Timeless AssassinC401: Emotional Reunion (3)
Chapter 401: Emotional Reunion (3)
*Hop*
As Leo felt the familiar weight of his pet settle onto his shoulder, he gave the little frog a light pat on the head with his index finger before continuing deeper into the house, quickly ascending the stairs and turning toward the section where Luke's room was supposed to be.
Just like in the video call, Luke was still in a critical condition even today, as a collection of doctors and Alia stood waiting outside his room, all of whom looked up in surprise upon seeing Leo approach.
"Leo?"
Alia called out in shock, her eyes widening before a smile broke across her face as she moved forward and cheerfully pulled him into a hug, clearly delighted to see him alive and back home.
"Sister-in-law..." Leo acknowledged, faintly returning her embrace before letting go and immediately steering the conversation toward what truly mattered.
"How is he? Is Luke fine?" he asked, as Alia momentarily looked confused as to how Leo already knew about Luke's injury, but quickly shook the thought aside and began explaining his condition.
"He's better than before. The doctors say his body is responding to healing magic and is slowly stabilizing. However, they also say that his response to healing magic is far slower than that of a normal person.
Under usual circumstances, with the amount of healing potions he's ingested, he should be fully healed by now. But it's almost as if out of the entire dosage he takes in a day, barely two to three percent is effectively absorbed, and even that efficiency drops the more frequently we give him the medicine.
It's like... whatever was used to injure him makes it impossible for his body to heal, and that's why the doctors presume that it will likely be four to six months minimum before he can get off this bed," Alia explained in detail, as Leo felt his anger flare the more he listened.
"Who did this?" he asked in a grave tone, fully prepared to punish whoever it was that had hurt his brother, however, Alia only hung her head in shame and did not respond.
"We don't know... we— we weren't together.
Nobody knows what happened to Luke or you during these past few months.
Elena and Jacob were together.
Amanda and myself were together.
But you and Luke were on your own.
We have absolutely no idea what happened to either of you, and since Luke still isn't conscious, he can't tell us the tale either.
But according to the doctors, whatever happened to him didn't occur in just one day.
Some of the cuts on his body are months old, while others are relatively fresh.
However, even the cuts on his body that are months old, did not get properly cleaned or treated, which suggests that Luke was probably running for his life and did not have time to clean or treat them on the regular.
He's apparently been pushing his body to the edge for the past nine to twelve months without pause.
And that's why he's in the critical condition that he's in now.
This wasn't a one-day job.
Someone had been hunting him for months like an animal." Alia narrated, her voice trailing off as Leo's fury silently escalated.
Someone had been barbarically hunting his brother for months now?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
And once he found out who it was, regardless of whether it was a God, a guild or a common citizen, Leo vowed to destroy them for putting his brother in a coma.
"Can I at least see him?" he asked Alia, who quickly nodded and began ushering some of the doctors aside, clearing a path for Leo to enter Luke's room, where his brother, still looking sickly and frail, lay motionless on a single bed with an oxygen mask strapped to his face and several life-supporting devices connected to his body.
'Brother...' Leo thought emotionally, his chest tightening as he took in the pitiful state of the once-vibrant man.
His heart bled at the sight, yet he did not look away.
He did not close his eyes.
Instead, he stood tall and drew in a long breath, letting the moment imprint itself upon his memory, vowing to find and annihilate whoever it was that had placed his brother in this condition, regardless of the cost or consequence.
'Don't worry, brother. The day you wake up from your coma... is the day someone else takes your place here,' Leo thought darkly, as he stood by the bedside for a full twenty minutes, doing nothing but silently staring at Luke's still frame, committing every detail of his sickly body to memory, before eventually turning to walk out of the room.
Outside, he looked each and every doctor in the eye, his gaze sharp and heavy with an unspoken warning, as he reminded them to take good care of his brother, or be prepared to join him in the afterlife if he died.
"Amanda is in the third room down the hall on the left..." Alia said when he finally began walking away, as Leo smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
*Step*
*Step*
Having met both his mother and brother, Leo now wanted to finally meet the love of his life, the girl who had haunted his dreams ever since their separation, the one person whose absence had hurt him just as much as his brother's injuries.
*Thump*
*Thump*
As he walked slowly down the corridor, he felt his heartbeat pick up, not from fear or anxiety, but from a cocktail of longing, hope, and anticipation that had fermented over years.
When he finally reached the third door on the left, he paused momentarily and raised his hand to knock.
*Knock*
*Knock*
No response.
He waited for a moment, but still heard nothing from inside, which led him to gently turn the handle and step inside without waiting any longer.
What greeted him was exactly what he expected to see when he entered Amanda's room on any given day, as instead of laying on the bed reading a journal, or sitting by the window to look at the garden below like a typical girly girl, Amanda sat by the office desk in her room, completely engrossed in her work, surrounded by tools, wires, and open panels.
Her sleeves were rolled up, a smudge of oil streaked across her cheek, and her hands seemed to be working with delicate precision on what appeared to be a damaged circuit board.
Her brows were furrowed, her lips slightly parted in concentration, as she did not even look up when he entered, probably being too absorbed in recalibrating something that was clearly holding her full attention.
Leo stood silently for a moment, unsure whether to call her name or wait, but eventually decided neither felt quite right.
So instead, he walked up behind her, and without a word, gently placed both his hands over her eyes.
"Alia, I told you to stop—" Amanda snapped, clearly irritated as she raised a hand to shoo him away, only to stop mid-motion as something about the touch felt different.
Her body went completely still.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Slowly, hesitantly, she turned around, her eyes meeting his, as she noticed those cloudy gray eyes and that unmistakable smug smile, which instantly made her mind turn blank from sudden shock and recognition.
"Leo...?" she whispered, her voice barely audible, as if speaking the name aloud might make him disappear like a cruel hallucination.
For a full twenty seconds, she just kept staring at his face in confusion, unsure whether this was just another fever dream, or was it actual reality?
As it wasn't until Leo reached out and pulled her in for a kiss, that she finally realize that this was indeed reality.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC402: Longing And Desire
Chapter 402: Longing And Desire
(Disclaimer– This Chapter contains mild smut and some non explicit R18 scenes. Reader discretion is advised)
—--------------
Amanda froze for just a moment, her breath catching as Leo's lips pressed against hers, softly at first, yet with growing intensity the longer they stayed in contact.
Her hands trembled slightly as she gripped the edge of the desk behind her, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion.
Their kiss deepened naturally and effortlessly, like a river returning to its course after years of drought, as enjoying the scene from Leo's shoulders, Dumpy nodded silently in approval.
'Ribbit... The Lord Father has indeed not forgotten the art of wooing the other gender. He's going straight for the choke to assert his dominance! A true man's man!' Dumpy thought in approval, as he remained absolutely still so as to not disturb this private moment.
*Pant*
*Gasp*
When Leo finally pulled back, Amanda remained frozen in place, her face flushed, her lips parted, her mind still catching up to what had just happened.
"Your... eyes..." she whispered, blinking hard as she stared into them.
