Special Agent Elizabeth, along with all her colleagues, walked to Zeke.
Before speaking to their target, she glanced at the cold-faced Azmer and said,
“Step aside.”
She recognized him immediately, but that whole incident was covered, there was no reason to target him.
As for Zeke, he stood still and kept looking at the red-haired general.
After a minute or so, in which Zhang and Solas whispered to each other, the latter stood up and loudly declared,
“The final fight will be postponed indefinitely. Cooperate with the Special Agents and orderly leave the arena.”
The students were confused and surprised, but no one objected. Even Maxine, who wanted to go and help her brother, was pulled outside by Vanessa and James.
Meanwhile, General Zhang looked to the eerily-quiet Zeke and said,
“Whatever you’re thinking of doing… don’t.”
He noticed a sinister and decaying energy emanating from the youth. Even someone as powerful as him felt the chills run down his spines the closer he got. Nevertheless, he stopped in front of Zeke and grabbed his hands.
Zeke’s hands were cuffed as numerous Special Agents surrounded him with their weapons unsheathed.
“Am I under arrest?” Calmly asked Zeke as he lowered his bound hands.
“We can’t talk here.” Perfunctorily responded to the General as he turned around and headed for the exit.
As for the Principal, he appeared at Zeke’s side and whispered, “Don’t try anything. He’s not going to hurt you.”
Although Zeke didn’t expect such a turn of events, he didn’t feel particularly afraid. He had a special skill preserved for unforeseen complications exactly like this one, but it was too early to draw any conclusions or act rashly.
For now, he acted obediently and followed the General outside the campus. There, he saw five large black armored trucks parked all around the streets.
He was taken to the biggest one and sat across from the red-haired man.
Elizabeth and one other Special Agent were on either side of Zeke, cautiously glancing at him from time to time.
Soon enough, the military trucks started moving and heading outside of the Sunken Metropolis. Zeke expected the man to talk to him, but there was only a long silence, at least until they reached a side-road a couple of kilometers away from the main highway.
With a signal from the General, the two Special Agents left the vehicle and left him alone with the youth.
While his agents were patrolling the vicinities, Zhang sighed and finally opened his mouth,
“Why did you kill the Ambassador?”
Zeke’s expression slightly changed, but he swiftly composed himself and retorted,
“Kill? I’m not following, General.”
“Oh, please! I wouldn’t have personally come if we didn’t know for sure. Let’s get past all the pretence and denial.”
“...”
“The Earthlings also know about this.” Added Zhang as he clicked his tongue.
Zeke was momentarily silent as he racked his brains to figure out how he got found out. Only two people knew what he did: Katrina and Frederic.
Katrina was absolutely loyal to Edward and wouldn’t do anything to endanger his younger brother, so the suspect could only have been Frederic. Then again, the vagabond was very friendly and helpful, so why would he switch sides and snitch to the Earthlings?
“It was Frederic Whitefort who told on you. He made a deal with the Earthlings… he wants your eyes, for some reason.”
‘My eyes? Jonathan was also after them. Wait… what if there was a way to get my System through my eyes? Still, there are some inconsistencies. Frederic was strong enough to forcefully take my eyes. Ah… was it because I told him my unlocked paths? Does he know about the Cycle of Life and Death?’
“Ever since I learnt of you, Zeke Orland, I’ve always had my doubts and didn’t want to take any risks. System Holders have always been a source of calamity. Were it not for your brother’s assurance and pleas, I would have either locked you up or killed you.”
Zeke sneered in response and rebuked, “Surely it wasn’t just my brother’s sincerity that changed your mind.”
“You’re right. We’ve yet to take any hostile action against you. Basically, there are no grudges or animosity lingering between you and us.”
“Your point is?”
“I want to turn you into an asset. Just a couple of months ago, you were just a Defect yet now you killed the Earthling Ambassador and eliminated an assassin from Black Wing. And yes, I know everything that happens in this city, including your feud with the Vyrsan Family and William Lorson. I also know your friend has recently taken down Stephan Dontoryian, which is something I’m grateful of, by the way.”
