CHAPTER 174
THE SECRETS SHE NEVER TOLD
“Where is he? I've been here for an hour.” Looking at his table Hans added, “And this is my third bowl of noodles—”
“I was here all along,” Dijkstra said, suddenly appearing behind Hans, jolting him out in surprise. “Shit, you scared the hell out of me.” Hans rebuked, holding her beating chest.
“For a man...no...a child...no, it doesn’t suit you either… for a person who kills on second thoughts, you are easy to scare, little Sam.” Dijkstra sat down, and flashed the alcohol he always carried. “You want some?” He asked.
“Really?”
“Naah, look at your face. Oh, this is fun.”
"Tsk! You said, you have somethings to answer me—”
“Yeah, but tell me something first.” Dijkstra paused, gulping the wine, “How did you transform into the Elderwood?” Many had wanted to ask this of Hans, but Dijkstra was the first one to speak about it. on the other hand, Hans had nothing to hide since he himself didn’t know how it worked, “I just can. It's not something I can't explain… I just grow myself into one like a plant into a tree.”
“So you just can, hmm..” Dijkstra paused again, taking his sweet time to think and when Hans was just about to snap him out, he asked, “Did you know, what are classless beasts?”
“Yeah," Hans nodded, "Unique beasts which can’t be categorised.”
“That’s one way of undermining them. Listen little Sam. A classless beast is not just unique, there are many things that are unique out there. Classless beasts are the one that commands fear even in Warlord ranks. Top-ranked knights can die like flies if they come across one. The only fortunate thing is that they don’t leave their territories and we sure don't mess around them.” Dijkstra gulped another, as he pointed out to Hans, this time with some genuine concerns that were hard to come into his face, “and now.. there is a walking classless beast.. roaming our midst.”
“If I was a classless beast. Do you think, I’d have lost in Glory Wars—”
“That’s the reason you are talking and walking like a free person, little Sam. To others that was some type of Golem that you pulled, but I know its presence well. We fought one for days eventually killing it, and it was my toughest battle. In result, Samson claimed his heart and after some time. I heard you are born, you are smart, connect the dots.”
Hans remained silent, So Dijkstra added more, “Don’t you think, your mana control over nature is oddly similar to the plant-type beast? We don’t have them here, but in Ghost Isles. You’d have at least seen one.”
“Yes, I’ve,” Hans mumbled, all the time he thought his unique method of using mana was all because of his wood element. However, some time ago, he began to doubt all about it. There was no proving it since the only two mages who had the wood element in the past were not officially documented. He mumbled, intending his low voice to travel to Dijkstra’s ears, “What could the elderwood do?”
“Everything you can, but on a bigger scale. Its precision and accuracy was not something one can be proud of. On the other hand, you used those abilities like a master…hmm…how should I put..yes. You are deadlier than it.”
“Haa…” Hans sighed, whining, “I already had my plates full being Samson’s son and now an elderwood. My life is just an unending spiral, the more it grows, the bigger the shit it throws at me.”
“I’m just speculating... Im not one of brilliant minds but you are no human. So one has to wonder what are you, or how you came be little Sam.”
“Thanks a lot! I’m feeling more relieved” Hans shot a sarcastic remark adding, “Last time, you were going to tell me something. I believe, I’ve entertained you enough.”
“Yes. That you did very well.” Dijkstra chugged the rest of the wine, and said, “I can’t do this sober.”
“Just what happened with Vanessa—”
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“She found out something, she shouldn’t have and paid the price for it.”
“I figured, but what was it exactly?” Hans asked, serious.
“Do you know what your graduation test is like?” Dijkstra threw another question instead of the answer, but Hans was riding on patience after waking up from a painful experience. Instead of getting toasty, he answered, “It's something to do in Deadlands, the red demon barrier.”
“Yes. Your foster sister was quite the average kid, neither too smart to be envied by others, nor dumb to be looked down on. Even her looks were not something that could cause a wars, but she was still pretty and everyone liked her.” He paused, feeling Hans’s stare and continued, “And being a daughter of Dominion knight, comes handy in making others like you. But on her graduation test her misery began.”
Hans was shaking his leg, impatiently, eagerly waiting for Dijkstra to say the important part, a habit he had picked not long ago. And seeing him behaving like that Dijkstra stopped going around and said what Hans wanted to hear. “I’ve tracked down her group. As Arat asked me at your request. There were six people, three elves and three humans. But only five came back with Vanessa going half mad with her mana disconnected.”