"They've gone from black to... gray.... Why?" She asked, as Leo simply chuckled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning forward again, as he murmured just above her lips–
"So much has changed since the last time I saw you... but the one thing that hasn't is just how much I love you!" He said in a corny way, before pulling her in for another kiss, as this second one was far from being as restrained as the first.
Leo poured into this kiss every ounce of longing he'd buried over the past two years, every suppressed desire from that damn time frozen world where he desperately wanted to be with her but could not, every late-night thought where he imagined her beside him and every second he had to endure without hearing her voice.
The kiss hence turned ravenous, forcing Amanda to grip onto his robes for support as her arms and body balance weakened under the intensity.
*Pant*
*Pant*
She gasped for air as they parted, leaning against him, breathless and dazed.
"Oh my god... *gasp*... air, I need air—" she managed, her head spinning from the fervor of it all.
But Leo didn't give her time to recover. With a sly smirk, he scooped her up in one smooth motion, eliciting a squeal of laughter from her as he walked her over to the bed and gently tossed her down.
"Dumpy, go outside. Guard the door." Leo ordered, as "Ribbit–" came the sharp response.
The ancient swamp frog obeyed his master immediately, leaping off Leo's shoulder with a smooth somersault, sticking to the wooden doorframe with his suction-like feet before pulling it shut behind him with a quiet *click*.
'Nobody will loiter outside this door,' Dumpy thought to himself, as he positioned himself on the top ledge of the door like a loyal sentinel, and stood guard there with unmoving determination.
Meanwhile, back in the room, Leo's robes began to loosen, his movements slow and deliberate, as he looked down at Amanda, eyes smoldering with affection and desire.
"I've missed you... so much," he said, his voice low, almost a growl.
Amanda's breath hitched as she looked up at him, her chest rising and falling sharply from breathlessness, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes shimmering with excitement and longing.
"I've missed you too..." she said, as their bodies met once again, this time not in silence, but in the passion of reunion, stolen gasps, and whispered words that carried years' worth of bottled emotion.
Fingers explored familiar territory with renewed reverence, as they rediscovered every inch of one another's presence. Their movements were fluid, syncing without effort, as though their bodies had been waiting for this reunion all along.
Leo was slow at times, deliberate, teasing. Then other times, urgent, fervent—his kisses trailing from her collarbone to her stomach, as he whispered her name like a mantra between them.
Amanda clutched the sheets, pulled at his hair, responded in kind with playful tugs and breathless challenges, giggling and gasping as they wrestled in the sheets....two lovers tangled in rediscovered intimacy, neither wanting to let go.
Time melted.
It wasn't just passion. It was healing.
It was the reassurance that, despite everything they had endured, they still had each other and still loved each other, as any lingering doubts about whether their years spent apart had changed their dynamic melted away in that single act of passion.
An hour passed, then another half.
And finally, when they had exhausted every ounce of restraint, Amanda lay curled beside him beneath the soft sheets, her hair tousled, her cheeks glowing, a satisfied smile playing at her lips.
Her body was heavy, her breath slow and steady as she melted into his warmth.
Leo, however, barely looked tired. His body barely glistened with sweat, his arms wrapped protectively around her, his mind calm for the first time in what felt like forever.
He kissed the top of her head, pulling her closer, one hand gently stroking her back.
"Rest," he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere, I'll be right here when you wake up,"
Amanda nestled deeper into his chest, her hand resting over his heart, her body finally at peace.
As for the first time in two long years, Leo finally felt his itch for physical and emotional intimacy fulfilled, as he truly felt like he was home again.
'This... this was worth everything I've endured so far.
All the pain, all the loneliness... it was worth it for this moment.
How silly was I to ever wonder if Amanda would still love me when I returned?
How foolish was I to doubt whether she'd still want me after all this time? Or whether she might've moved on, or forgotten the version of me she once cared for?
But she hasn't.
She loves me just as much as I love her.
And for this love... I could burn the universe down and never feel a single regret.' Leo thought, as a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC403: A Disgusted Mu Fan
Chapter 403: A Disgusted Mu Fan
(Skyshard Residence, Planet Vorthas)
It wasn't until that evening when Amanda woke up again and the two of them alongside Dumpy came down to grab a bite, that Leo finally reunited with Ben.
"How have you been? My boy?" Ben asked Leo, extending his hand, as Leo shook it firmly without hesitation.
*Clap*
As their hands met, Leo could feel the metal under his skin, as although there was a thin layer of skin like substance on-top of Ben's robotic frame, he was at his core a full fledged metal robot.
"I've been good, I'm happy to see you here, even if you don't have your usual old boned physical body," Leo said, as he saw the robot mimic the exact expression that Ben used to make, as the old man let out a soft sigh.
"This body is useless, my knowledge of mana circulation and assassination methods is for nothing with this piece of junk.
Neither can I circulate or feel mana in this body, nor can I realistically practice any assassination methods.
Hell, I can't even walk quietly or sneak up behind someone, for a couple hinges inside me will always squeak as I move.
So yeah, I've definitely seen better days, but I'm happy regardless.
I've never had a real family of my own, and I feel right at home with yours," Ben said, as Leo placed a sympathetic hand over the old man's shoulder.
"Hang in there master, I'm pretty sure I'll try and find a better body for you sooner or later." Leo assured, as Amanda began to frantically wave her hands above her head, as if to remind Leo that she still existed.
"Well hello? Did you forget that your girlfriend is an awesome mechanic all of a sudden?
I'm already working on Grandpa Ben body 2.0. Give me a few months and I'll have him in a much more lightweight and reliable frame, compared to that shit body that he's currently in!" Amanda claimed boldly, as Leo turned towards her and smiled.
"You can make full fledged robots now?" He asked in surprise, as Amanda flicked her brown hair sassily and nodded.
"Of course I can! I'm a Grandmaster Tier Blacksmith now.... I can easily get a job for a million MP a year inside the Cult" Amanda said proudly, as Leo sized her up again from the top to bottom, and considered taking her back up to her room for another round of love making, before eventually passing up on the idea, considering how she had just barely recovered from the last one.
"I'd really appreciate it if you could make that happen," Ben said, smiling warmly, as Leo patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to come along for some snacks while Amanda put together a meal.
"So.... What really happened since I last saw you? Indulge the old man in some of your adventures, will you?" Ben requested, as they made their way to the dining table.
"Yes! I too wish to hear of the legendary exploits you've been part of, Lord Father!" Dumpy chimed in eagerly, while Amanda turned back and gave Leo a look that clearly said she wanted to hear it all as well.
Letting out a sigh, Leo gave in and began recounting everything, starting from the moment he woke up with no memories, only to find himself thrust straight into a brutal survival test at the Rodova Military Academy Entrance Exam.
—---------
Meanwhile, somewhere on Planet Tithia, Mu Fan sat in her new office which was a modest facility located near the Twelfth Elder's base of operations on the planet.
Behind her desk, she quietly monitored the live camera feed streaming directly from Ben's eyes and ears, as the old robot had been secretly tapped by the Cult, before he was ever delivered to Leo's home.
'Seriously, Twelfth Elder? Spying on Leo's home and monitoring everyone around him just to track their true thoughts and intentions? Isn't that a bit excessive?' Mu Fan thought bitterly, unable to believe how disgustingly low the Cult had stooped for them to resort to such underhanded tactics to keep an eye on their own Dragon Candidate.
