scan of the building and see if there are any more "humans" or other people in shackles." The officer then says while saluting "Understood." Then she leaves to inform other officers of what to do with the humans and joins in on the task at hand.
Altair asked Illi "I have come to understand that you people have some form of "telepathic" communication method, so I would like you to make arrangements for me and your king to have a… "formal" meeting, so to speak." Illi answered with "I'll get right on that, but first, can you explain what has happened to those humans?"
Altair says "I will explain everything when I have an audience with your king as to not having to repeat it multiple times. But if you can't agree for me to meet your king before I inform you, then I will indulge your curiosity further if needed." Illi says "I understand. Wait here for a bit, missy."
Illi gets on to make the meeting between Altair and Lud possible, but in the meantime, Altair asks Lili "So… how do you feel about your kinsman in this world?" To which Lili says hesitantly "I… Feel disgusted."
Altair says "You say that, but there is an argument to be made that you hold similar interests than this world's counterparts." Lili says "That is not true in the slightest. While we had elven superiority in our world when compared to humans, we did not dehumanize them like the dark elves in this world."
Altair says "I have yet to verify how your bodies work when compared to the residents of this world, but as far as I have been able to observe, you are genetically similar to this world's dark elves. But I must clarify that I value individuality and freedom, so even if you end up being biologically similar to the dark elves of this world, that doesn't mean I'm unable to acknowledge your individuality and the opinions that come with it."
Then Altair looks at Molly and taps her back a little. Then she says "If you aren't able to deal with these kinds of things, I suggest you find a different kind of work." To which Molly says "This… This isn't enough to make me back down as one of Elysium's people." Altair says "Good. Even if your body is negatively affected by all this, you still stay loyal to your beliefs. It is a good feature to have."
Then Altair raises back up and says to Molly "It is good to hold on to the people around you, but you have to always remember, never be too tied up into one place, or you will lose the freedom that belongs to you." Molly says "I don't really get what you're going on about, but I keep that in mind."
Then Altair looks at Cassandra and says to her "Given your reaction to all of this, you were unaware of what happens to humans in dark elf territory." Cassandra is about to say something, but Altair says first "No, that's not it, is it. You had an inkling that something worse was done to humans in Rusteror than other places in the middle realm, correct?"
Cassandra is about to say something again, but Altair again says before Cassandra "No, that's not it either. You had… just prepared for the worst, I take?" Cassandra says "Yes, but what are you doing?" To which Altair says "A little game that people like me like to do sometimes. Guessing what the other person is thinking and sensing the emotions that they have for those guesses."
Magnus asks "How does that work? Are you using some kind of magic to detect emotions?" To which Altair says "Not quite, but I'll tell you about it later since it seems that the dwarf is done now."
Illi says "I'm done with arranging a meeting, now we just need to know when it will happen, though I guess that it is when we get there. And since you can do some sort of teleportation, I suppose it will be as soon as possible." Altair says "Do whatever you need to do here before we leave. Though I must inform you that, unfortunately, I'm a very busy person."
Illi asks "Didn't you say to Robin that you will be gone for who knows how long?" To which Altair makes a hand motion to discern what Illi said, makes a "pfft" sound and says "Detail my dwarf friend, details. Just tell me when to move and I'll teleport us to Elysium."
Magnus says "You can teleport somewhere you haven't been before?" To which Altair says "It is not that difficult for someone who has earned Ao's gaze. That said, I did learn how to traverse all kinds of places using teleport when I was younger. By this point, if I couldn't teleport between different realms, I would be very disappointed in myself."
Lili asks "How old are you?" To which Altair answers "Old enough to be called a granny by elven standards." Molly says "But you look so young." To which Altair says "The more points a star elf has on her stars, the less the star elf ages."
Molly asks "Can we get an actual number?" To which Altair says with a smile while holding her finger close to her lips "Girls have their own secrets to keep."
Magnus retorts in a low voice "You called yourself a granny earlier, but now you refer to yourself as a girl. How amusing." Altair hears it said and then says with a killing aura "You want to repeat that, pinball?" Magnus stays silent.
Meanwhile, after confirming that it'll take an hour or two to prepare the meeting between Lud and Altair, Illi calls Quet. He says "Hey plant, have you found anything of interest?" To which Quet says "Yes. Though I might be wrong, I've actually found several ruins that I think belongs to the same people who build the space elevator, though I'm uncertain."
Illi says "I see. I'll ask about it to someone who might know more. Any conflict with the locals in the woods?" To which Quet says "No actually. The local fairies are quite welcoming and the spirits seem indifferent to me making a place in here."
