Chapter 7: Poderoso's staff
*Victor's POV*
I stood with my hand placed behind my back, ramrod and as straight as a spear, my eyes carrying hints of age, but profound lights seemingly flashed across imperceptibly. I stood in my office in a daze for a while, my head trying to recollect just what I saw last night. The aura, light, shape, size and equipment of the staff in the current high Priestess hands last night was magnificent
It does remind me of something, doesn't it?
"Collins, bring me the ancient tome I kept in my library", I spoke after a while.
"Yes sir!" A loud voice replied and faded away.
As I stroked my chin, Collins rushed inside with a very, very gigantic book in his hands, sweat pouring from his face as he bowed his head.
"Thank you, you may go! Greet your family for me". I smiled and patted his back.
Collins shivered and almost backed up uncontrollably, his eyes widened in shock.
"Yes sir, they will tell them sir!" Collins almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.
He has been working for his boss for over 15 years, but not once, as the man asked his family or told him to even say hi to them.
The sudden interest took him aback in shock and made him start feeling suspicious, because the moment, his boss saw the tome in his hands, his eyes grew brighter and his smile warmer.
I noticed the sudden bodily changes in Collins, but it didn't mean that, because I had to confirm my suspicions and if it's true, then…
I chuckled and sent Collins away, then wore my reading glasses and started browsing through the pages, especially towards the section about 'ancient weapons'. The tome, with me, is one of the last three archaic werewolve books in existence. It has been around for more than two hundred years and already looking as if withered.
I carefully opened the pages until I was at the section on "Ancient weapons* and, lo and behold, the first weapon was the "Poderoso's staff". It was the third most powerful weapon in all of werewolves' existence, and it has been in existence for over a thousand years. It was brought by a Portuguese sailor in the early 10th century to Nigeria. That was the only tangible origin of the weapon.
Apart from that, it has been passed down from generations to generations and suddenly vanished from existence around 250 years ago. The staff is said to be so powerful that any family or wielder is automatically capable of suppressing any other werewolf or family. Not even the ancient high priestess had the power to do such, and it was common knowledge that any family with it was already deemed as the strongest.
The other two weapons, more stronger than them, are artifacts said to be wielded personally by the moon goddess and no one has ever seen them, talkless of using them, so they don't usually count.
Going by obtainable weapons, the strongest among the bunch is the Poderoso's artifacts.
I sat down there, looking at the contents of the staff description and my eyes kept growing brighter and brighter till I let loose evil laughter.
I sucked in a cold breath and whistled.
Strange men in suit appeared before me and bowed.
"Oga mi (my boss), you summoned us" The defacto leader among them spoke
"Tobi, I want you to retrieve something that belongs to me. You heard about the newly appointed high priestess?" I asked.
Tobi nodded and said "Of course, Oga mi (my boss), they said she's very beautiful and-"
I knitted my brows
"Shut up, Tobi. I need you to track her and bring me the staff she held yesterday. I will send you a picture of what it looks like. Now go"
"But sir… I heard she's a powerful priestess who's living amongst mortals just to train her mind…" Tobi hesitated for a moment.
"I don't want to know how you did it, I want the result! You hear that!! Now go!!" I barked.
Tobi rubbed the back of his head and bowed. He and his men vanished from the office.
"I, Victor, is about to be heads and shoulders above everyone". I stroked my chin…
Diana's POV…
"Ahem! Mike, do you have the contact info of Akira Violet or any of the seven custodians of the moon palace?"
I took out my phone and I asked Mike for my employers' contact information.
"The seven custodians come and go like the wind. Only the moon Priestess, leader of each clan of the werewolf clan, the holy son of heaven and some selected can contact them." Mike dipped my hope of getting paid inside a bottomless Abby's with what he just said.
"Are they ghosts? This is the modern world! Tell them to get a phone for crying out loud!" I didn't know when I started shouting. I effortlessly attracted the attention of passerbys with the few words I just said. Judging by the expression on their faces, they all agreed with what I just said.
"And who the hell is the holy son of heaven?" I whispered.
"Is there a restaurant nearby where we could talk more privately?" Mike asked, as he looked at the people nearby who had pecked up their ears to listen to our conversation. "The walls have ears."