Yet, despite her disapproval, she hadn't turned down the assignment.
Because if someone had to do this job, she believed that it was best that she did it herself, rather than letting some faceless loyalist do it, who would probably report everything back to the Twelfth Elder without hesitation.
As at least this way, she could control the information flow, and decide what she wanted to reveal and what she needed to bury in silence.
'I hope you ascend to the position of the Dragon soon....' Mu Fan prayed, as lately she had started to feel less and less trustful towards the Cult management.
After seeing how the First and Twelfth Elder treated the Dragon Candidate and the old prophecy as nothing more than a political tool, Mu Fan realized that they did not truly believe in what the Dragon was supposed to achieve.
Over the past 2,000 years, the Cult of Ascension had named hundreds of Dragons, each one hailed as the chosen savior, the one who would finally lift them out of their misery.
Hundreds who had tried their best to fight back against the righteous faction.
However, in the end, every single one had failed, and every single one had died.
As the centuries passed, the Elders' Council, originally entrusted with training and guiding these Dragons, began to lose faith in their potential altogether, with the situation turning so bad that to the current generation of Elders, the Dragon was no longer a symbol of hope, but merely a political tool.
A popular figurehead that was only good for parading in public and sent on glorified missions.
And yet... the commoners still believed.
The common people within the Cult of Ascension still believed in the Dragon. They still placed their faith in the ancient prophecy and were willing to lay down their lives for him if ever called upon.
And that... that was the side of the Cult Mu Fan hoped Leo would come to see.
"I know all too well that sooner or later, you'll find yourself standing against the Elders' Council," she whispered to herself.
"I just pray that by then... the faith of the commoners will have given you enough reason to stay back and fight. Not for the Elders or the Cult, but for them." She mused, as she knew that without something real to bind him to this Cult.....something deeper than orders or prophecy, Leo would never stay back and fight for the cause, not when he held enough strength to walk away as a free man.
And with that thought heavy in her heart, Mu Fan slowly removed her headset, choosing, at least for now, not to spy on Leo's conversation any further, as she did not wish to impede on his privacy where he joyfully talked about his exploits for the past two years, making it seem like it had been a cake-walk all along, when in reality, he had suffered every single day of it.
'Typical men, they behave like the difficulties they faced weren't a big deal when talking in front of their girl, when they were actually shitting their pants while they were alone...' Mu Fan thought amusedly, as she shook her head at how silly Leo could be at times.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC404: Threads Of Fate
Chapter 404: Threads Of Fate
(Planet Ixtal, Inside Soron's Castle, Vice Sect Leader Charles's POV)
Monarch Charles was performing his usual duties on the frontline at planet Juxta, when suddenly he received an unusual summon from Soron to come visit him on Ixtal.
This summon was unusual because this was the first time in seven years that Soron had asked Charles to come see him, and that too in the middle of an active war.
The two sat in the castle's living room, with Soron violently coughing every two minutes, as if he were mortal suffering from a pretty severe case of the common cold.
*Cough*
*Cough*
"That's the fourth time you have coughed in the last five minutes.... Are you sure you're holding fine?" Charles asked with an eyebrow raised, as Soron smiled across at him.
"What does it matter what I say? Regardless of whether I say I'm fine or not, the condition of my body is not going to improve or deteriorate. I am what I am, and I'm alive for now," Soron replied, as instead of giving Charles a straight answer, he spoke in his usual riddles.
*Sigh*
Sighing deeply, Charles shook his head from side to side.
Nothing seemed to have changed in the last seven years since the two of them sat together right here in this living room and had their big quarrel about the future of the Cult.
Since that day, neither had sought the other out to talk about reconciliation, until today when Soron suddenly called for him.
"You know.... You might get away with saying all this mysterious shit to the Elders, but I'm not a fucking politician," Charles said, as he put his feet on the tea set table in front of him and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket.
"I'm a crude man.... And I don't care about the fact that you're three hundred million years old, or that you're a God.
You will talk to me in simple words, or else I'm going to blow you smoke kisses for every question you ask me," Charles said, as he lit up his cigarette and took a deep drag, before blowing the smoke straight at Soron's face, who coughed again because of it.
*Cough*
*Cough*
In the entirety of the Cult, Charles was probably the only one who did not treat Soron like a divine being, prostrating himself in front of him at every opportunity, as he was the only one who treated Soron as an equal and a friend, which was something Soron greatly appreciated.
"I'm not fine, Charles, I'm dying. I think I'll become incapable of producing God Tier strength in about fifty years and Semi-Divine strength in about one hundred and fifty years.
After that I'll be no stronger than a Monarch and will succumb rapidly to my injuries in twenty to thirty more.
All things considered, I'll say I have less than two hundred years to live, which can dramatically decrease to under 100 if I'm ever involved in a big fight, meaning that it's very likely that you will succeed me as the Cult's next sect master," Soron admitted candidly, as he coughed violently some more.
"Currently, I'm forced to live as a mortal, because circulating even a bit of mana hastens the rate at which my body deteriorates, which is why I am forced to suffer this coughing like I am.
It's been years since I last circulated mana.
I walk everywhere in the house.
Bathe using my hands,
And even tend to the plants using my hands.
I'm doing everything I can to extend my lifespan, but truth be told, I have maybe one big fight left in me, maybe two.
But if I'm forced to fight at my full strength again, it will probably be the last time I fight at the God Tier," Soron said, as Charles nodded his head and flicked some ash off his cigarette.
"Well, you've lived a long life, I wouldn't mind burying you now," Charles responded, as Soron burst out laughing at his words.
If it were anyone else but Charles, they would probably be deeply affected by this piece of news, but Charles was made of sterner stuff than the others.
He was a man's man, who could keep his real worries hidden and joke even when the situation was tough.
"So.... Why have you called me here today? I hope it's not just to rant about your old age...." Charles asked at last, as Soron smiled and pointed towards the sky.
"The clouds of fate have started to thicken over planet Vorthas for the past two days. I can notice the change even from here.
The arrival of the new Dragon Candidate has caused quite the stir...." Soron began, as Charles raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"The new Dragon Candidate, he's been marked by an ancient God for 'Theft.'
On both his hands he carries the mark of Zhanrok, which makes the clouds of fate always hover above his head...." Soron explained, as Charles took a deep inhale of his cigarette and blew it straight at Soron's face to show that he did not understand a thing he was saying.
Rolling his eyes, Soron changed the tangent of his explanation as he said, "Basically, the new Dragon Candidate that the First Elder is grooming, I want you to go pay a visit to him. If possible, I want you to take him under your fold immediately, and keep him as close to you as possible..."
"I want you to become his master" Soron commanded, as Charles became visibly agitated by this request.
"You know damn well I'm no babysitter," he protested, however, this time it was Soron who raised his hand in anger.
"Either have the patience to understand the reason behind my command when I try to explain it to you..... Or accept it blindly.
You can pick only one," Soron said in a stern tone, as Charles shook his head in dismay.
"Alright, tell me why I MUST take this boy under my fold...." he said, as Soron controlled his anger and restarted his explanation yet again.
