“That. Wh-what. Why do you all need to kill him?” Jaid could barely form a response of memories of her past life and traumas flashed before her eyes. She had eventually come to terms with letting it all go and tried to forget what happened at Guzrinn, but it was all forced once more to the forefront of her mind. “And why do I have to do it? Anyone here should be able to accomplish that easily.”
“Perhaps I was a bit too direct with my statement,” Tize acknowledged. “The king of Guzrinn’s death is specifically what we need, but he is certainly in our way. While not the kingpin, he is the highest ranking conspirator that we’ve been able to identify behind both Humanity and the Red Eyes Gang. He’s had a major hand in enabling them with trade and weapons, while also swaying the political climate in their favor.”
“If he’s removed, that will greatly cripple their operations, and further our goal to eliminate their organizations entirely. As to why I’d like you to do it, that should be obvious. Not only would it cement your resolve in completing our goals, just by the look on your face I can tell there’s still lingering issues in your past haunting you. If you can face them head-on, I’ll have no further reason to doubt you.”
“As for what you do to him, that’s up to you. Go and see for yourself what kind of fate that man deserves. Whether you kill him, dethrone him, or take him prisoner, it doesn’t really matter. The man just needs to be removed from power, and if you can, further disrupt the network he built so that whoever’s in charge can’t just install a new puppet. So what do you say, Jaid? Will you do it?”
The knight was still sorting through her twisted web of memories. But one in particular really stuck out: when King Guzmeir had her arrested for the prince’s death. Now that she knew the prince had been the one scheming all along, it only added confusion as to why he’d done that, why he hadn’t given her a chance to explain. Finding out that answer was enough of a reason for her to grasp onto. It was time to finally close that chapter of her life for good.
“Yes, I’ll do it,” Jaid eventually agreed. “I can’t promise I’ll kill him, but I’ll make that judgment after getting some overdue answers. I’m ready. Send me to Guzrinn, Phon.” The knight closed her eyes, bracing herself for the teleportation, but nothing happened.
“While I appreciate the enthusiasm, we didn’t dismiss this meeting just yet,” Phon only shook her head in disappointment. “I don’t know what kind of insubordination the CP was letting you get away with but calm down with the sudden demands. New hires, I swear. Always trying to circumvent the process.”
“First, sure, we approve this mission. You’ll receive a proper job listing in your member app soon. And we’ll also excuse you from the upcoming all-hands member meeting, but we’ll make you watch it later. It will mostly be a recap of this meeting, but there will be some new information as well. Might even have Andi make a quiz just to be sure you paid attention.”
“And you’re welcome to take your time, not that I believe it should take long given your new power. But you might putz about if your heart’s not in it. Callum will be joining us here in a few days after he wraps up some other commitments, and then we will begin our political endeavors and world domination efforts in earnest. Be back by then if you want a say in your request.”
“W-world domination?!” Senli couldn’t stop herself from squeaking at that boggling notion.
“Shush, Senli, I’m getting to you,” Phon shot the intruding girl a glare. “Jaid, I’ll send you to Guzrinn in a minute, but there’s one more thing we’d like you to hear. It may not be something that directly pertains to you at the moment. There’s a chance, however, you might have intel from the Central Peace we’re genuinely not aware of, and would like you to share it if you do.”
“It doesn’t have to be right now, but keep thinking about it in the back of your mind. If you have something to report, it can wait until you get back. And we encourage you to share anything you discover in the future. We’ll be asking the same of all our members in the upcoming meeting.”
“And this all has to do with a special request for you, Senli,” Phon finally gave the caretaker proper attention.
“Err, me?” Senli was clearly surprised. “What do you need?”
“We would like you to find her,” Phon was blunt, and before Senli could follow up with her obvious confusion, The Vixen clarified. “Specifically, I’m talking about the woman whose voice we’ve all heard, that everyone in the world has heard. I’d say her name if we knew what it was, but you should have heard her just recently on New Years when Jaid was turned into a Greater Fiend.”
