“Alaster, what the hell was that?” Lord Siphas exclaimed.

Only two hours had passed since the retreat and Alaster had almost immediately been asked to report to the City Lord.

Currently, Alaster sat in a chair in front of the City Lord and Lord Siphas in the Meeting Hall. Which suited Alaster just fine. He was still trying to process what Sedall had told him.

Sedall remembered that day like it was just yesterday. There were moments he didn’t remember that he attributed to trauma and pain. But what he did remember, he recalled in perfect clarity.

He had told his story in such a way that Alaster was able to envision himself right there. Sedall certainly had the time to perfect the art of storytelling in his centuries of life.

From what Alaster was told, he felt his skin crawl at the thought of that same thing clinging to him.

“What do you mean?” Alaster asked, trying to play it off, worried that if he said more, he would reveal his own fear.

“From what you told us about your Abilities, we thought we had a fair grasp of your capabilities, but then you practically single-handedly repel the entire Tarian Offensive!”

“I understand your concerns. I can’t reveal quite what I did, just know that I will not be doing it again, if that can be helped. I expected that with my arrival, the first attack would be more to probe for my capabilities. I decided to temporarily increase my power significantly in order to make them overestimate me.”

“Why?” the City Lord calmly asked.

“You said before that the Tarians seem to have a time limit.”

“Yes?”

“That means that if they are not successful, they will be expected to return with as many soldiers as they can. Battle experienced troops at that. I thought that if I could reveal myself to be a big enough threat, they would realize that they can’t capture the City and would instead retreat early in an effort to preserve their strength.”

That was a total lie. Alaster had no idea about any of that beforehand. Yet as he spoke, the words that exited his mouth made sense.

‘Smooth.’ Belgroth teased.

‘Shut up and let me focus.’

“A probing attack? Our reports would suggest that.” Lord Siphas finally sat down and leaned back, rubbing his chin.

“Speaking of reports, where is Colius?”

“Still out. He actually just reported back that they found reports detailing reinforcements from the Tarian City of Sicon arriving in either tonight or early tomorrow.” Lord Siphas reported, leaning back in his chair with a sigh.

They had believed that the Tarians would be time restricted. Made to pull back after a few weeks. But if they were getting reinforcements, that seemed less likely.

Alaster cocked his head, “Wait. Sicon?”

Lord Siphas looked up, “Yeah, why?”

Alaster leaned on the table and scratched his chin, “Sicon was the first city I found after leaving Onigas. Spent some time there until I ran afoul of a Goblin Lord. I know a few people there.”

“Any possibility one of them is a part of those reinforcements?”

Alaster thought for a moment before answering, “Unlikely, however, I would like to see for myself.”

“In what way? Regardless of how powerful you are, you can’t just walk up to two thousand soldiers and expect to speak with them and walk away.” The City Lord advised.

“They won’t even see me. At least not until I want them to.”

“Alaster, are you sure about this?” Lord Siphas cautioned.

“Why not? Sounds like fun.”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

“And if a person you do know is there, what will you do?” The City Lord raised an eyebrow in question.

“Oh no need to worry!” Alaster teased with a smile, “If the person is there, she will have no issue coming with me. She holds no loyalty to the Nation.”

“Then why did she join their Military? Our Intelligence reports that the Soldiers from Sicon are all volunteers.”

The City Lord was clearly cautious. He was hesitant about his new great tool in the defense of his city. And the fact that said tool was now claiming to have a friend in the forces attacking his city did not fill him with confidence.

“I will not reveal her history without permission. Just know that if she is there, she will gladly help me. And her particular set of Abilities are quite…intriguing.”

The City Lord leaned back and rested his head on his palm.

“What makes you say that?”

“Quite simple really. I’m the one that taught her.”

Lord Siphas leaned forward, resting his hands on table, “Excuse me?”

“What? You always told me that I should make friends. I found myself in a horrible situation, decided to make the best of it. I found someone similarly desperate to myself, with a unique Class, and with no connections to anyone, and worked together to hunt.

So, when do you next resupply Colius and the scouts?”

Lord Siphas looked at the young man with a weird look before sighing and glancing at the City Lord.

