Upon hearing the name ‘Scholar of the West’, the cloaked figure stopped all movements and shivered at the name of it. “What are you talking about? Why are you bringing up my teacher?” The cloaked figure continued to lie.
“Oh, please. Stop pretending. You are not really good at it. Do I need to spell it out for you? Miss. Scholar. Of. The. West?” Kraft had yet to encounter anyone being able to fool the old fox.
Given his ability to read people’s mind, it was a piece of cake for him to figure out that before them stood the real Scholar of West. He initially had not cared a single bit when he entered the hall with Uote’s Guard Captain.
It was not until the cloaked figure referred to his superiors as Scholars instead of Masters. (And he was just too lazy to read people minds most of the time.) This was knowledge only a select few should be aware of. That was when he knew something was up.
It did not take long as the first image that came out from the cloaked figure’s memory was none other than Gold himself. That was when he started playing around with her. “A shame, I should have played this game a little longer and make you spill the answer yourself, instead of being the one to give the answer directly.” Kraft was disappointed in himself, and Sebastia patted his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, but you really are confusing me with her. Perhaps this is because I am emitting a similar magical aura as my teacher? After all, she was the one to have taught. I assume you two must be acquaintances of the Scholar of the West? I regretfully inform you that my teacher has long since passed away.” The cloaked figure bowed his head but did not remove his cloak away.
“Oh? You want to continue with the game, is it? Or is it you are afraid the other two scholars will be listening in? Either way fine by me.” Kraft smiled, as this meant his fun wasn’t over yet. He took a piece of inscription out and threw it up the sky. The inscription shone for a moment and suddenly broke into blackish, dull looking dust before it disappeared into nothingness.
“What kind of magic is that?!” The cloaked figure felt a calming silence overtaking his presence and felt intrigued at the disappearing dust but later returned his attention to Kraft.
“Hmm? So? What do you want to do now? You can reveal your identity now. I’ve already blocked all possible eavesdropping in the area.” Kraft explained as he removed his own disguise right in front of her by moving his hand over his face and later folded his arms.
“I… I…must insist that you are really mistaking me for someone else. Besides, you should have noticed I am a guy! Not a female like the Scholar of the West.” The cloaked figure felt conflicted if he should believe the person right in front of him.
“Guess, it’s better to bring someone in to verify. That should be the most optimal way of solving this impasse.” Sebastia suggested to Kraft, and he nodded his head. With a snap, a portal opened, and Kraft grabbed someone’s shoulder inside the portal before he yanked out his hand.
“Oooof! Kraft?! What are you doing?! Can’t you see I am busy arranging the intelligence that those farm rats collected?!” Gold barked with frustration at Kraft. That was when the cloaked figure froze once more, but this time it was with bewilderment as he found the notion inconceivable. (Kraft was loving that body language of the cloaked figure a hell lot.)
“You can soon return to that boring stuff. Right now, we are in one of the top secret research facilities of the Demon Rats.” Kraft explained with a sly smile.
“In the Capital?” Gold asked innocently as he glanced the hall full of experiments and Kraft could see the cloaked figure’s hands trembling full of fear, anxiety and…delight.
“Yeap, and apparently, they captured this person making ‘him’ do all the research for them. I believe ‘he’ is responsible for all the Steam Tech and other stuff that the Demon Rats have access to right now.”
“…I was just following orders. I could not deny…the masters….or they would punish me. And those dear to me.” The cloaked figure replied with a shaky tone and Gold sighed.
“Don’t worry. I understand, the North and South scholars will pay for their crimes some way or another.” Gold stated confidently and tapped on both of the cloaked figure’s shoulders. “Do not let the guilt swallow you. Instead, use that guilt to move you forward.”
“Sounds very familiar…” The cloaked figure whispered in a soft enchanting tone.
“Hahaha! It’s from a dear friend. A very, very dear friend.” Gold smiled gently.
“Does that friend matter a lot to you?” The cloaked figure asked, and Gold furrowed his eyebrows. A question posed with an intent to intrude his privacy? Gold assumed that the cloaked figure right in front of him just needed some moral support to spill his secrets out to Kraft. (Gold probably knew Kraft would like to do it the hard way but decided to give the cloaked figured a chance.)
“AHhhh! My bad, I forgot to introduce you to our dear friend. He said he was once a student of the Scholar of the West!” Kraft immediately interjected.
“Oh?! Really?!” Gold’s eyes and brows suddenly turned very hostile, and he held onto the other’s shoulders a little longer and with slightly more force.
“Which region? She has so many students that I don’t remember them all.” He knew that the Scholar of the West never had taken an apprentice at all. She was always busy and kept saying that there would never be a time to do that even in the future. Either the cloaked figure was fake, or there was more than met the eye.
“Western Region, Town Copo. The soft cream bread there was delicious.” The cloaked figure replied, and suddenly Gold’s eyes turned from aggressive to the most delicate expression he ever had. That sentence had struck him into memory lane. The one which he had the most profound impression of and no one else should know. (Until now by our dear little sneaky Kraft. (or old Kraft))
“Ah…I remember how there was this one postman at Town Copo who was always an asshole. He once dropped his whole bag of parcels on to me.” Gold said, and cloaked figure kept quiet for a while before he uttered two more words.