Zeke raised his hand and showed the cuffs to the General, “This isn’t what I would call ‘gratefulness’.”
“It was necessary to fool everyone. Provided you are willing to cooperate and accept our terms, you will be set free and can do whatever you want.”
“What makes you think I can’t escape on my own? I don’t really need to agree to anything.”
Zhang nodded his head unworriedly, “Yes. The Systems provided their users with myriad abilities, mystical and dangerous. There is a possibility you’ll be able to fool me and the other Special Agents and escape from here. However, that’s it. You will be hunted down by the three Departments and the Earthlings. You would be forced to escape to the Empire, if that’s even possible. Furthermore, you’d have to abandon your friends and family.”
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As he saw the young man lower his head and keep his counsel, the General continued,
“Or you could work with us. What we want is pretty simple, actually. You’ll continue your life doing whatever you want, but there will come a day where we call you. It might be after a year or 10 years. At that time, we want you to help us face whatever crisis might befall on our nation. Considering the pace at which you’re improving, you’ll definitely become a powerhouse.”
The General paused and let out a self-deprecating sigh,
“The Witch Association has Nicvenevn and her three Nightmare Witches. The Serey Zhan Empire has its knights, its big armies, and the Sword Saint. Our nation is the smallest and we were able to be independent thanks to our advanced technology and a handful of hidden artifacts. Simply put, we do not have enough manpower. We lack strong people. It’s shameful to say this, but I wouldn’t stand a chance against any of the 6-star Witches. See what I’m getting at, Zeke?”
General Zhang stared at the youth for a couple of breaths then spoke again, “This nation is your home and, as you can see, we are ready to protect you from the Earthlings. However, if things turn sour, then war might break out, which is exactly why we need your cooperation and wholehearted agreement.”
“Cooperation as in what? Do I just need to promise?”
“An oath on the name of the Night Goddess.”
The General took out a triangular jet-black token with a small raven’s head sticking from the front.
“This is an ancient relic of the Goddess. It doesn’t have any offensive or defensive effect, but it can be used for Oaths.”
Zeke scrutinized the token but besides looking exquisite and old, it didn’t give off any type of energy, unlike high-graded artifacts.
“‘I, Zeke Orland, swear that I will help the Nezulian Republic in times of need. I swear this upon the Eternal Goddess of Night, I swear this on my soul and heart that shall slumber in the soothing darkness.’ Say that and I will consider our ‘deal’ sealed.”
Zeke didn’t answer or react in any way, he sat there, absent-mindedly looking at the token for an indeterminate amount of time.
The General wasn’t asking too much of him, at least right now. Zeke had something that ensured his survival no matter what, but he needed to be free and organise things with Sulong as well as train without having to worry about pursuers or dangers.
Moreover, since Edward and Maxine were living here, Zeke would lend a hand if something were to happen.
Eventually, after deliberating for a long while, Zeke nodded toward Zhang and was handed the token.
With one hand on top of it, he repeated the same words.
“I, Zeke Orland, swear that I will help the Nezulian Republic in times of need. I swear this upon the Eternal Goddess of Night, I swear this on my soul and heart that shall slumber in the soothing darkness.”
Right after saying that, he felt a powerful and ominous darkness that invaded his body and wrapped around his heart, tightening momentarily.
After a couple of seconds, the darkness vanished and everything returned to normal.
“Good.”
The General faintly smiled as he took back the token and explained,
“The Earthlings, specifically the Captain of Spaceship Z-01 Madam Jorie, knows of your identity and wants to take you back to Earth alive. We will tell her you resisted our attempt and we had to kill you.”
“That won’t be enough.”-Zeke
“If we didn’t have your body, then yes. As I told you, our nation has no shortage of miraculous artifacts, which can fool almost anyone. The Earthlings’ knowledge about Aether and Magic is limited and superficial, so the trick should work just fine. We have already provided a place for you to hide until they leave.”