“Alright, Colius is expecting a resupply tonight. Elliot, set it up and write the old man a letter detailing the situation.”

“Yes M’lord.” Lord Siphas bowed.

“Alaster, I don’t know you as well as Elliot does. I am choosing to trust you, don’t betray that trust.” The City Lord warned with a hard stare.

Alaster chuckled, “Oh don’t worry! Besides, even if I did do something, you couldn’t catch me.”

As if to prove his point, Alaster vanished from the room, leaving only a confused Night Child behind.

The City Lord shook his head with a sigh, “Elliot, can he be trusted?”

“I meant what I said before. The boy will protect what matters to him. He just cares about very little. If it’s between guarding the Wall Section we assigned him and protecting someone he cares about, he won’t even hesitate to abandon it.

Using that knowledge, if the person he is thinking about is, in fact, part of the reinforcements, he will also not allow us to harm them.” Elliot leaned back in his chair, “He is a protective lad. But he also knows his limits, and ours. He knows that he could escape from the city and from the Tarians. We wouldn’t even be able to pursue him either.”

“So, keep him in good standing with the city? Give him a reason to defend it?”

“Yes, but not quite. He won’t ever attempt to defend the entire city. To him, people he doesn’t know, don’t even count as people. Why should he defend something he doesn’t care about? He will fight to the death to protect my family and your daughters, because he knows them. The rest of the city? He couldn’t care less.

He isn’t a monster though. If something happens in front of him that he is capable of stopping, he will. But he won’t put too much effort behind it.”

Keylan leaned back and sighed. The room descended into silence as both men silently thought. The Meeting Hall was rarely this quite. The Mage Lights flickered sporadically as dust and dirt fell into the Enchantment Runes before being incinerated by the Magic.

The City Lord opened his mouth, not bothering to open his eyes or lift his head.

“Elliot?”

Lord Siphas also didn’t look up, content to continue staring at the ceiling support beams.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think there is something between him and my daughter?”

Elliot chuckled, “If there is, Alaster doesn’t know about it. That kid has always been hypersensitive to the state of those he cared about. But when it came to their emotions revolving around him, he might as well have been blind. Why? Do you have an issue with it?”

“Not as much as I thought I would. I am still certainly against such a relationship. But more as a protective father than a protective Lord. Do you think such a relationship would actually work?”

Elliot sighed, looking at his childhood friend, “Whose to say? We certainly can’t. That would depend on the two of them. As it is? No. Any romantic relationship involving Alaster is doomed to fail, at least until he saves his sister.”

“Not surprising. The boy has spent the last five years pushing himself past the breaking point to become as strong as he is. He is the youngest Expert I’ve ever seen. Hell, he might just be the youngest Expert in the world.”

They were consumed by their own thoughts for a few minutes more.

“Given what you know about the boy and the situation revolving his sister, do you think he has a chance?”

“All I know about the sister is that someone high up in the Lissurian Nobility took her. As to who has her now or where or even why they took her? I have no idea. But while neither of us have seen Alaster’s current strength, if the reports are even half true, he has the power to at least become an issue to whatever Nation he makes an enemy of. Hell, even the Empire would find him a nuisance, and they have thousands of Experts at there beck and call.

But the boy is also smart. He knows that if he goes in blind and just starts attacking everything, he will never find his sister. I don’t know what his plan is, but in a way, I feel sorry for any bastard involved in his Family’s murder and abduction.”

“Alaster became an Expert at the young age of seventeen. I can’t imagine the horrors he had to face and defeat to accomplish such a feat. And its not a hollow strength. Every Ability he had displayed has been powerful, and he knew exactly how best to use them.

Elliot, whatever happens, whether this city falls or not, we can not make an enemy of the boy. I have a feeling that he hasn’t even reached the peak of his current strength.”

* * * * *

In a distant part of the castle, Alaster appeared in a room quite similar to his own, except much more lived in, and clearly feminine.

‘Where the hell?’

A high-pitched scream erupted from behind. Alaster spun around, a Pact Sword flowing into his hand.

Except it wasn’t a potential enemy.

It was Iris, clearly just getting out of a bath and dressed in only a towel.

‘I fucked up.’