“What did she see—”
“According to the human boy whom I found… that disloyal bastard. Didn’t even flinch selling out his friend. It was boring.” Dijkstra complained.
Hans commented, “You must have interrogated him—”
“No,” Dijkstra denied, waving his hand, “I gave him a choice and he chose to speak without even me touching a strand of his hair. Can you believe how disloyal—”
“What did he tell you?” Hans asked, his patience running out.
“I’m telling you…wait a bit, little Sam.” Ordering another wine, he chugged, “Glup, glup, glup! Haa…” and took a long breather that smelled strong. A moment later, he opened his mouth, “There was a person in his group named Aelok Torceran, apparently he is the son of Anfaleen, the last Older council member. The one Xandor failed to assassinate during war.”
“Your tone tells me, he should’ve. Right?” Hans asked, prompting a nod from Dijkstra. “That would’ve solved and prevented many problems, little Sam.” He was getting a bit drunk, as his mind kept swaying in the past. “Where was I?” He asked and Hans pointed out so he resumed. “Anfaleen.. yes. He is the Nodemaster of the fifth Node. So they went to him, I don’t know the reasons why though…Apparently, she and her other human friend Dave, stumbled upon some human experiments. Since Dave fellow had none backing him and wasn't important enough to get investigated, he died at Anfaleen’s hand. But your sister was only daughter of a Dominon knight, a knight who served Rudolf. That is some annoying backing. Anfallen could just not kill her so she suffered a fate worse than death. Anfaleen injected her with his prototype, knowing well it would fail and ordered the four students to bring her insane-turned-body back to Concordia - with all sharing the same story - Vanessa Richardson used his friend Dave as a bait and ran away, only to stumble upon some disease like Karma biting back”
“So that Nodemaster did that, just because she found him experimenting on humans—”
“It's not just Experiments… do you know what is Anfaleen researching? It's an artificial process of making sunstones. Supported by an Ancient. No one is gonna make an enemy out of him, at least not without any hard evidence. And the testimonies backed by children of powerhouses nailed her case before they could even investigate. Even your own Concordia couldn’t find much. You see… they don’t have the balls to get physical with the witnesses, like me.”
“So that's why some weirdo said that to me in the Initiation ceremony… I couldn’t even remember his name.” Hans recalled the first day in Concordia where a boy accused Vanessa of something like using his brother as bait. But one thing still troubled Hans, and lifting his head he asked Dijkstra, “I’m grateful that she is alive.. but why the hassle of going through this.. it would’ve been wiser to kil…her.”
“Didn't you hear me before, Aldrich Richardson is not a joke, Little Sam. If she had died, then he would have nothing to lose. An almost warlord in that condition is a loose cannon. Unpredictable and dangerous. There is no saying what he would have done and on top of that, Aldrich served Rudolf and Sierra. That is a very dangerous combination that you can’t fathom to understand. People like your father and Anfaleen, who use their heads more than their hands are the ones who could suppress people without killing them. Look what he did, returning her half dead he bound Aldrich to Edenberg county treating his half dead daughter while he erased every bit of evidence”
Hans understood the point, thinking, that’s why his father left a lot of people alive, maybe he was suppressing them in another way he didn’t know of, but one thing still confused him, so he asked Dijkstra, “Earlier you said, something like a brother shouldn’t know abou—”
“An unconscious and helpless girl with three hotheaded bastards with no consequences. What do you think would happen? Connect the dots… I killed the bastard the moment the story went in that direction.” Dijkstra washed the bad taste in his mouth with the wine but sadly Hans had no alternatives like this. He felt bad but he was calm.
“That’s not the response I expected from you…you should have enraged by hearing this, ready to pounce on someone.” Dijkstra inquired, curious. But Hans was still quiet, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Soon, his index finger began to tap gently against the wooden table, a rhythmic pattern that mirrored the beat of his racing heart. Finally, he broke the silence, confirming, “They are not the people whom I can pounce on, right?”
“Yes, I was gonna stop you from doing that...you should at least be as strong as your father to fight them, little Sam.”
"Pfft.." Hans chuckled but his eyes showed wickedness contrasting his light laughter. He said, stressing,“There are many ways to kill someone, Commander Dijkstra. You don’t have to be as strong as them.”
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