As Haynt had predicted, nothing happened to them when they showed up in town. In fact, whether it was the guards posted at the gates or the early morning passers-by, all showed overwhelming exuberance and excitement when they recognized their idols.
In Laudarkvik, the Astral was a legendary being as ancient as Quanoth and his reputation as a righteous and benevolent warrior had been established long ago. To see him walking down the street was a rare event and a man as bright as a star did not go unnoticed.
As for Aisling, the populace had an even higher opinion of her. She often mingled with ordinary citizens and her ice-cold warrior beauty had been feeding the fantasies of single and married men in the city, but also in the neighboring regions, for years. If you lined them up, her admirers could form a long line from Laudarkvik to Kanui, the empire’s capital.
Accustomed to this sort of attention, Aisling waved and smiled at the crowd, even shaking a few hands and tossing a few gold coins to pacify the crowd. Haynt was much more stoic, simply walking with dignity and looking straight ahead, but no one held it against him.
The crowd was oblivious to the hellish night they had just experienced, and the two Faction Leaders had no intention of ending their delusion. Their days of peace would come to an end soon enough.
The seven surviving Mutants formed a protective cordon in front of the few refugees they had managed to rescue, assisted by about thirty extremely uptight Aurae paladins. Laudarkvick was not Lodunvals and they could not help but feel like they were stepping into enemy territory.
Jake and his companions closed the march in silence, telepathically discussing their upcoming plans. Jake and Ruby were in their human form, so they did not attract attention, but the guards who had first received them and had the privilege of reading their ID cards were deeply surprised to see them walking so naturally behind these two legends.
Aisling had offered to walk alongside them to prepare the public for their promotion, but Jake and Wyatt insisted on keeping a low profile. Jake, because he didn’t want to be painted a target by all of Haynt and Aisling’s enemies, and Wyatt because he wasn’t supposed to be there. At the first chance he got, he split from the group and went off into the narrow streets of the slums heading for the Vampire district.
After passing all the checks, the group reached the Mutant Office and this coincided with the daybreak in Laudarkvik. Two hours later, the sun would be obscured by clouds again and a long moonless night would start all over again.
ρ???? ??????? “This is where our paths part.” Haynt bid them farewell with a nod before flying off to his own HQ.
He’d only gone the distance with them to send a message to their enemies. If they wanted to kill Aisling, they would have to deal with him first.
‘Jake, I still owe you a favor.’ The Astral telepathically sent him an entirely different message. ‘If you need my assistance, you know where to find me.’
“Big sister!”
As soon as Aisling crossed the threshold of the service, a miniature version of the young woman threw herself into her arms, momentarily taking her breath away. A sincere, yet mournful smile filled the young leader’s face as she returned the little girl’s embrace. They had come close to never seeing each other again.
Hearing of Aisling’s return, the Mutants nearby flocked around them to welcome their return, but they immediately grew morose when they saw their expressions. The manager from last time who knew a little more became livid when he saw that two of the Vice Leaders and most of the elites were missing.
“Vice Leader Norton and Tazee?” The grizzled man with a butler-like appearance whispered in Aisling’s ear, giving her a hug.
The young woman shook her head while closing her eyes with an apologetic countenance, confirming the doubts of the Mutant whose complexion became downright cadaverous. Very quickly, he pulled himself together and gestured to his desk.
“Let’s talk inside.”
Aisling nodded and Rifalen, the other six Mutants and a few other Mutants allowed to attend the meeting followed the manager inside. Others took care of housing the refugees.
Jake and his companions chose to stay outside, leaving familiar faces to deliver the bad news. The Mutant Faction was destined to undergo a major reshuffle after these revelations.
Exhausted both physically and psychologically, Jake and his friends found a vacant table in the bar-cafeteria space of the office and collapsed happily onto the couch chairs.
“Finally some peace and quiet!” Elduin exclaimed as he slumped against the back of his seat.
A Mutant waitress took their orders and moments later enough food and alcohol to satiate a battalion crowded the table. The other Mutants seated nearby were startled by their appetites, but they were even further astounded by their topic of discussion.
“Hey boss, can we still call you by your first name or will we have to call you Vice Leader Jake starting tomorrow?” The elf teased as he chewed his mouth full with a distinct lack of manners that belied his noble origins.
