-----------------Numina Empire, Outskirts-----------------
Although the group was united in task an underlying current of unease had appeared in wake of the bandit attack. The students were on edge from killing humans and Virgoh and Christina were still at odds after nearly coming to blows over the hostage situation.
For a still disturbed Piran running on zero sleep, he was looking to start any conversation to break himself out of his spiraling thoughts revolving around his first humanoid kill. Naturally, the question that came to his mind was one that stemmed from the gruesome scene of the night before.
”For a princess you seem to be used to blood.”
Victoria gave an icy glare to Piran, “who told you I was a princess?”
”You’re not?" Piran looked befuddled, and then a look of false realization gleamed in his eyes, “Oh right.” He failed to wink accidentally blinking, “Totally not a princess my mistake.”
Victoria picking up on the sarcasm decided to clarify believing Christina, Avior, and Virgoh already knew her real background anyways. “Really Piran I’m not royalty I’m just the daughter of David Farfeather.”
A tense Virgoh audibly scoffed at Victoria’s attempt to humbly play off her background, “Yeah just the daughter of the Merchant Councilor the most powerful man on the entire Council.”
Victoria blushed at getting called out wanting to clarify her father was nothing compared to who backed Avior and Christina, but one glance at the innocently intrigued duo was all she needed to remove that idiotic idea.
Seeing her glance and refusal to say anything Virgoh already a little upset refused to remain quiet. “Don’t look so smug actual royalty.” He let out deciding to put the obvious into the open and giving into his emotions despite his better judgment screaming at him not to accidentally upset Avior.
Victoria tried to stop him realizing Virgoh was horribly confused, but Virgoh’s voice rose louder than hers as he “outed” the two.
“That’s right Avior and Christina if that’s even your real names. It’s obvious you two are royalty, so much so I’m sure most of us here already pinned Avior as the oh so rumored crown prince."
Avior's head tilted to the side while he tried to wrap his head around the confusing turn of events. His first thought was to suspect he had been trapped inside an illusion, but one slight mana pulse returning with no signs of distortion revealed that wasn't the case.
Christina didn’t have the same reservations.
“Royalty?! Psh yeah right we wish! We grew up in a village why do you think we’re royalty? Wait is that why you wanted to befriend me in the first place?” Christina was nice, not stupid. She quickly realized how the misunderstanding might have led to altered motives to befriend her, someone with no other backing.
Christina looked around at the knowing looks on Piran, Jessica, James, and Victoria’s faces and realized her friends had suspected she was a princess the whole time.
"Why would you even think that!” She gasped half unable to comprehend such an insane thought.
James stepped forward wanting to face this misunderstanding head-on, “Well, I’m not saying it was obvious but even in Sparrow class we heard you were a princess.”
Virgoh jumped in, “Right it’s way easier to believe an undercover princess than a random peasant girl stepping into Eagle class.”
”But, but you’re adopted?” Christina countered while sputtering.
Virgoh straightened his jacket and brought his chin up self righteously, “I’m a special case.” Leaving it at that not wanting to clarify his own hardships which had turned him into the prodigee he was today.
”Well I’m not a princess I hope you all know that now.” Christina said with a huff, “What about Avior why did you suspect him, he was in Sparrow Class.”
James, Jessica, and Piran all exchanged a look before Piran stepped in to explain. “I think that’s more on you than anything Christina. When you introduced Avior you said you’d come from the same place. We though-“
”You thought that was me telling you guys he was royalty just like me! Geez you guys are hopeless tell them Avior.”
Avior still collecting all the contributing events to the misunderstanding made a misstep in speech as his answer to Christina collided with his thoughts creating a very unfortunate slip. “Yes, Princess.”
The students took this slip as confirmation while Christina and the only student even close to being halfway “in the know” Victoria, saw Avior's actions as him purposely having fun.
Avior thrown off by his social mistake tried his best to recover switching to one of his cookie-cutter personalities by reflex. “I mean Princess of my village for there is no girl more talked about and worshipped for her beauty than Christina in our home town.” Avior, in his social panic had gone to the wrong personality for a line.
Hearing Avior’s words Christina froze up unable to continue defending herself while her face turned the color of roses.
