CHAPTER 114.

Amber⁠— No. Pretty much everyone was stunned. Asil seemed floored, his mouth agape as he stared at the open door. Cecile was looking at her with a ‘what the fuck did you do look’, and Frei simply stared at her in awe. Shocked at what she had just learned, and Amber herself had just paused.

Heretic? I freed a heretic? They mean Asil, right? Amber didn’t have qualms about freeing her mentor, but at the same time this couldn’t be good. For starters, how did they even know about that?

Amber looked ahead, unsure of what to do. She saw what seemed to be a temple-like house ahead, its roof completely filled with clay tiles and curved slopes. But before she could think too long, the doors of the mansion opened as bloodlust permeated the surroundings. She saw five elves, all of them holding staffs and dressed in robes. Three of them were male and two female, and their levels were…

[Mage. Lvl. 109]

[Mage. Lvl. 24]

[Mage. Lvl. 151]

…

They were all over the place, but it did little to assuage their worries because it meant that at least some of them had Essence. Amber immediately tensed, meeting their gazes as they stepped forward. Only a single elf had a beard, and he was the one to step forward. His level was unimpressive at 80, yet he emanated an aura that told her⁠— she’d struggle for her life if she fought.

“Why are you here, Amber the Demonkiller?”

She bit her lip and⁠— Asil ran forward, and into the courtyard, standing between the two of them. The man frowned.

“And who are you?”

Asil looked at him and after taking a deep breath, he spoke, tearing up slightly. “It’s me, Asil, don’t you recognize me, Uncle Latvar?”

The man blinked and the other people present gasped, in disbelief at what they had just heard.

“So she brought him along…”

“Does he intend to get revenge on us?”

“Heretic…”

But the only person that had yet to speak was ‘Uncle Latvar’, he had the oldest feeling presence, and he seemed to be considering something before speaking.

“Asil, you disgraced the Dazdril family,” he finally said.

“I know…”

“You picked a fight with our savior, with the same spirit that allowed our founding fathers to establish themselves here. Do you realize what happened after he imprisoned you?” he asked, anger in his voice.

Asil flinched. “He probably came back to you people⁠—”

“That’s right, but he decided to let us go with a slap on the wrist after making us do a vow that ensured this would never happen again.”

Latvar walked forward, his staff resembling more of a cane. Then he stood before Asil as his frown deepened.

“So what makes you think you can come back here?!”

And the man slapped him with his staff, Asil hit the ground with a splatter of blood as Amber’s eyes widened. Cecile cried and tried to rush forward, but Frei held her.

“Let go!”

“Nay, ya gonna die if I do,” Frei replied as the merchant struggled on her arms.

The man raised his gaze and took them all in, before finally looking down at Asil.

“Not only that but you brought a damn Arcane Council member at our doorstep, do you intend to attempt to ruin our family a second time?”

“It’s not what you think…” He struggled, slowly getting up.

“Then what is it⁠—” And the man paused, his eyes widening as he looked at Asil’s hand. “You… you really stooped that low…?”

His eyes were glued on the Ring of the Twin Moons, the one Amber had gotten from killing Zodos, and she immediately realized the problem. Uh oh. Latvar’s face contorted with anger.

“You really are still just a selfish twat. Seeking to regain what you’ve lost by betraying our very foundation. However, I won’t allow it because…” He raised his staff as he began to glow with a golden light. “I will fucking kill you!”

Cecile screamed. “No!”

And Asil was blasted with a golden light. The tiles on the entryway exploded and everything in the spot was evaporated in a single moment. Yet, as the light dispersed, Asil stood there, panting with his hand raised. His outfit was torn, he had burns all over, and yet he was alive. His ring emitting a dim white light.

“I didn’t join the Arcane Council,” Asil said, letting out a deep breath. “This is something Amber got from killing the members.”

The man’s eyes widened with shock for a moment before they narrowed again with caution, all after giving Frei a single glance.

“Then why is there a member with you?”