At the mention of the restaurant, I was overjoyed. I finally have a way to calm the roaring thunderstorm in my belly.
"There's one nearby."
"Please get in the car, let's go there."
I stood up from the pavement I was sitting on and followed Mike to his shiny car that was parked nearby.
The restaurant was five minutes' drive from the university. It's a famous place frequently visited by the big boys and girls of our school.
All eyes were on us as we got out of the car. Some people were even pointing at us, while others who were bold enough to approach, asked Mike to take a picture with them, but he declined them all.
I felt like a celebrity as all eyes were on me.
Suddenly, Mike dragged me by my hand as he rushed inside the restaurant.
"Don't look back," he said.
The manager's eyes lit up when he saw us approach the counter. "How may I help you Sir?"
"Prepare a private room for us," Mike commanded.
"Alright Sir, I'll definitely prepare the best room for you." The manager didn't even ask for our budget as she ran off to God knows where.
Five minutes later…
She came back. She led us to a flashy room upstairs and waited by the side after handling the menu.
Wow! The room looked like a wealthy king's palace as all the chairs and tables were made of the finest of all woods. The room glowed under the dim lights.
I looked around the place like a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the City.
"What should we order?" Mike asked, jottling me back to life as he placed the menu in my hand.
Slow music played in the background as I searched the menu for what to order. I was tempted to sing along as the music played, but I didn't heed the devil's whisper as I concentrated on the menu.
"Two plates of jollof rice and chicken for me. And… a bottle of water… that's all". I restrained myself from eating too much, as that would make me look like a country bumpkin.
I saw Mike's gaping mouth but ignored him as I moved my body to follow the rythym of the music playing in the background. Maybe he was amazed that I didn't eat much today.
"Same thing for me also… but… make it one plate." he finally ordered his food.
The manager quickly called the waiters downstairs and relayed our orders to them via the telephone hanging on the wall near our table.
She asked us to use the phone if we needed to order more. Then she left after our food was served.
"So, you were asking about the holy son of heaven?" Mike finally asked, when he noticed that no one was around to eavesdrop on our conversation.
"Yes, who the hell are they?" I asked.
The werewolf race is clearly a devil clan, so why would such a demonic cult have someone with that type of holy name?
"They are people blessed with great luck. They embody the abundant luck of heaven. Every misfortune on their side comes with great luck as a reward, if overcome. They are practically invincible in this world," Mike explained.
Luck?
Blessed by the heavens?
"It seems like I don't understand what luck is anymore. Can you please explain more about this new concept of luck?" I asked.
"Luck is an intangible attribute every creature possesses. From the humans, to the ants and even the supernatural forces of the world we're part of (the werewolf clan included)." Mike explained, "every great general who has survived many battles is not only skillful, they have great luck and talent working for them."
"From a small sergeant, they climbed the ladder of luck up to the position of general they're holding. For every prosperous nation, it is the accumulated luck of the people in it that are working on it…" Mike explained, but there's one thing that got me confused.
So I asked, "our country clearly has enough luck, so why are we still not prosperous? Why are over 60% of the ordinary people living in abject poverty? Who the hell did we offend?" I voiced out my frustration.
"You don't need to feel this agitated over the human world, it's their tribulation, let them face it." Mike answered calmly.
"I just need to know." I had already calmed down. I was tempted to ask him to mention the other supernatural beings that were in this world in order for me to avoid them, but my cover would be blown afterward, and I might get killed in order to keep the secrets of the supernatural forces hidden.
So I tread with caution.
"If that is the case… luck can be borrowed, it can be gifted to others, and most importantly, it can be plundered by the greedy.
"Luck also works hand in hand with other things like karma… from the moment every one of us is born into this world, we all carry a certain amount of luck with us. It decreases and increases according to the choices we make in our lives." Mike explained further.
"Now tell me, if seventy percent of the people in the country were evil doers what do you think the fate of the country would look like? The leader of the country also contributes to the luck of the nation."
"But some evildoers are lucky enough to escape capture. How do you explain that?" I argued.
"That's where luck plundering comes into existence…"