"You need to take him under your fold because, while the modern Gods won't take the mark on his arm seriously, if he ever comes across Gods like my brother Kaelith, the deceiver Mauriss, or the berserker Helmuth, those guys will never let him live in peace if they come to know that he has been in contact with Zhanrok.
Him having that mark is like having a wanted sign plastered across his neck, and my visions tell me that the only way he survives an encounter with those three is if he is trained by you.
That boy is special, Charles. The threads of fate weave their pattern around him.
I haven't seen fate swirl around someone quite like this since my father...." Soron explained, as Charles stared at him with a blank expression on his face.
For a while he said nothing, soaking in the implications of Soron's words, before eventually opening his mouth to say what he truly believed.
"If he's so special then why don't you train him yourself?" Charles asked, as Soron stood up from his seat and slid off the robes from his shoulders to show Charles the husked and weakened form of his body.
"What did I tell you at the start, Charles? I'm living like a mortal now.
Look at me.
Do you think I can handle a disciple in this condition?" he asked rhetorically, as Charles took one good look at his body before quickly looking away, as he grit his teeth in anger.
"I'm not a teacher. I don't have the patience to babysit spoiled brats, I need to command actual armies on the front lines and keep the Cult's borders safe" he growled, only for Soron to flare his aura ever so slightly, collapsing the chair beneath Charles and pinning him to the floor, immobile.
"Then you'll have to become one, Charles. I'm telling you, this boy is special!
He'll either raise the Cult to new heights or bring about its downfall.
But one thing's for sure... he won't be ordinary.
The threads of fate around him are unlike anything I've ever seen.
And if I can see it, so can my brother," Soron warned, finally releasing his pressure and allowing Charles to sit back up again.
He had never seen Soron being so adamant about anything in his life, and hence the Monarch reluctantly nodded, having finally accepted his assigned mission.
"I'll do as you instruct, Sect Master" he said, as Soron finally nodded in approval and dismissed him with a casual wave of his hands.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC405: Knockout
Chapter 405: Knockout
(A couple days later, Fourth Elder's POV)
The Fourth Elder anxiously waited outside the Cult's only Transcendent Tier Breakthrough Room, pacing around nervously as he awaited the results of Veyr's promotion exam.
On one hand, he knew it was highly unlikely for someone with Veyr's potential to fail the Transcendent Tier breakthrough test, given that he possessed Monarch Tier potential.
But on the other hand, he couldn't help but recall his own breakthrough test, and how brutal the process had been, as he still vividly remembered how he had been pushed to the brink of death during the promotion.
And hence, despite knowing that Veyr was far more gifted than he had ever been, a persistent nervousness refused to leave him, for he understood better than most that the breakthrough process was no joke.
"What's the update? How far along is he?" the Fourth Elder asked his assistant, who studied the in-room footage and tried to assess which stage of the breakthrough Veyr was currently enduring.
"It appears he's reached the threshold of mortality. He's now at the stage where his mana circuits are fusing with his circulatory system.
This is the most crucial phase of the entire breakthrough," the assistant reported after examining the feed, prompting the Fourth Elder to shake his head with unease.
'I need Veyr to successfully break through today... If he manages to do so without complications, I'll push for him to be named the Next Dragon at the upcoming Council Meeting,' the Fourth Elder thought, knowing full well that he had already secured 7 out of the 12 votes required to confirm Veyr's appointment.
At this stage, the breakthrough itself was little more than a formality. Whether Veyr succeeded or not, he would still be declared the Dragon by the end of next week.
However, him breaking through cleanly at such a young age would definitely boost his legitimacy as a Dragon and would make it easier for the Fourth Elder to push his nomination through.
"Keep a close eye on him. Instruct the medics to spare no expense if he suffers any backlash from the energy surge caused by the breakthrough potion he ingested.
The potion I procured for him is a super pure version that cost me seventy million MP to produce fresh, but I paid it in full, for the sake of the Next Dragon," the Fourth Elder said, as the assistant nodded and continued to monitor the feed, ready to send in the medics the moment it became necessary.
—-----------
(Meanwhile on Planet Vorthas, Leo's POV)
It was a rare evening of quiet warmth in the Skyshard manor gardens, the kind Amanda liked best, as Leo walked beside her with his fingers loosely intertwined with hers, letting her talk about the rose hybrids she had recently planted here.
Amanda's voice was soft and filled with joy as they strolled past the stone fountains and swaying lantern vines.
Leo did not interrupt her.
He liked it when she spoke like that.
Because on some level, her voice had the strange ability to remind him that there still existed things worth protecting in this universe that weren't forged in steel or born for war.
But then... It happened.
A thin, almost invisible wisp of red danced past the edge of his perception.
Barely there.
Yet unmistakably laced with killing intent so cold and refined, that his entire body reacted before his mind could catch up.
"Move!" he barked, shoving Amanda aside with his left arm as his right hand reached for the dagger holstered at his back, his instincts taking over completely as his eyes locked onto the drifting red trail in the air, and his legs broke into a silent sprint towards the direction it led.
'Red? In my house? Could it be an Assassin? Could someone be here to end Luke's life before he wakes up?' Leo wondered, as he dashed at full speed, running past the flower beds, over the stone path and through the arching hedgeway until he reached the manor's porch.
There, sitting like he owned the place, was a man draped in an old overcoat, lazily swaying on Leo's porch swing, one hand holding a half-lit cigarette while the other rested casually on his knee.
His entire aura hummed with an unnatural calm that didn't match the suffocating red aura that pooled thickly around him like spilled ink in water.
"You? Who are you? What do you want?" Leo demanded, narrowing his eyes as he flicked the dagger into a reverse grip and crouched slightly, his body already half-prepared to vanish and strike if necessary.
But the man didn't answer.
He just took a long, unbothered drag of his cigarette and exhaled upward, his eyes half-lidded and devoid of any concern, like Leo's presence or his threat to attack, didn't even qualify as a footnote in his thoughts.
"How did you get past security? Answer me or I kill you here," Leo warned, his voice dropping into a colder octave, mana already starting to circulate around his veins as [Absolute Vision] kicked in, scouring every movement and mana fluctuation in the air.
And yet...
The man didn't flinch.
Didn't speak.
He simply stood, slow and effortless, letting both hands hang loose by his sides before giving a small, almost lazy jerk of his right shoulder.
That was it.
That was all.
Leo's mind raced, [Parallel Processing] firing on all fronts as he tried to analyze what move had just been made, but before he could even blink, the entire world turned black, not because of some loud impact or searing pain or fractured consciousness, but simply because it felt like his entire being had just... shut off.
No motion.
No defense.
No pain.
Just instant nothingness.
And just like that, Leo Skyshard, Rodova's young prodigy and Cult of Ascension's premier Dragon candidate, was knocked out cold by a man he never even saw move.
"How the fuck did he track and follow me to the porch? I'm pretty sure it should be impossible for someone at the Grandmaster Tier to even notice my presence?" Charles wondered, as he felt pleasantly surprised by the ability Leo displayed today.
"Well I'll find out soon enough when I talk to the kid, as to how he did it." Charles concluded, as he placed Leo's unconscious body over his shoulder and vanished out of the house the same way he came in.