Victoria couldn't help herself and let out a giggle at the comedic scene while trying to cover her mouth with her hand. Christina gave her a light punch in the arm still too flummoxed to verbalize a response.
Jessica chimed in playfully, "Wow Avior I had no idea you could express yourself so clearly. And here I thought behind your silent visage you were just thinking about nerdy artifact stuff turns out you were a real romantic all along!"
Not trusting his preset personalities to get him out of this after they got him into this Avior made the very poor decision to try and explain himself. "I apologize I misspoke. I see Christina as nothing more than a friend."
"Suuuuuure." A highly sarcastic jab was the only response from Jessica prompting Avior to continue forward with his idiotic decision while leaning on his non-existent social skills.
"No really. There is only one girl I would ever consider romantically and they hate me. I could never like Christina romantically no matter how many lifetimes I've lived." Avior's words scattered whatever jovial atmosphere that had been forming. Like birdshot through a flock of birds, it killed it.
Christina's red face was no longer one of pleasant embarrassment, but one of humiliation. The kind girl's face scrunched and the same woman who without hesitation dove onto a gory battlefield the night before to save the lives of their enemy began to cry.
In sinc, Jessica and Victoria rose to their friend's side. Victoria turned to comfort her friend and shield Christina's tear-stricken face from the sight of others while Jessica began a verbal assault on Avior worse than he'd received over most lifetimes.
Piran, Virgoh, and even James all distanced themselves from Avior slowly backpeddling to the rear in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of Jessica's vicious tirade.
As for Avior, receiving insult after insult from someone he had begun to think of as his friend while unable to defend himself he shut down. He'd convinced these people could be his friends. His real friends. Avior had always known his greatest weakness was social skills. There was a reason he manufactured personalities he relied on in previous lives. He'd never managed to develop natural social skills.
How could he be expected to maintain his social skills when ever since his first life he'd been as far removed from others as possible? When he'd never had a true peer or a friend who didn't disappear the second his next life started.
After he killed Aurora he was forced to see people as nothing more than tools. When a tool didn't work he threw it away and got one that did. He'd needed to do it to accomplish his goals, but more importantly, he had to do it that way to keep his sanity. If he viewed the tools that were reset every new life as people he wouldn't have made it past his first hundred lives without going insane.
Unfortunately, it forced whatever social skills he once had in his first life to regress to the point where to get through a single conversation he needed to memorize different personalities. He liked those "cookie-cutter personalities," they kept him distant enough to not care, not to be hurt, while still managing to convey the required information needed to accomplish whatever task he was working on for that life.
This time though was supposed to be different. This time he was trying to care. He did care!
But now the people he'd been trying so hard to care about, the first people he'd convinced himself were real since Aurora didn't even let him explain himself.
Avior knew social skills were his greatest weakness yet here his supposed friends were taking advantage of that to tear him apart. He saw the look of disgust on Victoria's face as she shielded Christina's appearance whose sobs were like thunder in Avior's ears.
Avior assumed that same look was on the boys behind him who had no doubt dropped back to sneer at him and laugh at his social blunder. Eagerly grasping at his weakness the first time it became apparent. He'd seen it happen before. Many times.
Finally, faced with Jessica's shouting face now red from her continual stream of insults, jabbing an accusatory finger in his face, Avior did something he hadn't done for a long time. Something he forgot he knew how to do.
He got upset.
---
The first to notice was Virgoh. Positioned in the rear with the other boys trying to ride out this social catastrophe in peace he spotted his own shadow vanish. A moment later he noticed Piran and James's shadows had vanished as well. It took a second and noticing Piran's shirt suddenly darken before he realized their shadows hadn't actually disappeared but that they were actually climbing up their own bodies. In the same moment Virgoh was about to cry out in alarm everything went black as his own shadow wrapped itself tightly around his head.
Jessica froze mid-finger point seeing the three boys behind Avior suddenly collapse with muffled screaming as their own shadows smothered them.
Looking back at the still frustratingly stone-faced Avior Jessica finally noticed his irises were shaking.