“Oh, uhh, I was actually asleep during that,” The Eavesdropper denied hearing a peep. “But I did hear her last time, though! When she mentioned the other four of you. I had just become a Fiend not long before, so it was strange. All the voices I usually hear went silent after that for quite a while, like they’d lost their nerve.”
“Good, good, that’s very good!” Phon was immediately pleased. “Exactly the kind of thing we’re looking for, and why you’re just who we need for this request. We believe through your special connection with the world, you’re the ideal person to be able to find out information on her. Really, any details you can provide would help.”
“I’m not asking for immediate results. We expect this to take awhile since she’s gone to great lengths to hide herself. But if you have the time, or if those talking to you are feeling particularly chatty, see what you can dig up.”
“Ideally, we can find her location. And if we’re not around, you can get with Kada to pass along anything you uncover. She’s somewhat in charge of this operation and will be working with Ipucco and Feyjrusa to explore ancient ruins in her freetime. That is our best guess as to where she must be.”
“As to why we want to find her so desperately. Well, we have it on good authority that she is the only one who can stand in our way. With what we plan to do, this woman, whoever she may be, very well could have the power to stop us. We’d like assurances that it won’t happen, even if it means negotiating with her face to face. That’s our endgame.”
“And in return for your service, Senli, we will tell you whatever you want to know. Don’t think your suspicions of our group haven’t been obvious, so we’ll answer any questions and allay any concerns you might have as thanks for helping us. And that’s just if you agree to help us. If you find any juicy tidbits, we’ll give you whatever you want in exchange, and you’re welcome to name your price.”
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“Does that sound like a fair deal to you?”
“Uhhh, alright, sure, I can do that!” The girl talked herself into it. “But I should say that the objects don’t usually answer specific questions and talk about whatever they want to talk about. I’ll do what I can, though, to try and get them to cooperate.”
“Thank you, Senli,” Phon did her best to make her appreciation genuine, almost like a proper manager. “Since you have agreed, you’re welcome to stay and listen to these more sensitive discussions, or I can send you back to your room. And Jaid, I’ll send you to Guzrinn now. Have fun storming the castle. Ta-ta.”
◆◆◆
Before Jaid could even acknowledge Phon’s words, she’d been thrust out of the secret lab into the dark of night. And the knight herself hadn’t been teleported anywhere useful, like Guzrinn’s castle’s throne room or even inside its front gates. No, Jaid had been moved right outside her old country’s capital city, directly in front of the guard checkpoint.
And performing their duties, two guards immediately ran up to her and shouted, “Halt! Declare yourself!” to the woman who’d appeared out of nowhere. Strangely, though, instead of the traditional swords Guzrinn knights would normally wield, they were instead pointing the barrels of assault rifles right at her head.
“Thanks, Phon…” Jaid grumbled lowly to herself as she raised her hands in the air. She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the guards not recognizing her. Before her departure, there wasn’t a single soul in either the knights or the city watch who didn’t know Knight Commander Jaid Luciri. In their defense, it was dark, and she was a Fiend with green hair, and had grown up quite a bit since anyone from the city would have seen her. But that didn’t alleviate the bitter taste in her mouth.
Jaid was in the wrong in this situation, though. And any amount of explaining would only further confuse matters, so she didn’t even try. Two clones pounced on the guards from behind, dragging them into the nearby bushes. Since the guards were wearing too much armor to knock them unconscious, the clones then unsheathed their swords and zapped the watchmen with just enough juice to make them pass out.
From there, it was a quiet walk into the city, with no one left to stop her. The Paladin quickly dipped into a public restroom to finally put on her armor, which could possibly be a mistake. Given how the guards had been dressed, she’d either blend in when she got to the castle or stick out like a glaring relic of the past. Jaid had heard that the knight peerage had been dissolved, but it still stung to see the reality.
All that history and tradition was lost, but the knight donned her armor anyways. Since that was who she was, even if she was the only one left. Maybe to those she was about to face, The Paladin would be a ghost of what Guzrinn had been, back to haunt them, if any still remained from the old days.