As he kidnapped Leo without his consent or warning, with the intent to carry him to Juxta as per Soron's instructions.
However, what he didn't expect was that an angry ancient swamp frog was red hot on his pursuit tail.
As although he had gotten past the house security undetected, he couldn't get past Dumpy when it came to protecting his master.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC406: Unexpected Fight
Chapter 406: Unexpected Fight
(In the skies above Planet Vorthas, Charles's POV)
Charles soared silently through the evening sky, the cold air brushing past his coat as he kept one arm slung behind him, gripping Leo's unconscious body like a sack of wheat, while his free hand casually carved through the wind to reduce the drag pressing against him mid-flight.
His expression remained calm, his flight graceful and unhurried, and though he fully expected that someone might eventually try to trace Leo's abduction and investigate who was behind it, however, what he did not expect in the slightest was that the one tailing him would be a frog.
'Huh? Why is there a frog behind me?' Charles wondered for a moment, seemingly confused as to why a Frog was hot on his trail, however, what he did not understand was that Dumpy was no ordinary Frog.
Dumpy was a bulbous, yellow-eyed, absurdly stubborn ancient swamp frog that had somehow leapt from the manor's boundary wall and was now tailing him with a persistence that bordered on insult.
At first, Charles didn't even look back.
Because really, what was a frog supposed to do?
Frogs couldn't fly, and he could evade it easily by rising higher in the sky, as he fully expected Dumpy to lose vision, or vanish into irrelevance once he did so.
However, what he did not expect was what happened next.
Because the moment he actually increased his altitude and tried to fly faster, Dumpy actually managed to match him.
"RIBBIT!"
With a guttural croak that cracked the heavens, Dumpy began to expand, his tiny frame bloating into a monstrosity the size of a small hill.
His limbs stretched unnaturally as his entire body surged with concentrated mana, and in the next breath, the ground below him trembled violently as Dumpy kicked off with a leap so mighty, that it shattered the common building beneath him to dust and caused a sonic boom to ring through the air, like the sound of a cannon being shot.
*BOOM*
"Mongrel! How dare you put your filthy hands on Lord Father!" Dumpy bellowed, his booming voice rippling across the city like a thunderclap as stunned civilians, guards, traffic drones, and local enforcement officials stared upward in unified disbelief, their mouths falling open as they watched what could only be described as a giant frog hurtling through the clouds like a meteor of vengeance.
Charles, still mid-air, blinked once and then narrowed his gaze slightly, his brows furrowing not out of fear but from complete confusion.
"What the hell..." he muttered, turning back just in time to see Dumpy lunge at him with astonishing speed, his size apparently no burden to his momentum.
Reacting out of instinct, Charles extended his hand and activated a containment spell designed to suppress plus-sized magical creatures, as rare tiered seals began to drop from the clouds like a divine trap.
[Gigantic Bind]
From above, glowing golden restraints forged in beast-subduing energy came crashing down like heavenly chains, aimed straight at Dumpy's limbs and core, intent on wrapping around him before he could make contact.
And for a split second, Charles thought it would work.
But then...
*Shing!*
Dumpy reached over his bloated back and drew not one, but two massive curved blades, each forged from enchanted steel and mana-tempered to the point of glowing blue at the edges.
"RIBBIT!"
With a ferocious croak of defiance, he slashed the falling binds apart with clean precision, spinning mid-air with surprising grace for his size.
Charles raised an eyebrow, genuinely impressed now.
The sheer force behind Dumpy's cuts sent shockwaves rippling through the air as bits of magical restraint disintegrated into harmless glitter.
"I said! Let! Lord! Father! Go!" Dumpy said without missing a beat, each word punctuated with another series of sword strikes, as each swing he took proved to be powerful enough to rupture the wind and carve out glowing scars in the sky.
*SHUA*
*SHUA*
*SHUA*
Charles blocked them all with smooth, one-handed counters, his own arm now coated in a thin layer of mana shielding that shimmered with faint platinum tones, and while none of Dumpy's attacks got through, the raw weight behind each clash forced Charles to stabilize himself mid-air as he was slowly but surely pushed back.
"Hmm... That strength," Charles muttered under his breath, a small grin forming as he allowed one of Dumpy's sword slashes to graze his bare skin slightly, just to test its bite, as he was shocked to see it actually managed to cut through his skin and draw a line of blood.
"You're no ordinary Frog. That much is clear." Charles concluded, as suddenly he became interested in Dumpy.
"You! Beast!" Charles called out, raising his voice slightly as he finally stopped dodging and floated backwards, squaring his stance as he observed Dumpy's movement.
"Do you have a soul contract with this boy?" He asked, but Dumpy didn't waste time answering.
He let out a snarl and vanished in a blur of movement, aiming both blades at Charles's neck without hesitation.
"I'll take that as a yes," Charles muttered as he sidestepped the blow at the very last moment, twisted slightly, and placed two fingers on Dumpy's swollen temple.
A flash of gentle energy pulsed through him, and in the blink of an eye, Dumpy's massive body seized up, his blades slipping from his fingers as his limbs twitched once before collapsing, his monstrous form shrinking rapidly until the tiny, grumpy frog was all that remained, still radiating defiance even as unconsciousness claimed him.
"Zooop---"
Charles caught him mid-fall with his other hand and looked down curiously at the unconscious frog, now barely the size of his palm.
"You'll make for a nice sidekick for the boy," he murmured, slipping Dumpy into the inner pocket of his coat as he resumed flight, his mind still slightly unsettled by the surreal experience.
Because in all his years as a soldier for the Cult, in all his missions across planets and realms...
Never — not once — had he been chased across the sky by a frog wielding twin blades and screaming about paternal kidnapping of a human.
As for the first time in a long while, Charles chuckled at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
"What a wild duo," he mused, as he continued with his journey to the Hangar Bay Area.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC407: A Loophole
Chapter 407: A Loophole
(Planet Juxta, Leo's POV)
"Lord Father! Lord Father!"
Leo heard a familiar voice echo faintly in the distance, distorted like it were traveling through water, as he slowly drifted back to consciousness, his vision still blurry and his body feeling impossibly heavy.
"Lord Father! Lord Father!"
Dumpy's voice rang out again, louder this time, more urgent and high-pitched, as Leo finally snapped out of his stupor and took note of his immediate surroundings.
'The fuck? Where am I? Who the hell knocked me out?' He wondered, as he found himself in an unfamiliar room, that had no immediate threats, but was alarming in its own way.
The room, though not overtly dangerous, felt deeply uncanny, as it was completely plain from edge to edge, with no hint of texture or design.
There were no doors, no shutters, no markings on the walls, nothing at all to indicate how one could have entered or exited the space, which made the question of how Dumpy and he had ended up here a mystery in itself.
The only source of natural light came from a small, metal-grated opening high near the ceiling, roughly forty feet above, beyond which lay nothing but the dark night sky.
The only other creature present within the room apart from him was Dumpy, who sat a few feet away, tightly bound in what appeared to be reinforced mana rope, his bulbous form wrapped in a thick, suppressive jacket that clung to his slimy skin like a prison of its own.