"Uh A-" Jessica was cut off by the sound of her greatsword thudding onto the dirt road. Glancing backwards toward the sound she spotted two more shadows covering the faces of Christina and Victoria. That was the last she saw before she too found her vision turn dark as her own shadow covered her entire head like some cursed helmet. She tried using her strength to pull it off before feeling around for her greatsword that had fallen. Desperate to free herself she felt her consciousness beginning to fade just as she felt her hand close on the handle of her weapon.
Joyous at getting something that was likely to shear this monster off her, she activated the sword feeling the warm flames coming off it before moving to pick it up. Or rather attempt to pick it up. For some reason, the same greatsword she'd lifted even with one hand at times was immovable at this moment with two. Befuddled in her last breath Jessica passed out unable to remain awake from her oxygen deprivation a single moment longer.
----
Back among the conscious, Avior lifted his boot off Jessica's flaming greatsword as he saw her body go limp. With the silence and the judging faces of the students temporarily masked by their own shadows, Avior expected his mood to return to its normal controlled self. But it did not. He couldn't help himself as his anger just continued to build. Using has powers had just stoked his irritation. The wrongness of using elemental mana is amplified by his emotional state. Still, it didn't stop him from commanding the shadows to open enough to allow air in for the students to breathe. He didn't want to kill them right now he just needed them to be quiet. Thankfully now they were.
Unfortunately, his emotional turmoil was only worsening. With the immediate threat of a social lynching resolved for now, Avior sought an outlet away from the unconscious students.
Who was to blame for this sudden turn of events?
After a moment a clear answer came to mind, that damn Bandit King and his bandits! Everyone was on edge because of the bandit attack that's why this conversation had turned so bad so fast. With this idea in his mind Avior who'd been shaken enough to stop training for the last few minutes used a fraction of that excess mana to send out a scan in the area.
It came back with information on a camp nearby.
With an outlet in sight and gaining mana at a rapid pace, Avior covered himself in a shadowy veil obscuring everything in black except for the singular white dot at the center of his face.
He wouldn't have to deal with any social conversations if they couldn't even see his face, besides he didn't feel like being looked at right now.
Avior launched himself toward the bandit camp using the brute strength of his legs alone to leap directly on top of the camp.
He didn't want to waste mana or deal with that sense of wrongness that hit him whenever he used the six elements right now, so that left the other weapon he'd been training since his rebirth. Himself.
In the daylight, a shadowy figure smashing into the center of the bandit camp drew the attention of everyone there. Well everyone still there. For the bandits who had been in the center of the camp where Avior landed had been replaced with red puddles.
"What da bloody hell!" A nearby bandit leader who stood out by wearing chainmail, far nicer armor compared to his fellow bandits in leather, exclaimed while drawing the steel mace at his waist. The bandit wasted no time while his companions were still hesitating he threw himself at Avior swinging his mace at Avior's head for a brutal killing blow.
The incoming blow met only a hand covered in darkness. Trying to pull back his weapon for a follow up swing the bandit leader realized his weapon had been caught in his opponent's grip. Letting go of his weapon the bandit followed up by advancing closer to Avior while drawing the two daggers at his waist. Striking at Avior's neck from two different directions the bandit felt confident in his executing strike.
That was until his daggers passed through the air causing his lunge to end in him stumbling forward.
Before he had a second to think immense pain in his lower body and an audible crunch drew his attention. Flying in the air feeling suddenly lighter he managed to look down where the pain was coming from only to see nothing below his chest. He passed out in the next moment and by the time his torso hit the ground he was dead.
The other bandits after one second comprehend what just happened to their leader didn't have to think twice. They turned and ran fleeing the horrible monster that had suddenly dropped out of the sky before severing their leader into two separate halves with a simple kick.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Unfortunately for the bandits, after delivering the kick Avior hadn't stopped moving. Using just his natural speed he blurred around the camp closing in on bandit after fleeing bandit. A simple move while moving past them was all it took to rip them apart. For the untrained eye of the bandits, it just seemed a black ghost had fallen upon the camp chasing the bandits while leaving only bodies in its wake.
Within a minute the bandit camp no longer had any breathing bandits behind.