Illi says "So you have placed your roots in there I see." To which Quet says "Yes. I already asked our lord's permission and I'll be staying here for a while." Illi says "I see. Then try not to get in trouble then, sprout." To which Quet says "Yes."
Illi goes back to the group and tells them when they would be going to Elysium. Altair says "I see. Then I suppose we can do some cleaning up while we are here." To which Lili says "I take it you mean that we look around for more of the same as here." And Altair says "Yes. Can you call this Owl guy and ask if he knows anything?"
Cassandra answers "I'll check on him. Give me a moment." And so she calls Owl, who says "Found anything interesting?" To which Cassandra says "A whole city of star elves actually. Speaking of which, do you have any information on humans in this city?"
Owl stays quiet for a moment, until he answers back "For a moment, I failed to understand how those two were connected, but I get it now. You've met a star elf who wants to know about the "human pet" program that the dark elves seem to have. Am I close?" Cassandra answers "Yes. We've just cleared up a house belonging to this Erelt family thanks to our new contact."
Owl says "It hasn't even been a day and you are already on that? So my guess was wrong after all. As per usual." Cassandra asks "You knew we would go to liberate humans?" To which Owl says "No. I just thought that…nevermind, it doesn't really matter. The point is that you already learned the relationship between dark elves and humans. Pray tell, has the star elf you've been with told you why they haven't taken action sooner?" And Cassandra answers "No, though I was going to ask her about it soon."
Owl says "Do tell me about it after you find out. I'm quite curious about it. But enough about the star elf, you want to know more about the human pets, correct?" To which Cassandra says "Yes. Know anything useful?" And Owl says "Since it is quite expensive to own one, I have few noble houses that are likely to own one. I was planning to check out some of them sooner or later, but since you are interested in them, I'll give the task to you. Come here and I'll share what I have found."
Cassandra says "I will. See you soon." Then she cuts the connection and goes to tell others about it. Altair says "Can you come here for a moment girly and bend down a little so I can reach you?" To which Cassandra says "Sure, but what is…" and then Altair grabs a hold of Cassandra's head and looks deeply in her eyes.
Cassandra asks "What are you…" To which Altair says "Saving time. Ok, got it." Then she lets go of Cassandra and with a snap of her fingers, they appear on Owl's hideout.
Owl is surprised by this and says "You sure move fast. That girl there…" To which Altair says "Nice to meet you. I'm Altair, a member of the council that controls the star elf society. You must be Owl. Do you have information about humans in Rusteror?"
Owl says "I have, but can you slow down a bit?" To which Altair says "We have an hour or two, so we shouldn't dilly dally too much. So can you give the information to us?" Owl says "Wait a moment. I'll go look for those papers."
While they were waiting for Owl, Illi said to Altair "You could have given us a warning." To which Altair says "It is more fun this way, don't you think? The sudden change in scenery is quite pleasant sometimes when you least expect it. It can give you a whiplash if you are not careful though."
A moment later, Owl comes with some papers, says "Here" and hands them to Altair. Altair grabs the papers, looks at them for a brief moment and says "Got it. You lot can stay here if you like. I'm going to do some… cleanup." Lili responded by saying "I'll come with you." To which Altair says "Suit yourself."
Then Owl asks Altair "You barely glanced at the papers and you are already going?" To which Altair says "Extracting information with this much speed is almost mandatory for someone of my position." Then Altair grabs Lili's arm and teleports to some other place.
Altair and Lili go from house to house to find human pets and the people who own them. They do this for a while, until Lili is told that Lud is ready to meet with Altair. Altair asks Lili if she should teleport Illi and the rest of the group together with her, to which Lili says that it is not necessary.
Altair teleports herself in the throne room, where she sees Lud, Tear, Liz, Li and some guards. Altair looks around some, and then says "So this is the fabled kingdom of Elysium. I honestly expected a lot less."
Lud asks Altair "I take it that you are Altair? You wished for us to meet, and now we are here. What is it that you want?" To which Altair looks at Lud for a moment and says "So this is the king of Elysium and the guy who is aiming to change the middle realm. Even if I expected a very little from a group of human sympathizers in the middle realm, you mister are something completely else. For a human like you to have more mana than I, I must say that I'm getting a little jealous."
Lud says "It was through great effort that I gained the amount of mana that I have today. But enough about that. I take it that you want to make a connection with Elysium?" And Altair says "Yes. And speaking of which..:"
Altair grabs the same thing she used to summon her officers and soon some of the humans that she found from the hands of the dark elves appeared in the throne room. This shocked everyone, especially Lud.
