Braverte makes his way into the building and he finds himself in a large open room. There are doors on each side of the room and a stairway leading to the second floor. Braverte places his hand on the ground. Looking for Bilicus could be hazardous because he might have set traps. The quickest way to find him would be to just locate him and find the shortest route.
Braverte releases two bursts of Higher Reasoning energy that flows through the floor like waves looking for a beach to crash on. The first wave is to find all the objects that are touching the floor and the second wave is to see if any of the objects are moving. Using this method Braverte finds several people walking and running around in the building. Based on the height and weight of Bilicus one particular set of movements caught his attention. Braverte stands back up, looks in the direction of where the steps were caught, and slowly starts walking that way.
Outside the building, a table with 3 chairs has been made and Pulmo together with Tearh and Teraw are now sitting down. Teraw is pouring a cup of tea for the three of them.
"Since we're waiting, let's be civil."
Pulmo grabs the cup and smells it then looks at Teraw to make sure there are no suspicious signs in her behavior or face. The smell didn't reveal any poison, and since Teraw and Tearh are both drinking it, it is assumably safe. Teraw looks at Pulmo as she sips her Tea.
"Ms. Pulmo, even on our planet we heard stories or maybe rumors would be a better word, about Braverte and the things he has done. But we were never able to confirm any of them."
"What stories?"
"We heard that Braverte was something similar to a mercenary but instead of money, he demanded loyalty. And that he fought in a lot of battles."
Tearh has also been interested in the truth about Braverte.
"We heard he was part of the battle in Frenzyf, and that he took out half the opposing army by himself."
Pulmo doesn't say a word but instead, she just nods.
This delights Teraw, as she just got verification of Braverte's history.
"Is it true that the body parts on him are from people he has lost on the battlefield? And that he took parts of their body to remember them by?"
Pulmo doesn't say a word, but her eyes are sad as if she remembered something that she wishes she didn't. She takes a sip of her tea.
"But how? Reattaching a body part is extremely difficult. The math needed to reconstruct severed limbs requires 3 to 4 people. Attaching a body part that isn't your own, would take AI-assisted math with at least 5 doctors, and even then the rejection rate is like 80%. But the stories say that Braverte did it on the battlefield by himself."
Pulmo can see that they indeed did hear a lot of stories about Braverte and even did a bit of research into him, to see if they were true.
"He's a genius."
"The skin on his face … is that really his son?"
This question angers Pulmo, as they have overstepped their boundaries. She looks at them with a frown. The two immediately know they have gone too far.
"We're sorry, we didn't mean to offend."
Pulmo relaxes her face and takes another sip of the tea. Teraw can't help herself as this is a rare chance to get some answers.
"Please tell us this, is it true that Braverte was in the top 10 of the Dark List?"
This question surprised Pulmo a little as she thought that this wasn't public information. But perhaps their time at this school has detached them from the world they were in. The look of surprise on Pulmo's face was enough of an answer for Teraw. But Tearh is a bit confused.
"What is the Dark List?"
"You know how the universe ranks its strongest fighters right?"
"Yeah."
"But to be ranked you have to register your name, and prove your strength or have an amazing reputation. Well, it seems that there is a list for those who don't want to register their name, and their reputation isn't one that the general public would like."
"So basically the strongest criminals list?"
"That's the thing, it's not only criminals. It's everyone who isn't registered. So the list is filled with rumors, hearsay, and lies. But the top 100 is generally filled with really dangerous people who have a proven track record."
"So, if the Prime Perfect fought the number one on the Dark List, who would win?"
"Nobody knows, but they say that the number one on the dark list is as strong if not stronger than the Prime Perfect."
"And Braverte was in the top 10 on that list?"
"Seems so."
Pulmo is a little proud of the fact that these two seem to revere Braverte the way they do. Tearh can tell that Pulmo seems a bit more relaxed so he fires off another question.
"How did you and Braverte meet?"
Pulmo can tell that the question isn't one of malice or trying to dig up dirt. It's literally a curious student asking a question of someone who they admire. But this brings back a flashback to Pulmo's mind. She was just a young girl covered in blood, sitting in a burning house. Her mother and father lying dead in front of her as she cried. Her screams of pain and agony were drowned out by the crackling of the fire and the falling debris.
The man who killed her parents was standing in front of her, looking down at her with eyes that seemed to glow red. The blade with which he cut and killed her parents was drenched in blood and the untainted parts seemed to glow with evil intent. The man took a step forward to finish Pulmo off, but then he suddenly noticed something.
This scared him enough to hurry away as he escaped through the roof of the burning building and disappeared into the night. Soon after Braverte appeared his face twisted in anger at the fact that he was too late to prevent this from happening. His eyes are sad, as he looks down at young Pulmo. He then looks up at the roof through which the killer escaped. He has to make a choice between saving Pulmo or going after the killer.
Without any hesitation, he walks towards Pulmo and lifts her up into his arms.
"I'm sorry … You're safe now."
Young Pulmo can't say a word as her tears won't stop. Braverte holds Pulmo tight, and still jumps through the roof, when he lands he quickly surveys the area and sees broken branches and footsteps in one direction. He places his hand on the back of Pulmo's head.
"Hold on."
He then jumps in the same direction in which the killer went.
Chapter 56 Fin