"The smoking man got us, Lord Father..." Dumpy said nervously, eyes twitching as he struggled inside the bindings, his tone trembling with guilt and fear.
"He kidnapped and restrained both of us in this cursed, empty chamber. I woke up before you did, and I confronted him when he was still here... just sitting there, smoking... and mocking us."
Leo remained silent, his jaw clenched as he tried to move, only to realize he couldn't even twitch a single muscle.
From his shoulders down to his ankles, he was bound in mana-restricting threads so tightly wound they didn't just limit movement, they completely erased his ability to absorb ambient mana from the air.
Only his heels and jaw retained some freedom as apart from those two muscle groups, he could not move or bend anything.
"The smoking man said..." Dumpy continued, "he said these were unbreakable bounds... and that we must figure out a way to escape this room in the next 24 hours. Or when he returns... he'll whip us both with 100 lashes each!"
Leo blinked.
Then blinked again.
'The fuck?'
His mind raced, trying to wrap itself around the absurdity of the situation, but no matter how many possibilities he ran through, whether they be infiltration, sabotage, hostage conditioning, or even prison escape training, none of them explained what kind of lunatic would go to this extent just to throw him into a sealed-off room with his frog and leave them there with a time limit to escape?
"What the fuck is the Cult up to now?" Leo mused out loud, as he wondered if one of the two old foggies he met on planet Tithia were behind this whole idea.
"If the foggies did this.... I'll break their teeth when I get the chance" Leo muttered to himself, as clenched his jaw and tried to activate [Mirror World], hoping to summon a clone and at least use it to untie the bindings, but the moment he tried to circulate mana inside his body, he felt an invisible pressure snap down like a vice, canceling the flow before it even reached his core.
'So the bindings on my body are not just preventing me from absorbing ambient mana from my surroundings, they're also preventing me from circulating internal mana to activate spells....' Leo gauged, as he realized that he was being subjected to the ultimate prisoner treatment, as this was exactly how highly dangerous prisoners were jailed in a maximum security facility.
To make matters worse, Dumpy, who normally could melt solid stone just by rubbing his toxic skin against it, couldn't do a damn thing about his own bindings either, as the jacket wrapped around his body wasn't just for containment, it was lined with an acid neutralizing gel that clogged his pores and prevented him from secreting any acid at all.
'They have removed all our obvious means of escaping,' Leo realized, as he took in a deep breath and gazed towards the only window opening in the room that was about 40 feet high.
As far as he could tell... the only way to escape this damn room was to access the godforsaken window and somehow escape through it, however, that was easier said than done while roaming around in these restraints.
"Who the fuck did this to us?" Leo muttered under his breath, voice low, tone flat, but eyes already scanning every corner of the room.
"And more importantly... why?" He frustratedly wondered, as he couldn't understand the logic behind this drill that he was thrust into without preamble.
Because this wasn't a normal punishment.
And the threat of being whipped a hundred times if he failed to escape didn't even feel particularly cruel.... just humiliating.
It was clearly some kind of training exercise, designed not to break him, but to shape him, leaving him with the only question of who had orchestrated it... and why?
'Agh, fuck it. What does it matter why?' Leo thought after a moment, as he exhaled sharply through his nose and shut the question out of his mind.
He wasn't going to sit around for a full day just to find out who it was that was screwing with him, as whether or not someone wanted him to try and escape was irrelevant, because now that he was fully conscious again, he was going to try.
Not for them.
But for himself.
Because he had no intention of playing prisoner for the amusement of anyone in the Cult.
—---------
Meanwhile, somewhere on the Juxta military base, Charles thought about how in the future, if Leo was ever captured by the righteous faction, this was going to be the exact type of prison setup he would most likely find himself trapped in.
Because all maximum security prisons in the righteous faction shared the same structure: sealed cells with no slits, no doors, and suppressive bindings that left prisoners without food or water for up to 14 days, which was exactly why he believed it to be the perfect challenge to begin Leo's training, because if Leo was destined to live a dangerous life carrying out missions within the righteous faction, then Charles believed that it was critical that he learn how to break out of the various prison systems found within the righteous faction, for the sake of his own future preparedness.
"There's nothing quite like firsthand learning.... Also, it saves me a lot of training time!
I'm technically teaching him, while also being fully devoted to my role as a battlefield commander.
Surely Soron can't be too unhappy about this..." Charles mused to himself, as he smugly smiled thinking about how he had found a loophole to both train Leo and live his usual life at the same time.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC408: Master-Pet Dental Bonding
Chapter 408: Master-Pet Dental Bonding
(Planet Juxta, Leo's POV, The Prison Room)
Leo exhaled slowly through his nose as he began to map out the prison room in his mind.
He roughly calculated the length of each wall using eye measurements and instinct, his gaze tracing the perfectly symmetrical layout while noting every crack, every curve, every microscopic inconsistency, to arrive at the conclusion that the room he was in was a 40x40x40 prison cell.
"Alright, Dumpy, listen up!" He said, as he came up with a rudimentary plan of escape.
"I think there's a high chance that there may be a hidden trap door or some sort of perfectly sealed entry door somewhere in this room, so if we roll gently and trace every inch of the ground with our weight, we should be able to ascertain if there are any tiles that feel off, anything that sounds hollow or gives off a vibration that's different from the other tiles... that is what we want to be looking for," Leo instructed, as he himself began gently rolling on the ground.
"Yes, Lord Father!" Dumpy replied with noble determination, feeling eager to follow in Leo's lead, before immediately fumbling his first roll and flopping sideways like a sack of wet towels.
"Don't worry Lord Father, I will scan this forsaken prison with my mighty body!" Dumpy said, as he began to violently roll with all his strength as if he was participating in a rolling race.
*Sigh*
Leo sighed. "Don't scan it all at once, you idiot. Roll slow."
"Understood, Lord Father" Dumpy huffed, as he began to rotate in short, deliberate arcs, inch by inch, belly dragging across the floor while his jacket made soft scraping noises.
For a while, the duo silently mapped the floor, nobody saying a thing, until it was Dumpy who once again broke the awkward silence.
"You know... despite everything, I must say... I'm kind of happy right now." The frog began, as Leo raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by his claim.
"Happy at being captured? Are you a masochist?" Leo asked, as Dumpy shook his head in denial.
"I mean... I'm happy to be alongside Lord Father again, even if it's in such pitiful circumstances. I feel like I'm learning valuable life insights while rolling beside you.... I mean, searching for pressure plates with our body weight? My stupid frog ass would never think of this.... It's just genius!" Dumpy glazed, as Leo blinked twice in disbelief.
"How did you end up here in the first place? I'm pretty sure that the smoking man only came for me? Remind me why you're here again?" Leo asked, as Dumpy choked on his own words.
*cough*
Being the prideful creature that he was, Dumpy found it impossible to admit being defeated by the smoking man while trying to save Leo, and hence, he instead tried to tactfully shift the topic, so that he may not have to provide Leo with a humiliating explanation for his defeat.
"Ribbit–"
Dumpy croaked, as he bumped into Leo's foot, and immediately began giving him a status report.
"Lord Father! So far, this entire patch feels like rock. Slightly warm rock. But that's all I could feel, because the rest of my senses were blocked by the thick jacket I'm wearing, so I'm not sure about the pressure on the tiles"
Leo closed his eyes. "Fantastic."