Liz asks "What is the meaning of this?" To which Altair says "These people are humans that have been bred by the dark elves of the middle realm. I believe that you received a report from that dwarf about the situation already, but I just wanted to make you understand the severity of the situation first hand."
Lud asks "These things are… human?" To which Altair says "Don't be too cold on your brethren. These are undoubtedly humans that have been cultivated by the dark elves. They may look like this, but the fact that they are humans is an undeniable fact. Granted, there is an argument to be made that they have become something completely different from humans, but still, they still can make offspring with other humans and those offspring are still capable of making their own offspring, albeit with assistance from their caretakers."
Lud is about to throw up, but manages to keep it in and say "How… how is it possible for this to be allowed? Who in their right mind thinks this is worth the effort?" Altair says "These humans are made to be ridiculed by the dark elves. They take disabled humans from the lower realm and breed them together. This has been happening even before I last set foot on Gloctus. Heck, even before I was born. And you want to change the way people of the middle realm think, even though the human pet program has been its own economy for a long time."
Lud is speechless and Altair says "Is this where you will break, king of Elysium?" Tear says "This is only something that makes it even more important to change things in the middle realm. It only means that we must work extra hard to achieve our lord's ambition."
Altair says "You say that, but what does your king think?" Tear looks at Lud for a moment, as does everyone else, and Lud is forced to speak his mind. He says with a shaken voice "I'll make sure that no one will threaten the people of Elysium. This is what I promised and I will do my best to keep it. Even if we have to walk a path riddled with thorns, we will make it through."
Altair stares at Lud for a moment, trying to see deep inside his character, but eventually she closes her eyes for a moment and does her thing with the communication device and sends the humans back to the custody of Aquila.
Then Altair asks "What do you wish to do with the people who endorsed the human pet program?" Lud asks "You are going to make me choose, even though they are in your custody?" To which Altair says "I need to make sure I'm working with a worthy partner before we can get to business. So what will it be?"
Lud thinks for a moment and eventually says "They… They shall work hard labor for the rest of their lives under Elysium's supervision." Altair says "Are you sure you have the manpower to make almost every dark elf in the middle realm one of your prisoners?" To which Lud says "We were only speaking about the ones you have captured so far. Are you planning on making Elysium take the full burden of dealing with this issue? I thought you were aiming for mutual cooperation."
Then Altair says "Then how about this. The criminals who Aquila wishes to punish will be dealt with the most severe punishment. That is, the punishment only known as the lonely immortality." Li asks "What does that entail?" To which Altair says "It is a punishment where the criminal will be hooked into a machine that will keep the criminal alive, making them unable to die untimely death. The criminal will have to look at the expanse of space for as long as they mind can withstand while not being able to interact with anything. When the criminal's will is broken and their mind is starting to stay blank, the machine will put the criminal to an illusionary dream where they will be rehabilitated into being able to think again, only to eventually return to reality where they can only look at the dark space. This will last as long as the criminal has gone through either a certain amount of time or a certain number of cycles."
Lud says "That is way too inhumane." To which Altair says "It is a punishment only for those who have severely angered someone in the council. Only a council member can put someone through that sentence. I plan to use that form of punishment if I get a free reign on the dark elves who contributed to the human pet program."
Then Tear asks Altair "But didn't the star elves also know about this for a long time? Aren't you people in the same boat when you allow this thing to continue existing?" To which Altair says "You aren't wrong. Star elves have had many opportunities to do something about the human pet program for a long time."
Tear asks "Then why didn't you act sooner?" To which Altair says "The Aquila guild's official stance in the matter is that we shouldn't impede on the freedom that the dark elves have. The Lyra guild's official stance is that they shouldn't restrict the creativity of the dark elves. The Cygnus guild's official stance is that the human pet program is part of the dark elf culture and that it would be detrimental to the well being of the star elf society to try and change it. I could go on and on about the other guilds, but each of them has their own type of excuse. But in the grand scheme of things, it only boils down to one thing and one thing only."
Lud asks "And that is?" and Altair answers "That there is no merit for the star elves in changing the status quo in Gloctus. That's it. If the star elf society starts to change things in Gloctus, it will only generate losses for every party involved."
Tear says "As expected of an elf. Only thinking for themselves." To which Altair says "I cannot argue against the fact that selfishness is part of how elves in Lutah are. But nevertheless, I offer my assistance now and that is what matters the most."
Lud asks "If you only lose by helping us, why do you do it?" To which Altair says "I can give you many excuses, but since I want to be honest with you all, I'm gonna just say it how it is. I was bored and you got me curious."