“What about Frederic?”
A cold glint flashed across Zhang’s eyes as he muttered with murderous and low tone, “We will take care of him.”
Zeke sighed in relief and leaned back, feeling a bit calmer.
“So that’s it? You will not bother me ever again?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you can run rampant and oppose us. I’m talking about the incident at the facility.”
“I could say the same to you.” Rebuked Zeke as the two Special Agents got back into the car.
----------------------------------------
In a messy laboratory filled with broken potions, dusty books, old parchments, and broken furniture, a man with black fur covering a third of his body and a pair of fluffy wolf ears was pacing around while talking to himself.
“Wolfie!”
He jumped from fright and shifted his gaze to the entrance, from which barged a woman with a revealing black dress and a distinctive red mask.
“Velvet? Why are you here?”
Red Mask Wolf grunted and rushed in front of a massive strange machine, which he had miserably failed to hide.
“I’m not here to snoop around, don’t worry.”
“As if! You’re always plotting something!”
Signora found a somewhat non-broken chair and sat down, her legs crossed and her eyes focusing on the man with wolf-ears.
“I can’t begin to recount what happened to me recently.”
“I don’t remember asking.” He retorted while sitting on the floor and scratching his head. Red Mask Wolf looked like a haggard scientist that lacked any talent or accomplishments. However, he was actually a genius inventor and a valuable member of the Ascetic Blasphemers.
“Even if you asked, I’m not at liberty to talk. Anyway, can you tell me what you know about the Night Goddess?”
“Huh? What?”
Wolf knew Signora for more than ten years, so he was naturally surprised to see her inquire about historical figures. She was usually a self-centered and arrogant woman that cared only about herself and never paid heed to myths and legends.
“You’re being strange today. Are you under hypnosis? Or…”
“Stop it and tell me. I know you like to talk about that stuff.”
“And I know you hate listening! Ugh…”
He glared at her with his deep yellow eyes for a bit then sighed and relented.
“Fine fine. She appeared a bit before the Eternal Night Era, so the records and books that mention her can be counted on one hand. The rest is hearsay. Her name and appearance are unknown, but I know for certain that she was one of the previous users of the Paths of Extinction System.”
“How can you be certain?”
“It’s because she was briefly mentioned in the Mad Emperor’s biography. I’m talking about the genuine one, not the one sold in public markets and whatnot.”
“Continue.”
“Continue? You think I can shit information about her? She’s an enigma. The last thing I know about her is that she was, by far, the strongest System user in history, so much so that she broke free from the limitation and literally ascended to become a Goddess.”
As he noticed Velvet Signora pondering in silence, Wolf frowned and asked,
“What’s gotten into you? What’s with the sudden curiosity?”
“My Master asked me to learn more about the Night Goddess.”
“M-Master? What in the blue hell is going on? You, the Collector, are calling someone ‘Master’?” Red Mask Wolf viciously slapped himself, “Ah… I’m not dreaming? What the fuck?”
When the temporary dizziness from the slap was gone, he saw Signora stand in front of him, her mask lowered as she smiled coldly.
“Fancy switching sides, Wolfie? You’re a dear old friend of mine, and I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”
“Huh?”
Instead of wasting words explaining everything, Signora preferred a visual display.
The strange rune engraved by Zeke let out a sinister energy as a frightening wraith-like silhouette manifested above Velvet.
Red Mask Wolf wasn’t a good fighter, but he was still decently strong. However, he kept shaking non-stop when the energy of death and decay washed over him.
Fortunately, Signora cancelled her new ability right after and offered a bit of verbal exposition.”
“A gift from my Master. If you help me, I can put a good word for you. You no longer lack funds, Wolfie, you’re in need of something new. What do you say?”
“Do you realize what you’re suggesting?”
“Yes. I’ve looked at Death right in the face and I can tell you that there’s nothing… nothing scarier than that.”