“Because⁠—”

And at that moment Frei appeared in front of everyone, a hand on her chest with pride as Cecile dropped to the ground in surprise.

“‘Cause I’ve decided to betray the Arcane Council,” she said, letting out a deep breath. “Big reveal right? Can we just enter your house already, I wanna sleep. The elf over there has been nothing but nice so forgive him already.”

Latvar scoffed. “Forgive him? Moreover, you expect me to believe that, wench? You’re the troubled kid of the Larsen family, that’s enough for me to not believe a single word you said.”

He pointed his staff at her neck, which Frei slowly moved out of the way with her hand before glancing back.

“Can I divulge details about this?”

Amber blinked, before nodding. Frei smiled and turned back to the man.

“I made a contract with Amber the Demonkiller. She has agreed to help me leave the council and help me with my deepest desire, and in exchange I’m her lapdog,” she said frowning. “Besides, do ya hate Amber that much for simply freeing that guy? C’mon, grow up, all of ya.”

The man immediately blasted her with a radiant light, the same strength as earlier; it was an attack that easily entered level 300 and yet…

The smoke cleared and Frei stood there unharmed, smoking coming off her clothes.

“Rude.”

“Leave, we aren’t going to entertain you heretics,” he said simply. “Otherwise we’ll be forced to kill you all. This is your last chance to walk away without problems.”

Frei sighed. “Say… are ya even listening?”

Amber meanwhile didn’t understand it. “Why?”

The man glanced back. “Is that even a question?”

“That’s right, you committed the gravest sin anyone could’ve done,” one of the female elves chastised.

“If this were the open forest you’d be running for your life,” another said.

“Do not come here again, heretic,” someone else growled.

“You’ve made our family relive the worst time of their lives, you wench.”

The other four people instantly reproached her, but Amber didn’t understand them. And that was because of one simple reason.

“The Primordial Spirit of the desert forgave Asil, what kind of tragedy are y’all talking about?” Amber asked, befuddled. “How is any of this bad?”

Everyone blinked, and then scoffs came her way. Though there were no comments, the man, Latvar, had turned to face her. Looking at her with disdain.

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“I don’t understand why you would lie, the primordial spirit came himself to tell us that it was you who freed this heretic.” He gestured at Asil who was biting his lip. “He came with a wide murderous grin, and left before we could beg for his forgiveness.”

“Right…”

So Sid came… Amber still didn’t understand it, he had forgiven Asil before her very eyes, and she herself had basically taken Asil in front of him. It wouldn’t make sense for him to have a moodswing all of the sudden after telling her about the Ebony Tower.

“So if he was angry, why would I still be alive?” Amber asked.

“We’re more than aware that you have relations with the spirit of Cytel, he won’t kill you easily but it doesn’t mean he will not take his rage out on us.” He raised his staff, before pointing it at Asil. “More than anything, we have to ensure our family lives on⁠—”

“Uh didn’t ya like, try to chase him away first and not change your mind till ya saw his ring?” Frei subtly pointed out. “What’s this about ensuring?”

He frowned, his gaze darkening before shaking his head. “Letting him go may not cost us anything, killing him on the other hand will gain the favor of the spirit for repenting for our mistakes. And I was planning to let him go until I realized he was the scum of the earth.”

And Amber sighed. “This is stupid.”

“What did you say?” a woman called from the back.

“I said this is fucking stupid,” Amber growled before walking up to the man, Latvar.

He coldly looked down on her as she extended her hand.

“You have access to it, right? The power of the gods,” she said. “Let’s make a vow where I’ll tell you only the truth about this topic.”

He frowned, and at that moment everyone paused. Even Frei looked concerned as she raised a hand with a slightly worried tone.

“Amber, you really shouldn’t make vows with strangers.”

“That’s right…” Asil said, even though he looked miserable.

“I don’t care,” she replied simply before glaring at Latvar once more. “So, will you do it or will you insist on a pointless argument born out of a stupid misunderstanding?”

After a second, the man grabbed her hand.