“Who says I’m going to be the next Vice-Leader?” Jake slapped the back of his head, causing the elf’s head to dip into his plate full of sauce. “I just saved Haynt and Aisling’s lives, nothing special.”
“… ”
“Show-off.” Jeanie muttered.<del>ρa??a ???????</del>
“This cockyness disguised as false modesty makes me want to puke.” Ruby coughed “quietly,” but loud enough for the entire office to hear her clearly.
“You’re just jealous.” Carmin immediately came to Jake’s defense, throwing her arms around his neck and bringing her fangs dangerously close to his neck.
Seeing through her attempt to taste him, he mechanically pushed the Vampire’s face away with his hand while remaining focused on his own plate.
“Hmmmph. I was badly injured last night.” Carmin harrumphed as she crossed her arms with a sulky pout. “With a bowl of your blood, no just a small cup… Even a sip! I’m sure I’ll recover from all my wounds in an instant and maybe even make a breakthrough.”
“Did we raise the pigs together?” Jake shut her up mercilessly. “We cooperated out of necessity during the last Ordeal, but I don’t remember us being this close.”
“How cruel…” Bhammod guffawed loudly as he downed his third pint of beer.
But Carmin hadn’t given up yet.
“I lost my sister last night.” She blurted out as she looked him straight in the eye, her frivolity gone. “If you had been more decisive, it could have been prevented. The one who saved us tonight wasn’t you, it was Wyatt.”
Jake crumpled as he received this abrupt accusation. The resentment and hurt in the Vampire’s voice was so vibrant that he couldn’t so easily ignore it. Elduin, Bhammod and Jeanie immediately stopped fooling around and put down their cutlery to listen to his answer.
He could justify his failure in any number of ways. He could claim that he had done his best, that he had not expected them to perish so quickly, or that he had not predicted such a danger, let alone the arrival of these hostile players whose Oracle Rank equaled or surpassed his own.
But all of this would be a lie.
He had panicked, but that was no excuse. They had all seen what his Purgatory was capable of. If he had truly put their lives first, neither Trash nor Lily would have died. Even if he had been truly helpless, he had ultimately risked sacrificing their lives to save a little Aether.
The elf, the dwarf, and the fairy could be fooled, but not Carmin. She knew the Purgatory had been in his possession all along.
His appetite gone, Jake put his cutlery back down and stood up, tossing a few gold coins on the table.
“I’m sorry for everything.”
And he walked away. His heart was in his throat.
Jeanie panicked when she saw his attitude, but she ended up flying after him after hurriedly packing enough supplies to feed a human teenager. Watching her crumble under the weight of her bundle was hilarious, but none of her companions had the heart to laugh.
After they left, those who remained at the table exchanged embarrassed glances, then went back to eating in silence, their good mood gone. In the end, it was Ruby who ended the silence by standing up in turn.
“You disgust me.” She spat as she glared at each of them in turn before stopping her contemptuous gaze on Carmine, a silver fire burning inside her pupils. “You especially.”
The Vampire shuddered as she was pierced by the young woman’s harsh gaze. It was like having her soul bared to a predator filled with malice. Tears came involuntarily to her eyes, but she forced herself to hold the eye contact.
“You blame your failures on him, but you were the only one who could protect your sister during that battle.” Ruby continued. “This is an Ordeal, not a walk in the park. He owes you nothing. If at the next Ordeal, this situation happens again and no one is there to save you, you will die. As you should. Ungrateful losers like you don’t deserve to live.
“With this mentality you will only prevent him from realizing his potential, parasitizing his energy. Weak-minded people like you should continue to act like the good dogs you are and die when told to.”
“You mean, stupidly sacrifice us like you sacrificed our former friends?” Elduin bellowed red with anger, slamming his fists hard on the table which shattered into pieces, spilling all the dishes and cutlery on it onto the floor in the process.
The din drew the attention of all the Mutants in the building and the elf immediately regretted his action. Indifferent to the elf’s anger, Ruby smirked and patted him on the shoulder,
“I’m glad you understand your position.”
And she left as well, leaving the dejected trio to suffer the dumbfounded looks of the crowd.