Ten full minutes passed.
Leo tracked Dumpy's movements as the frog diligently rolled in his absurdly restrictive coat from one side of the room to the other, muttering personal commentary the entire way.
"Northwest tile? Solid. Northeast quadrant? Also solid. This place literally feels the same from edge to edge."
Eventually, Leo managed to cover the entire area of the floor thoroughly, and there wasn't a single tile that gave way, not a vibration, not a creak, not a scrape of something mechanical.
It was all seamless stone.
Which meant the method of entry... was still a mystery.
Leo grit his teeth. "Alright. Phase one is a bust. Time for phase two."
"LETS GO! I was waiting for phase two! But remind me again Lord Father, what exactly was phase two?" Dumpy asked excitedly, as Leo calmly gave fresh instructions.
"You come here, and I try to chew through your bindings..... that's phase two."
There was a pause.
"... Genius as always! I have a lot to learn from your—"
"Glaze later Dumpy, Get over here first," Leo said, as Dumpy obeyed without hesitation, slowly rolling his body like a weighted bowling ball toward Leo's face, overshooting his angle on the first try and missing completely, bumping against Leo's knee instead.
"Okay okay, hang on, I tilted too far! Reverse roll! Reverse roll!" Dumpy panicked, spinning awkwardly until he landed upside down, his belly wiggling like a turtle flipped on its shell.
Leo stared. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I was trying to pivot using my left thigh. But the jacket doesn't bend there. It's got too much... uh... chonk."
Eventually, after enough wobbling and cursing, Dumpy finally managed to position the edge of his binding near Leo's mouth.
Leo took a breath, opened his jaw, and bit down, but it felt like he was trying to gnaw through tempered alloy.
His teeth scraped against the rope with a dull, metallic grind that sent sharp pressure into his gums, and within seconds, it became painfully clear that it wasn't the rope giving way, but rather his teeth.
'The fuck is this thing made of? Dwarf-forged steel wire?'
He shifted his bite, trying again from another angle, but the result was the same.
The rope did not budge, there was no progress made on trying to nibble even a small part of it, as Leo felt like he was needlessly wearing down teeth enamel, rather than accomplishing anything productive.
*Spit*
"This is pointless."
After the third attempt, Leo spat out a sliver of air and leaned his head back against the cold floor, wondering about phase three, when Dumpy began speaking yet again.
"I felt honored though," Dumpy said softly.
"Your teeth have touched my jacket. We have now bonded at the dental level."
"Shut up, Dumpy."
"Yes, Lord Father."
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC409: Predictable
Chapter 409: Predictable
(A few hours later, The Juxta Military Base, Planet Juxta)
Seated cross-legged atop the nozzle of a colossal planetary air cannon, Charles puffed quietly on his cigarette, his gaze locked on the rainbow shimmer of the planetary mana barrier high above, as wave after wave of righteous faction ships exploded upon contact with the barrier, turning to ash before their shadows could even touch Juxta's surface.
The war had long since lost its novelty.
Each day was the same as the last, with a few thousand enemy ships hurling themselves at the barrier in predictable formations, hoping to probe for weaknesses that didn't exist, while the handful that managed to survive the barrier's burn were instantly shredded by the thousands of air cannons spread across Juxta's ground defence, their bolts firing in perfect synchronization with cold, unfeeling efficiency.
Charles didn't even blink at the destruction of a ship anymore.
He just watched, one hand resting on his knee while the other brought the cigarette to his lips, as the smoke curled around his face and rose into the sky, vanishing into the endless clouds above.
"Commander Charles! Commander!"
The voice cracked through the air like an annoying gust of wind, as Charles tilted his head slightly, eyeing the approaching soldier before narrowing his gaze toward the man's shoulder straps and lazily noting the rank.
"Yes, Lieutenant? What urgent news do you bring that couldn't wait until the next smoke break?" Charles asked, his tone void of urgency, as the younger officer landed beside him, clearly flustered and sweating under the collar of his uniform.
"The First Elder and the Twelfth Elder!" the lieutenant blurted, pointing westward in a frantic motion. "They've arrived in person, sir. They're beyond the demilitarized line and are requesting your presence at once. They say it's urgent."
Charles blinked once, then smirked as he flicked the remains of his cigarette off the side of the cannon, watching the burning stub fall until it broke after hitting the ground.
"So.... You're telling me that the war has been raging for almost a month now, and not a single one of those bastards had the time to come down and cheer up the morale of the Cult soldiers," he said to himself, rising slowly as he stretched his back and rolled his shoulders, the joints cracking slightly with audible satisfaction.
"But the moment I touch their precious prince, two of them suddenly find the time of day to get him back in person?"
His smirk widened.
"How predictable."
And with that, Charles leapt off the cannon's edge, his body gliding through the air like a calm eagle who was in no rush to reach its destination, for he already knew that his guests would wait.
—--------
(A few minutes later, Demilitarized Zone, The Elders POV)
Beyond the defensive lines, past the energy barriers and the patrolling airships, stood two figures clad in ceremonial face masks, their formal robes contrasting sharply with the military uniforms of those around them, as they stuck out like a sore thumb.
The First Elder stood with hands folded neatly behind his back, his sharp gaze locked on the sky, while the Twelfth Elder stood beside him, lips tight under his mask, as the two spoke in hushed tones that barely carried past their shoulders.
"I still can't believe it," the Twelfth muttered, his voice laced with disbelief. "I was convinced it had to be a righteous faction spy who did it."
"As was I," the First Elder replied, his tone grim. "But the witness reports don't lie. Charles did it, there's multiple eye witnesses that say they saw him flying through the sky of Vorthas, with an unconscious boy on his shoulder"
"And the internal footage?"
The First Elder nodded slowly. "Pulled directly from the house's porch camera. He entered without authorization... knocked Leo out... and walked out casually.
With nobody having any clue as to why?"
There was a long pause, as the two elders processed the reality that the man responsible for kidnapping Leo wasn't a foreign agent, or some traitorous insider, but rather the Vice Sect Leader himself.
"What business does he even have with Leo? The two have surely not met before today..." the Twelfth asked in confusion, as the First Elder's brow furrowed.
"That's what we must find out today..." He replied, as Charles, as if summoned by those very words, descended from above, landing lightly on the marble platform with the grace of someone who had no reason to fear those who stood before him.
"Lord First. Lord Twelfth," Charles greeted with a warm smile that held no real warmth, his voice calm and pleasant as if this were a routine exchange between trusted colleagues.
The two elders bowed slightly out of formality, replying in unison.
"Monarch Charles."
Their tone was measured, their eyes guarded, their posture perfect, but even the neutral observer would've seen the distaste lingering behind their polite facade.
Charles, of course, noticed it instantly.
And he enjoyed every second of it.
He had long known that the entire Elder's Council despised him to their core.
He once had the opportunity to join their ranks, but instead of choosing a life of politics, he dedicated himself fully to the military, rising through blood and fire until he became a Monarch and the Vice Cult Leader, eventually outranking them— a fact that continued to irritate many of the Elders to this day.