“Fine. Do you agree to solely tell me the truth about this topic for the rest of our conversation? If you agree to lose your life upon lying, then say yes.”

Amber grinned.

“Sure, why not.”

And with that, the contract was made as Amber felt something go into her heart.

* * *

Latvar really couldn’t believe the gall of this girl, after all, to him it was clear as day. He had been in Lathyzia, over in the main hall with the grand ancestor when it happened, just a mere two months ago.

With a flash of light, a figure of white manifested. One that was emanating a purple light. It was a god, a Primordial Spriit, and he was maniacally laughing.

“Amber really doesn’t respect me at all.” He laughed. “Just perfect, truly not something I’ve ever encountered before.”

Everyone in the hall paled as the spirit continued to cackle.

“Not only that but she insulted me and freed the guy of your family without a second thought, even disregarding her life in front of me.”

Following his statement, everyone braced themselves for the only fate of pissing a Primordial Spirit that much: death. However, they still tried to do something about it. So, they begged.

“Great One of Stars, please forgive⁠—”

And the ancestor paused.

“He’s left…”

Just like that, Latvar had re-experienced the most chilling and harrowing visit in his life. The previous one had lasted longer, yet the spirit had been cold and indifferent, like a tyrant. This time, however, he was unsettled, he was angry. And both meetings had marked him. After their investigations they had concluded that the great spirit could have only been talking about one person.

Amber the Demonkiller.

He closed his eyes before re-opening them and meeting Amber’s gaze. He didn’t know why a girl would be as stupid as to piss off a god, and he didn’t want to know. If they hadn’t been in the plateau they would all have been trying to kill her, but potentially getting the family in deep trouble with the rest of the nobility for this wasn’t worth it.

No, instead the plan was to track her down… But it didn’t matter now, because she had made a vow with him.

“Who are you to this spirit?”

“His friend,” Amber answered succinctly.

Odd. She should’ve died just from that. The frown on his face quickly deepened. He had to dig deeper it seemed.

“How are you his friend if you disrespected him?” he asked.

She thought for a moment, “I know his name, but he’s also helped me and I do like him, he’s just an asshole to anyone but me which sometimes kind of bothers me, well he’s an asshole to me as well. I think that would make him my friend.”

“She is… actually telling the truth…”

“No, she probably found a way to circumvent the vow.”

“It shouldn’t be possible…”

Latvar tuned out the words of his family members out of his mind, but he still was quite shocked. She was telling the truth all this time? No, it couldn’t be… He had to come up with a true test, something that she herself couldn’t answer.

He frowned, entering deep thought, before finally coming up with something.

“Why did he maniacally laugh about the fact that you don’t respect him?”

Amber blinked. “Uh, I don’t know, I only earned his respect because I told him to go fuck himself…” she answered meekly. “Are you sure he wasn’t just amused or something?”

“Amused, he?” Latvar asked, almost incredulously. “Someone like him would never be amused over⁠—”

And he paused. He replayed the scene in his mind and he realized something: there had been no bloodlust in the air when it happened. But was it really that much of a misunderstanding? Could it be?

“No, there is no way,” he said, frowning. “You have to be lying.”

“I literally just made a contract,” Amber said flatly.

He gritted her teeth, nothing was amiss with it, but still he had to try something.

“What about the Arcane Council member, what scheme are you hiding? There is no way she is trustworthy to keep around.”

“Uh, she did make a vow with me, I’ll help her leave the council and other things, in exchange for her services and rather unconditional help,” she said. “Her ties to the council don’t seem to force her to take action against others, so it’s not much of an issue.”

“Is she a slave?” he asked, shocked.

Amber shook her head. “I won’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to, so no. Nor do I abuse her services.”

“Isn’t she the best master I could ask for?” the council member piped up from afar, leaving him even more aghast.

He was in denial, at this point he understood that their benefactor had nothing against the girl, but she had to be finding something. After all, it truly wasn’t possible for her to earn his respect from disrespecting him.

