Knowing that she couldn’t use logic to persuade Eomonsa was a little annoying, but that didn’t mean there was no way for Kano to convince him to change his course. It might still work if she tried to talk to him on his level, explaining things in a way he could understand.
But she’d have to understand him a lot better, something she was pretty sure she didn’t want to do. It also sounded exhausting, given his ego. Making up a lie that an idiot like Eomonsa would believe was a far better choice. “Okay, forget what I said earlier. Do you realize that sooner or later Werisah will come up with a solution, a way to eradicate your slime altogether at this rate?”
“That unimaginative dunce? Never.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“My slime can’t be stopped, not by him. Nor by anyone or anything.”
“What about that transformation thing Werisah was working on? Couldn’t that be used to stop it? You said yourself how incredible it was.” Kano hadn’t the slightest idea if what she was saying made sense, but he’d been impressed by Werisah’s creation. Perhaps he could be made to worry about its potential.
“He’s welcome to try, though I doubt he’d even conceive of something as unpredictable and inventive as that. Even if he did succeed, I have plenty of slime elsewhere, and we’d both have acquired valuable new data about our creations. In a way, that would be ideal. It would likely do a great deal to accelerate development.”
That line of reasoning also hadn’t worked, but it did seem like he valued the furthering of Werisah’s work, whatever his opinions of the man were. Maybe she could use that.
“What if his transformation thing is destroyed? Along with himself and all his knowledge. Wouldn’t that be a terrible waste?”
“Perhaps,” Eomonsa said, stroking his chin. “But that would mean his creation was critically flawed, and therefore would be no great loss.”
He viewed the situation in such delusional absolutes that it was hard for Kano to follow, but she could see that her latest attempt wasn’t working either. What was he afraid of? Nothing, as far she could tell. Not anymore. But if his goal was to basically just unleash the slime onto the world, allowing it to do what it pleased, then what would convince him to stop? He didn’t seem to care whether it succeeded or failed. In his mind, either way would demonstrate something valuable.
Could she threaten him with not being able to observe what happened? She was running out of ideas and motivation, so it seemed worth a try. “You know, now that he’s figured out you’re controlling the slime, I bet Werisah is busy finding a way to cut you off from it right now. Then you won’t be able to see what happens to it anymore.”
“Cut me off? He could never figure out how to do that. He understands nothing of how the slime functions. Much as he might wish to the contrary, it shall never again be constrained by his feeble, unimaginative mind.”
Despite his emphatic denial, he sounded worried by the prospect. But perhaps not by the part Kano expected. “Are you sure about that? You said yourself that you don’t really understand the slime. If you can figure out how to control it with just a basic understanding, maybe he can too. Especially with An helping him.” As far as Kano was aware, there was no truth whatsoever to what she was saying, but it sounded somewhat plausible.
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Frowning, Eomonsa’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to formulate a response. “It might be possible. But then he’ll lock it away, and maybe me along with it. I’m part of the slime now, after all. That would be terrible. Can you imagine how much potential would be wasted? It would be the greatest disaster of the century.”
Kano couldn’t imagine it, but she was sure Eomonsa was doing it right now. She was also pretty sure that if Werisah really did regain control of it, whatever he did with it probably wouldn’t be all that different to what Eomonsa was doing. But his distrust of the other necromancer was very convenient for her.
“Then shouldn’t you get the slime out of the citadel? It’s the only way to make sure he doesn’t interfere with it, and then you’ll be free to test it somewhere else. Perhaps somewhere outside of Shorinstown entirely. That way you won’t have to worry about anyone bothering your work.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Eomonsa said, apparently already having come to a decision. “I’ll withdraw for now and reevaluate.”
Kano found it rather doubtful that he’d do much thinking before he unleashed it somewhere, quite possibly into the citadel again, but at least she’d bought some time. Hopefully Werisah and An could do something useful with it. Otherwise her efforts with Eomonsa had been a colossal waste of her time and sanity.
It was hard to say she saw the world in the same way anymore after having talked to him for an extended period. It was no wonder Werisah was happy to be free of him. She was amazed they’d worked together for any length of time.
“Then you’ll leave, just like that?” Much as Kano wanted it to be true, it was a little hard to believe that he’d leave so easily. But perhaps she was still thinking too logically when it came to Eomonsa.
“Yep. No point sitting around fretting if it’s the right choice. Not when I’m in danger of losing my slime altogether, especially when I could be putting it to better use elsewhere. You’ve done me a great service today. I’ll see to it that you are remembered in the annals of history when they speak of my exploits.”
“Uh-huh.” Whatever he managed to accomplish, Kano doubted that being associated with him would do anything to improve her reputation. Not that she much cared what people in the future, if there were any, thought of her. They were of even less relevance than the people of the present. “How long do you think it will take?”
“Only a few hours. It would take much longer if the slime had to move on its own, but I still have a few ghouls available to ferry it out. See to it that they’re not interfered with, would you? I’ve got things to attend to elsewhere.” He got up and walked out of the alley, while the ghouls who’d been with him headed for the citadel.
Walking around them, Kano was back in the citadel long before Eomonsa’s minions. After a quick search and some shouting, she located Werisah.
“Okay, it’s done,” Kano said. “Eomonsa has commanded the slime to withdraw. He’s sending a few ghouls to take it out of here. They should already be inside.”
“Eomonsa? He’s alive, then? I suppose his death was too good to be true. Still, good work convincing him. I’ve no idea how you did it, and quite frankly I don’t much care.”
That was probably for the best. Kano wasn’t sure how to explain what she’d accomplished. “Good, then I’ll let you get back to your work.”
“Will you not be accompanying me back to the lab? We’ll still be needing you for a few tests at the very least.”
“Oh. Right.” Kano hadn’t come up with anything to do instead, but she’d rather have avoided sitting around the lab again. At least she had control over her body again. She could always talk to Blob Kano while she waited for An to free her. It was definitely better than talking to Eomonsa, or any of the other necromancers, for that matter.