“El Phi-“
“- Konguru.” Gold immediately turned the tap on the shoulders into a hug and grabbed the cloaked figure extremely hard. The three words were part of a magical passcode each other used to send encrypted letters to each other. No one, even Gold’s closest aide, knew the passcode.
Sebastia and Kraft both smiled widely at the reunion of the two Scholars. (Unsurprisingly Kraft had waited for his moment to capture it as photo of Gold hugging the Scholar of the West.)
“Weslie. I missed you so much. Way too much. I’ve thought I had lost you forever!”
“So have I…so have I.” The cloaked figure’s voice turned into a female one as she returned the hug. She could feel some tears dropping on to her cloak.
When they released themselves from a long embrace, Gold attempted to remove the cloak, but Weslie immediately backed off, not wanting him to do that.
“Why? What is wrong?” Gold could not understand why she did not wish to reveal her face.
“…I did not survive the attack at the Tower of Compass. The North and South Scholars…they used that forbidden magic to resurrect me. … I am not who I was anymore.” Weslie said.
“They used the Necromancy ritual infused with Demonic bones?!” Gold’s fury for the North and South doubled instantly. Weslie nodded reluctantly, but Gold insisted on looking at her once more.
“Appearance is superficial. I care about you more than –”
“Then can you care about this?!” Weslie immediately released her cloak and the people around them finally understood why she was so afraid to show her true appearance.
The upper right quadrant of her face was all bones and muscles with no skin at all, revealing her eye sockets. There was also a magical mark there which Gold assumed that was how the Scholars of the North and South had managed to keep her in check. (if not she would had teleported away long time ago.)
Upon their shock, Weslie quickly pulled forth her cloak, but Gold stepped in and stopped her. “Don’t! I feel terrible at the sympathetic looks I get from all of you! You do not understand at all! The shame that comes with this accursed mark and being unable to do anything than to crave for death every day!” Weslie shouted and Gold could feel a sharp pain in her words.
“Then why don’t you kill yourself?” Sebastia questioned her directly, and suddenly Weslie stopped her tantrum and cried.
“I tried…I tried to hang myself…I tried to cut my wrist. Even an explosion spell! There was nothing which worked. Given time I would always revive, looking even worse than before. After I refused to work, they promised me to tell me more about this curse, even a way to remove it… They just did so, to see me dive into the abyss of despair even more.” Weslie suddenly broke down.
“It’s a pact. The North and South scholars knew that she would commit suicide, so they tied her to a demon-.” Gold attemping to explain the forbidden spell from memory.
“Not just one…demon.” Weslie interjected with a depressed look. “Two of them.”
“The Burning Lion and the Water Snake Demon?” Kraft asked, and she nodded her head. “Is that why you said no matter what, we would not win?”
“Yes… the demons have been informed that my life has been bound to theirs. They know that if they die, I will die too.” Weslie stated. “So even before their transformation, they started to fight till the end against anyone to ensure that they do not die. Eventually, the scholars started using them as a nice way to execute troublesome individuals or ‘heroes’ that they deem as a threat.”
“But didn’t the reports say that the Burning Lion and Water Snake Demon were fighting each other? Aren’t they fighting for the large Litoride Gem in the oasis?” Gold asked, but Weslie shook her head.
“That’s a false rumour started by the Demon Rats. To make the resistance think that they could rely on the demons to make more trouble for the Demon Rats. In the end, it’s a trap for them. They all think that by going there, they can earn an ally, but all that awaits them there is death.” Weslie replied.
“So the only way to free you from the curse would be to kill both demons?” Sebastia asked again, and with a frightened look on her eyes, she nodded her head slightly.
“No, we cannot do that. The curse will be lifted, and she will die because of it.” Gold answered Sebastia and Weslie pulled his hands.
“If they can do that, let me. Please, let me go. To have seen you once more…to know you have comrades willing to fight against the Demon Rats…I am happy enough.” Weslie interjected with a guilty smile and tears on her face, but Gold could clearly see she did not really want to die.
“I do not want to be under their commands any more too, but that does not mean I cannot fight back.”
Weslie murmured another set of magical words and the illusion on the wall broke again, and it showed a ton of new experimental weapons. “I’ve been working secretly behind their backs and used their resources to create these. I only hope your friend’s anti-eavesdropping spell still works or they will notice all of this.”
“You have my guarantee, my spell still works.” Kraft bowed and realised that the Scholar of the West was very well versed with mechanics as well as spells. Gold later boasted to him that she was more than just gifted. Some people even dubbed her the rare once in a millennium kind of genius.
“If you take some of these, it will definitely improve your chances of winning against the demons.” Weslie offered, but that was when Kraft shook his head.
“We do not need those at all,” Kraft replied, and Sebastia chuckled at his response.
“What? What…are you talking about?” Weslie became even more confused as Gold seemed extremely confident about his comrade too.
“Gold. You did well. Really well for this particular series of operations. I am glad Jin managed to recruit you.” Kraft said as he walked towards Gold to give him a pat on the shoulders.
“So! As a present or should I say a reward for your services, I will be handling those two pets so you can save your girl. As for you, darling, your hidden resistance is remarkable. You deemed more than worthy of being under the service of my master” Kraft declared proudly.
“Kraft…you… terrible, glorious bastard.” Gold immediately understood the underlying meaning to that as he immediately bowed with gratefulness.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