“There is a very important detail you aren’t telling us about about your meeting with the primordial of the desert, what is it?”

Amber frowned before placing a hand on her chin. “I sought him out to learn the secret of the gods. But also he planned an elaborate kidnapping scheme to get his cube, which I had. He kidnapped me and asked for ransom, then intended to kill me but I talked him out of it promising information. When I realized he would be punishing me anyway, I threw his cube at him and called him an asshole and said I’d rather die than get his help.”

Hearing that, all the elves present were aghast. Even the Arcane Council member seemed shocked.

“After that happened, he agreed to teach me the secret of the gods.”

What…?

At this point even he couldn’t believe his ears. Shouldn’t the normal reaction be to take the cube and then kill the girl? The rest of the elders here couldn’t believe it either.

“So we shouldn’t worry about our family?” he asked, lost.

“Yep.” She nodded.

“Aye, we resolved it!” the council member clapped. “Can I go sleep in one of your rooms now?”

He heard her question, but he still remained lost, having no words.

“Huh…”

He had lost sleep over this. Many members of the Dazdril family had. All over a misunderstanding founded on their perceptions of their benefactor; the eccentric god of the Great Desert.

How was he supposed to tell them that it was all a misunderstanding?

* * *

Amber raised her brow at the man because he seemed lost. Almost staring into space.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

He blinked for a moment. “Oh, right. I can consider our vow done now. Thank you for enlightening us.”

He bowed. Amber nodded before scratching the back of her head, considering the situation mostly resolved.

“Hey, I know Frei is being forceful, but can we stay with you people?” she hesitated before continuing. “Asil was really looking forward to meeting his family, and can't say I wasn’t either. Also, we have no lodgings whatsoever.”

Latvar did a slow blink, before nodding. “Sure.”

At that, the other elves grumbled. They seemed upset, but not exactly at her. And after a moment, they shook their heads and left. It seemed that Latvar was the one in charge. Finally, after a moment of being lost he raised his head and saw Asil being held by Cecile, they were quietly talking to each other, while holding hands.

“He really has changed.”

“Told ya,” Frei said from the side.

The man bit his lip for a moment before calling. “Asil.”

The elf turned, confused and with hurt in his eyes.

“What is it, Latvar?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” He bowed. “Truth be told, I’ve missed you for these two centuries…”

At that, Amber’s mentor blinked and struggled to hold back tears, before finally being pushed by the merchant, and what followed was a warm embrace. A beautiful moment that Amber felt like she was intruding on, but one that made her glad. To her it seemed that Asil had a lot of unresolved emotions, so this was nice to see.

Finally, he turned towards her.

“Thank you for bringing him, Amber.”

“He kind of just brought himself…”

And Frei smacked her back. “Just take the gratitude, asshole. Ya freed him.”

“Right… you’re welcome.”

The man smiled. “Let’s go find your rooms then.”

“Finally,” Frei grinned.

With that, they walked forward and into the mansion where the girl from earlier seemed to be waiting.

“Dad, is it done? Is the heathen dead⁠—”

And she paused meeting eyes with Amber, before shrieking.

“Silvette, from now on Amber is a friend of the Dazdril family. Our benefactor does not want her dead at all. In fact, they’re friends,” Latvar said simply.

Silvette paused, her eyes growing wide. “What…? That… makes no sense.”

“It’s fine, I’m going to show our guests their rooms.”

“Right.”

And with that they left the confused girl behind. She still seemed to have no clue about who Asil was, giving him a confused look, but no one commented on it.

With that, things were done, Amber got herself a private room, and everyone did⁠— though Frei chose to stay over with her for some reason, and quickly dozed off. Amber herself was also quite tired, so she chose to sleep.

What an eventful day…

* * *

Unbeknownst to Amber, however, the Dazdril family entered deep turmoil that night. One of confusion. One of anger. And one of more confusion. But by the morning, everyone understood what had truly happened, and they had also acknowledged one very important thing.

They had to get on Amber’s good graces.