Lud thinks for a moment and Altair asks him "Can I come a little closer?" To which Lud nonchalantly said "Sure." And then Altair teleported on Lud's lap while facing him. Liz and Tear were expectedly taken by this and Liz asked with an aggressive tone "What are you doing?" To which Altair began to hold Lud's head from the sides and say "I got permission to get closer. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him."
Then Altair began to stare Lud in his eyes from below since she was short. The two continued to stare each other in the eyes for a while and Lud was about to say something, but Altair managed to say first "You aren't human, are you?" This surprised everyone and Lud asked "What are you talking about? Of course I am…"
Altair stopped Lud from speaking by saying "No need to lie to me. I see right through you now. The other world sure looks fascinating from your eyes. No… the world beyond that is even more fascinating. Not by technology, but… it is hard to put into words."
Lud asks "You… Can you see my memories?" To which Altair says "Something like that. The aether that has gone through you is easier to read directly from your eyes, so I'm taking in the information that the aether carries to myself. Now stay quiet for a moment, won't you."
Altair keeps staring at Lud in the eyes and this makes others in the throne room quite anxious. While Altair is the one who has to look up to Lud's face, Lud is feeling like he is in a space where he is standing on a table and Altair was a giant leaning on that table, observing him intensely and looking down on him instead. This made Lud a little hypnotized.
Altair says "You… have some parts of you that are heavily covered by the abyss. This is… fascinating. Some parts are more than others, but there is one particular moment in your memories that is almost completely covered by the abyss."
Lud keeps looking around at the table and sees nothing else but him. Both Lud and Altair are surrounded by an endless darkness that seems to be a representation of either Lud's or Altair's mindscape. Or maybe both.
Altair says "I'm trying to unwrap the big chunk of abyss that is obstructing my view, but I can't seem to be able to…" Then Altair felt an eerie presence around her and Lud could feel it too. They look around and they see a bunch of giant worms, the size of Altair at this moment, slithering closer and closer to them. Once they look closer, they see that they are on top of a hill that is surrounded by a pool of those giant worms.
Then Altair and Lud feel an even bigger presence looming over them. They look and see that an even bigger person than Altair is standing there. The person appears to look like Maumar to Lud, but Altair is uncertain.
The feeling that the two of them have is that the gargantuan Maumar is holding them in a tiny cup. There is a spike in the cup that gives the platform where Altair is standing together with the table where Lud is standing. The worms are ever so slightly drawing closer and Maumar moves his lips a little while not uttering a sound. Somehow Altair and Lud are able to read Maumar's lips and decipher that he says "Folly of the damned. Fools on an errand. Fickle in the dark."
Then suddenly Altair and Lud can feel themselves being pulled downwards, only to realize that they are being thrown upwards by the gargantuan Maumar. The giant worms are about to do something to the both of them whilst in the air. But then Altair pulls her head upwards and stops looking Lud in the eyes. Both of them are sweating profusely and breathing heavily.
Everyone else at the throne room is a bit confused, but then Altair gets off of Lud and says "To think I almost died spiritually just because of a whim."
Liz asks "What happened?" To which Altair says "I… I think the father of the abyss didn't like me digging too deep."
Li says "You mean the connection between us and Maumar?" To which Altair says "Yes. It seems that… there is more to you all… or at least, more to your king than meets the eye. No matter, I got pretty good info out of it."
Liz asks "Was Faust in danger just now?" To which Altair answers "If I didn't stop what I was doing soon enough, I think me and Lud would have experienced a spiritual death."
Li noticed Altair's use of Lud's actual name, so he asked "Why are you calling him that?" To which Altair answers "I simply felt more natural to call him that. After all, he has yet to accept the persona of the homunculus king Faust Ilumnos."
Lud says "I… I have accepted the role already, so I don't get what you mean." To which Altair commented "You can say that, but the emotions shown in the aether that passed through you doesn't lie. But that is enough about that."
Then Altair turns to face Lud, extends her hand and says to him "Would you like for me to become one of your legion, Ludwig Freigner?" This surprised everyone at the throne room, and the first to respond was Tear, who said "Are you out of your mind? Why would someone who thinks of themselves as being on top of the food chain offer to be someone's servant?" To which Altair says "Is that how you see it? Poor spider, unable to grasp the emotion that her king is showing when speaking of you as part of their legion."
Tear asks "What do you mean?" To which Li answers "She is talking about how our lord sees us as companions more than servants." To which Altair responds by saying "So you have figured it out too, my alien friend."
Li responds to Altair's comment by saying "To call me an alien out of the blue sure is something." To which Altair says jokingly "Oh you have no idea how much one of the council members would love to dissect you. You all are from a different world already, but you sir, you take the proverbial cake."
