The lights disoriented and confused Ayn, but soon after, he began to make sense of the world around him and drew silhouettes around figures. It seemed that the cookies were indeed laced.
He woke up on a sofa, but thankfully, he was not tied up. The ceiling was exposed with pipes going through a pattern of a maze and painted black. The lights were dangling from the ceiling, and the walls reached just below the pipe.
“Sorry for taking you by surprise like that. It was an emergency and this was the fastest method without revealing our location,” said Alveolo.
“Wh-where am I?”
“Welcome to the Endlegion Silverguard headquarters. We call it Siege’s Abode though.”
Ayn looked around to see that Siege sat in front of a massive screen, speaking directly to someone who seemed important, with many badges on their uniform.
The video call soon ended, and Siege approached the couch where Alveolo and Ayn.
“It seems that his majesty wishes to speak to you directly,” said Siege, “It’ll take just a bit.”
Ayn sat back upright and noticed how close Alveolo was sitting with Siege. She had moved her position as if defending him. Ayn was familiar with this predicament, but it would be rude to assume things.
“...Sir Siege, could I ask how you weren’t affected by the laced cookie? Can you tell them apart?”
Ayn believed that if he learnt a trick, this would not happen again. As his talent’s power was temporarily weakened, while it gave him more freedom, it also left him more exposed. It would be important to learn to defend himself.
“I’m afraid they are all laced, Sir Ayn.” said Siege, “I have simply built up a tolerance.”
Perhaps it would not be so useful.
Suddenly, a door opened somewhere in the area — though Ayn could not see where — and three more members of the Endlegion Silverguards entered the room.
“I… I came here as quickly as I could…” said Gallatin while panting in exhaustion.
“Could you not act so vulgar in front of our honoured guest?” asked Alveolo.
“S-sorry… Just give me a sec…”
Yuta extended his hand toward Ayn, offering a handshake. The hero accepted, and while Yuta accidentally squeezed a bit hard initially, he soon readjusted. Yuta had expected the famous hero to be a bit more resilient, but of course, this was just a handshake.
“It’s an honour to meet you, Sir Calendar. My name is Yuta, the Golden Soldier of Avangarden.”
“Thank you, Sir Yuta… And Just Ayn is fine.”
Next, both Mal and Gallatin formally introduced themselves. The group all knew of Sir Calendar — it would be impossible to find anyone in Avangarden who did not. The historical depictions weren’t… perfectly accurate, but the group still felt Ayn’s almost divine aura and displayed respect.
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Siege was alerted through his helmet that the King was prepared to speak with Ayn, but requested that only Siege, Ayn and he have a private conversation. The rest obliged and left one of the offices vacant.
The room was dimly lit on purpose, the computer screen shining brightly onto the two heroes. Outside of the door ajar, Alveolo sneakily attempted to peek, but Siege told her away, mentioning the seriousness of the subject.
“...I see, so Sir Calendar believes Sir Reginn is responsible for the Revel Church Massacre…” said the King, “However, we require more than witnesses to prove such a case against a hero.”
“Well, we should start now then, right? Reginn told me himself that he was going to kill Attila — the innocent demon possessed by Kyriekaos. We have to stop it before then!”
“...I am afraid we simply do not have enough evidence—”
“How long have you known, Johaness?” interjected Siege.
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“...I wouldn’t recommend referring to the King in such a tone, Sir Siege.”
“After Sir Ayn enlightened me to the possibility, everything began to come together in my mind. I could tell with my battle against him — Reginn would definitely commit such a crime without batting an eye, and get away with it as well. Even if we cannot convict him, you should have enough suspicion to suspend his request for execution at the Colosseum.”
“What? What execution?” asked Ayn.
“...I see that your eyes are far better than I suspected. However, I must deny your request. We cannot risk destabilizing our relationship with Sir Reginn over such accusations.”
“...The seed you planted will bear no fruit, Johaness. It will climb our wall and destroy our houses.”
“I did not plant the seed. I am merely making the best decision for Avangarden.”
“Even if we are weak, we cannot bend against an oppressor’s will—”
“And instead what? The kingdom already faces too much stress in the face of the massacre, increasing tension with Sonosis, now this Kyriekaos — any more and Avangarden will snap. You may work for the sake of justice, but I work for the sake of the people, and the people cannot take any more.”
“You are not seeing far enough into the future.”
“We must survive another day if we are to worry for our future.”
“...The Endlegion Silverguards will begin our rescue of the victim of Kyriekaos’s abduction.”
“You do realize that this will spell the end of our cooperation, don't you?”
“So be it.”
“...Goodbye then, Sir Siege.”
The room turned dark as the monitor turned to black. Aveolo entered the room to turn the lights back on.
“...Gallatin, show Sir Ayn to the exit.” said Siege, “I will contact you later regarding our next steps.”
“...Thank you, Siege.”
“I’ll speak to the rest of you later.”
Siege stood up and began heading away as Gallatin led Ayn to the exit. He then utilized his talent to transport at extraordinary speed, far too fast for Ayn to understand their location.
Regarding Siege, all knew not to bother him when he was feeling unwell. Only Alveolo was brave enough to break such an unspoken rule. Of course, she also witnessed Siege’s true anger, but she always knew he had their best interest in mind, and in these vulnerable situations, what he needed was not isolation but support.
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“...I’m coming in,” said Alveolo.
Siege’s room was barebone and empty, only the required were accepted, and frivolous additions such as lamps, clocks and books were not welcome in the bedroom. However, there was a single inefficient item in the room, a notebook Siege kept around. Even Alveolo knew not the contents of such a book, but it must’ve been something important to his life. Though its leather cover tempted her, Alveolo swore to respect his privacy.
Alveolo finally took off her veil, her crimson eye tasting the light for the first time today. Her skin was pale and her hair white. The hero then took a seat next to Siege at the edge of his bed.
“...Are you okay, Seb?”
“...”
The hero put her arm around his wide back, not quite reaching the other shoulder, but around his neck. It had been a while.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
“I can tell that something grand is happening — something irreversible. The kingdom may collapse under the stress, or perhaps it will triumph.”
“...It will live on.” said Siege, “The people are stronger than you think.”
“Really?” said Alveolo as she turned to face Siege.
Her crimson eyes were beautiful, as if a reflection of the velvet sunset, or the red sea. She was one of the first comrades Siege had in his lonely life, but also the most dangerous.
“...Even if the world ends, I’ll be there with you.”
“...”
Siege knew not what emotion to feel. In his solitude, the colours of his mind were often dull, to the point where people questioned if they even existed. The hero showed little emotion, but he never made any effort not to. Perhaps it was how he grew up, or perhaps it was his duty. He was not even sure if he wanted to ever show emotion, to share in his vulnerability, and often found it a hassle to speak at all, unable to find words.
But sometimes, you don’t need words.
Perhaps it was a cruel twist of fate, his comfort found in a monster. Or perhaps it was a blessing from the Goddess.
“...Thank you for the meal.”
Sharp fangs sank deep into the hero’s shoulder.
In the end, it did not matter, and Siege marched on, facing the world, but not alone.