Back out in the city, Jaid strolled down the main street. She wasn’t trying to hide since confrontation was inevitable, but it also didn’t mean that she could loiter around and take in the sights. What she saw, though, was not what she remembered. Guzrinn’s capital city looked foreign to her, not that she ever paid much attention to it in the first place.
During her service, her eyes had always been on something else, someone else. So needless to say, a younger, more self-arrogant Jaid hadn’t paid much attention to the world around her, to her country or its people—a true failing of her position, and a regret she’d carried for a long time.
But it was just another checkbox on her long list of failings that she strived to make up for. And if the king had become corrupt as they’d said—maybe he always was—then by getting rid of him, she’d do the best thing for her country imaginable. Still, though, just looking around, Jaid felt no sense of patriotism.
She didn’t recognize any of the shops, didn’t have favorite restaurants, and the people were all no-one she’d ever met. This wasn’t her home. It hadn’t been for a long time. Jaid had been gone just a few years shy of a decade, but had felt a stranger for even more. However, that still wouldn’t stop her from saving it.
Another punch from the past came though when Jaid saw Guzrinn castle—a shell of what she remembered. During her time, the gates had always remained open, the citizenry welcomed in with a smile from the knights. But there was no semblance of that approachable environment.
Not only were the gates shut, they’d been replaced. Instead, there was now a gigantic iron slab locked into place, dangling from two massive chains. And that wasn’t the only new chunk of metal. The castle that she knew was practically covered into it, molded into a giant monstrosity of a fortress.
If that didn’t blare that the king was up to something nefarious, the knight didn’t know what would. Why else would he go to such great lengths to protect himself? All the more reason for Jaid to find out what was really going on.
But when she approached the front gate, the incident from not long ago repeated itself, just with more guards this time. They fully surrounded her, giving nowhere to run, guns waving in her face with so many directives being shouted at her that there was no way she could comply with all of them. That just made it easier, though, to dispatch the squad. Another round of ambushes from behind, and Jaid stepped over the fried pile.
As she approached the front entrance, the knight’s eyes wandered to the battlements overhead. Looming above was a banner, the only thing that hadn’t changed in her absence: The Guzmeir crest. It was a crown encircled by two dragon-winged halberds, something she used to worship more than Cosmos himself. Now it only brought her pain, and she’d be happy to see it burn—maybe on her way out, if she hadn’t destroyed the rest of the castle.
Hopefully, she could leave the building intact, that there was enough worth saving to leave for the next generation. Which was why she wouldn’t break down the front door. A weed had grown, and she hoped to root it out while leaving the rest of Guzrinn to continue unimpeded. That was all assuming that she killed the king to begin with—still to be seen after she uncovered the truth with her own eyes.
And that’s what caused her hangup when she went to act and begin her infiltration. Was she actually ready for the truth? She thought she was until just that moment when all she had to do was open the door. Maybe instead of dealing with it properly, she’d just repressed it, and all those mixed emotions and memories were coming flooding to the surface.
Jaid suddenly felt a push on her back, forcing her to take a step forward towards the gate. It wasn’t the will of Cosmos, or something metaphorical. No, someone had literally thumped her backside out of nowhere and with enough force to send her stumbling. The knight twisted her neck to find Phon smirking at her side.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on you, and it looked like you could use a little nudge. That and I got bored during the meeting. Tize is rambling about security or something right now. Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on that too so I know when to pop back over. The problem I see is that you’re thinking too much.”
“Drim does that a lot as well, but usually a good slap will get him back on track. So get going. If you’re not done by the time I go to bed, you’re stuck here for the night. See ya.”
The Paladin hadn’t expected such a gesture to come from The Vixen, renowned sociopath and general despiser of anyone not her brother. Maybe her time in prison had actually done some good, or she was picking up the slack where Drim couldn’t. Either way, it was just what Jaid needed to get her head back on the right track. The knight readied her sword and began the summoning. “Soldiers of Ruin.”