"What brings you here to planet Juxta? Are you here to review what contributions you can make to our front line defences?
If so, I will be more than pleased to give you a tour of the facilities and explain exactly what it is that we lack in the current war effort..." Charles said sarcastically, as although he knew the exact reason behind their unannounced visit, he still tried to remind them about their duty to supply the front lines on a regular basis.
"We are unfortunately not here for a tour today, Monarch, however, we will surely contribute in whichever way we can towards the border security cause.
The security of Juxta is our collective responsibility, and we will gladly contribute however we can..." The First Elder tactfully replied, as Charles nodded in approval.
If nothing else, the First Elder surely knew which battles to pick and which ones to bow out of, and he had made a very sensible decision to bow out of this one, as Charles gestured for them to take a walk with him.
"So... what brings you here if not the tour? Are you perhaps interested in holding a morale boosting speech of the troops? I can arrange for that as well," Charles said, as it was the Twelfth Elder that stepped in now, doing his best to put up a fake smile as he said.
"Let's surely do that sometime in the next week, but we are actually here today regarding a separate matter.
You see, there are multiple eye witnesses that say you have taken a boy from Vorthas by the name of Leo Skyshard.
And umm, he's a Dragon Candidate that the Elders Council is currently closely grooming.
If you can shed some light behind your reason to take the boy, and be gracious enough to hand him back over, we will be back on our way..." The Twelfth Elder said, as Charles chuckled, slow and sharp, as if he had been waiting for that exact question all along.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC410: A power play
Chapter 410: A power play
"No, you cannot take the boy away... I have some vested interests in him and intend to hold him here on Juxta until I please," Charles began, as he could see the color drain out of the Elders' faces the moment he made that statement.
"If there's something else I can help you with... please let me know, but as for me returning the boy, you can forget about it," Charles refused flatly, as both the First and Twelfth Elder began to visibly fume at his words.
"Monarch Charles!" the First Elder spoke ferociously, before immediately catching himself and softening his tone, doing his best to reduce the aggression in his voice.
"Like we said, the boy is a Dragon Candidate. You're required by Cult law to allow the Elder Council to train him. You cannot simply hold him here at your whim," the First Elder protested, as Charles chuckled out loud at his words.
"And what if I say no? What are you going to do about it, Mavern? Are you and Noir going to team up and beat me into submission? Do you even have the capability to do so?" Charles taunted, as for a second, the tension in the air seemed to reach its peak.
Nobody was allowed to refer to the Cult Elders by their names, as their real names and faces were only known by very few, however, Charles dared to defy that rule casually.
"Hahaha... I'm kidding, don't tense up under that mask of yours, come on, have some humor," Charles joked, as he slapped both of them playfully on their backs and urged them to continue walking with him.
"I know the Cult law, and I know the current political climate as well.
The law says that the 'Dragon' is to be trained by the Elder Council, not a 'Dragon Candidate'... and last I checked, your precious council hasn't named the boy as one.
I also know that the boy isn't the only one who can become the next Dragon.
The sneaky Fourth is raising a candidate of his own..." Charles said lazily, as he displayed his knowledge of both the Cult laws and the current political environment.
"I know you think that I do not understand politics, Mavern, but I know a few things here and there.
I know that you're losing influence within the council, and that this boy is your tool to consolidate power once again.
But truth be told, I find the whole idea of you and your council using the Dragon over the centuries as a tool to appease the masses and give them hope as something utterly spineless.
If you were a real leader, you would go alongside the Dragon on the same death missions that your council sends him to complete.
But you're not one, are you?
You're just a spineless coward, just like every other Elder in the council, this young buck Noir included.
So, no, you're not going to take the boy away until he's named Dragon, and you can cry about it to anyone you wish, and it'll still change nothing.
Soron told me to train the boy, and last I checked, both he and I outrank your authority within the Cult," Charles said, as he stunned both the First and Twelfth Elder to silence.
"Lord Soron personally took notice of the boy and asked you to train him?" the First Elder asked in doubt, as he had no clue as to when this development took place.
"Of course he did... You think I have time to visit some distant planet like Vorthas otherwise?
Soron summoned me for the first time in seven years, and that too for this brat.
I don't understand what he sees in him, but I guess I'll find out with time, won't I?" Charles said, as he turned and faced the two Elders while puffing his cheeks, crossing his eyes, and making exaggerated pouts, as he waved them goodbye.
"I know it breaks your heart, but you can go fuck yourself, Mavern.
The boy's staying with me.
You can instead use that time and energy to send me supplies here on the front lines, and I'll appreciate that greatly.
Maybe if you do enough, I'll give you day visitation rights to meet the boy.
So do your best to please me," Charles said, as he blew the two goodbye kisses before waving at them again in his usual, irritating fashion.
"Go... your time here is done!" he said, as the Twelfth Elder's face began to contort with frustration under his mask.
This was his first time personally dealing with the Monarch, however, he finally understood now as to why the man was called a giant asshole by everyone inside the Council.
The man clearly had a talent for annoying others.
However, despite his annoying actions, the First Elder did not snap or verbally curse him, as he simply bowed his head in respect before leaving.
"Thank you for your time, Monarch. I will come retrieve him later then," he said, as he tugged at the Twelfth Elder's arm and turned to leave.
'Pretentious fuck. He clearly hates me, but won't say it to my face... That's why I hate snakes like him,' Charles thought, feeling annoyed, as while he would have laughed and revelled in the face of curses, had Mavern actually spoken his mind before he left...
Him bowing so politely irritated him to no end.
—-------------
"Arrogant fuck! That rotten shit! One of these days I'll strangle him to death!" The First Elder cursed as soon as they were alone on the craft back to Tithia, as he finally let his frustrations surface with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes.
"I still don't understand why Lord Soron ever named that pompous fuck as Vice Sect Master.
Or how a blockhead like him ever managed to become Monarch?
But by Lord, he's a giant pain in the ass!" the First Elder complained, his tone sharp, filled with years of buried resentment, as the Twelfth Elder nodded his head in agreement, still trying to mask the sting of humiliation beneath an awkward smile.
"I think we should cut his supplies! That'll teach him a lesson!" he suggested, his voice carrying the false confidence of a man who didn't fully understand the stakes, however, the First Elder immediately turned toward him and corrected him without hesitation.
"No! Never be disrespectful to him or push him to your bad side.
Never EVER make that mistake.
You don't understand how petty Charles is, so if you think he's a giant asshole now, try cutting his supplies and you'll see just how bad he can really get.
He's the type of man who holds grudges forever, and enjoys turning small slights into long-term punishments.
Like him or not, he's the Vice Sect Leader, and he's loved more by the masses and the military than you or me can ever hope to be.
In the end, the only option we have is to do as he says and send him more supplies, because that's the only way he will even take meetings with us.
Without it, you can expect to wait 7 days on Juxta, and still not catch a glimpse of his shadow," the First Elder warned, his voice now calm but heavy, as he taught the Twelfth Elder about the one political blunder he must never make in his entire career.
As nodding, the Twelfth Elder took his advice to heart, realizing that sometimes monsters weren't meant to be defeated, but were rather meant to be bribed, flattered, and fed just enough to stay quiet.
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