Li then says "I suppose that I should feel flattered, but enough about that. Can you explain a little how you were able to discern our lord's feelings? Tell us how the aether exactly works." Altair thinks for a moment and then says "Aether is something that makes everything what they are. It cannot be interacted with easily and those who can are often close to a god of some sort. I cannot tell you much more than what the gods themselves have already told you, but I can tell you that aether is something very valuable to this world. Interacting with it directly is a godly feat that can change the whole history of one moment into another. Aether transcends time and space, yet are intricately linked with them. The aether lines keep the world running and the most a mortal being can dream of using it extends to the ability to see the memoria inside that substance. Those who can use it directly are often creatures of the abyss or gods themselves, and those who use it can change the very fabric of the world. That is all that I can divulge."
Li thinks carefully about what Altair said and Altair turns back around to face Lud as she says "So about my request, little Lud." She extends her hand again and says "Will you let me join?" Lud says with concern "Are you sure that you can just do that? What about those under you?" To which Altair says "I'm an advocate for freedom and I do what I darn well please." Then Altair gives a shrug as she says "Granted, the concept of freedom becomes a very complicated matter whenever there are two or more parties involved. "One's freedom is another's oppression and to compromise is to let go of some of your freedom." These are the words that made me able to reach the nine points. I tell you this to say that… Well, I don't really care much about things that restrict me. I fly as high as I can and think of the consequences later. The Aquila will follow me if they so choose, and I follow what I feel like. Now, I want to join up with you. And besides, it isn't like I can't leave whenever I'd like, so there aren't many restrictions by becoming one of your legion."
Lud stood silent for a moment, then he rose from his chair and he was ready to take a hold of Altair's hand, but before he could do it, Tear said to Altair "I must first test your abilities before I can accept you."
Altair is a bit taken back, as she clearly saw that Lud was ready to accept her offer. Nevertheless, Altair says to Tear "So what do you need me to do, little spider?" To which Tear says "A little combat test." Altair says "Fine by me. Can we do it in here or is it too presumptuous?" Tear looks at Lud for a moment and Lud decides to just say "Go ahead."
Altair went to the other end of the room and Tear stayed on the side where Lud stood. Li decided to be the judge for this spout, so he raised his hand and gave a mark to begin the battle.
Tear sends a volley of threads at Altair that can shred regular mythril with ease. Lili, Liz and Li are taken back that Tear used such a powerful attack on someone who they are aiming to ally themselves with.
Altair has put on a glove on her left hand and the slate where the nail of her index finger starts to shine blue and the slate where the nail of her middle finger starts to shine yellow-orange. She swipes her left hand horizontally with her index and middle finger being the only ones extended. This action shreds the threads instead, which makes the others surprised.
Altair says "Is that all you got?" as she makes a peace sign with her left hand, swirls it around so that the back of her hand is now facing Tear. Tear is about to make another attack, but then Altair closes her two fingers a little and Tear's neck feels like it is being burned by a laser ring. Any movement makes Tear's neck receive damage, making it impossible for her to move from the spot she is standing in if she wants to keep her neck attached to her body.
This action surprises Lili, Liz, Li and Tear since they have not seen anyone capable of threatening their lives other than Aileen in Lutah up to this point. Altair comments by saying "It seems you've been having it easy before now. Still, don't expect this to be a norm since I'm quite above the average in terms of power levels when it comes to mortals in Lutah. Not anywhere close to a god's power, though I'm aiming for it, even if it is for a spiteful reason to justify my age."
Then Altair opens the space between her fingers more and the lights on her two fingers turn down. This stops the laser around Tear's neck. Altair relaxes her left hand and says "Now that it has been proven that I can threaten your life, I suggest that you show me that you can threaten mine."
Then Altair shrugs and says a little condescendingly "Well that is if you are able to…" But she is stopped by Tear appearing right in front of her with the nails of Tear's fingers right next to Altair's throat. The gust of wind blows from the sheer speed that Tear showed and it makes both her and Altair's hair follow the wind's direction.
Tear asks "Is this enough for you elf?" and Altair gets a little cold sweat and says "G-good. Very good. Now that it has been proven that we can kill each other by fair means, now we can build up more trust." Tear stops holding her fingers near Altair's throat and starts to walk away.
Lud comments "Are… are you two fine now?" To which Tear says "I can manage." To which Lili says "That is as good as we can get, so let's just move on."
Then Altair teleports right next to Lud and extends her hand once more as she says "So are you ready lil Lud?" To which Lud says "I'm not sure what you mean by "ready", but I can make you part of my legion now." Lud takes a hold of Altair's hand and with that, Altair has officially become part of Lud's legion.