Alone again Avior walked over to where the bandit leader's upper half had fallen and searched the man's breast pocket beneath his chainmail. Feeling his hand grasp what he was looking for he pulled it out revealing a purple crest that depicted a crown with a dagger stabbing through its empty middle. The crest of the Bandit King.
The Bandit King's crest was similar to the crest of Numina's Royal house which showed a crown with a scale at its center. In Numina the scale represented trade and not justice as some who came from more righteous countries often believed.
The Bandit King's crest being in circulation among bandit leaders just confirmed what Avior knew from his previous lives was still the case. The Bandit King was still active and Avior knew exactly where to find him.
Finally dipping into some of his mana Avior sped himself toward Warport Krovak, the Unbroken City.
------------Warport Krovak, Numina Empire--------
Trade Emperor Adinacus stood on his balcony overlooking Warport Krovak. It had been almost a week since he sent his younger brother and six of their most promising young Mages with the Purple and Pink Pillar to the Holy City of Solis. They should be reaching it any day now. He hoped poor Jiordone had survived Markus and Fiolla's company in one piece.
As the Trade Emperor watched the busy port below him his mind wandered off the topic of his brother's strife and towards a more problematic issue: the Lioness Luxia.
The undeclared Queen of Vernicus and her damn Paladins of Justice had been ruining the profits from the Numina Empire's most reliable revenue streams. That revenue stream of course being banditry.
The barely hidden truth was Numina’s royalty didn’t just ignore the bandits controlling most of their inland territory they promoted it.
Numina’s Emperor since its founding was not only the Emperor of Numina but simultaneously the Bandit King. A figure known for ruling the many bandits throughout Numina and the surrounding area. Having control of an endless stream of bandits did a lot for a Trade Empire. Besides providing another form of cheap security and deterrence while providing some income through raids they did something far more important as well, target Numina’s trading competitors.
Numina had become a trade empire because bandits sacked any vessels not bearing the nation's flag while traversing the chokepoints that Numina’s five Warports held. In its early days, Numina was just a bandit tolling operation forcing people to pay to avoid crossing the straits and highly traveled roads without being robbed. With time they had gone legitimate and become a bonafide Trade Empire, although they held onto their bandit past to continue reaping the associated rewards.
Adinacus felt a sour look growing on his face as he thought about how for the first time in decades his bandits were actually losing him money.
Ever since Luxia and her Paladins started traveling all over the Vernicus Kingdom "vanquishing evil" his bandits had been unable to perform any meaningful raids. In the past, they managed to pillage a few villages every season from their weak neighbor which returned a substantial amount of money and resources while also keeping commodity prices and demand high in the region.
Now whenever a bandit stepped over the border Justice Paladins fell upon them like rabid dogs ono a bone. In some cases, those annoying Paladins even crossed the border into Numina territory in order to "help" with the bandit problem. Adinacus had already lost one camp earlier this year to them after which he'd been forced to spend a fair number of resources hunting down the Paladin do-gooders entering the territory.
His bandit leaders had even been forced to begin actively recruiting again from all the losses!
Although Adinacus didn't go to the Bandit Camps personally he heard the quality of recruits they'd been forced to accept were below standard to put it nicely. Village bumpkins and the like who'd never fought a day in their life, nothing like the retired Numinian mercenaries who usually made up their bandit ranks.
With all this in mind, Adinacus was faced with a choice. Put more resources into the bandits to help them beat down the shiny-eyed paladins allowing them access to the Vernicus villages beyond or withdraw the bandits deeper into Numina and wait while eating the cost himself. For a Trade Emperor who knew how quickly an asset in the red could become a lead weight, the answer was obvious.
"Hello Bandit King."
"Ah hello. Wait what?" Adinacus turned around to where the distorted male voice had come from, bringing his hands together to activate the artifact rings on his hands as he did so.
His arms were caught before they could meet by hands draped in shadows holding his hands upwards. Looking down the arms Adinacus recognized the figure by the white dot which had given them their name.
"Darkeye." Adinacus couldn't help but say as he took in the newest legend from the Hervalle War. As a Trade Emperor Adinacus quickly worked his tongue.
"Greetings! I don't know why you've come to visit, but I would be happy to accommodate you as a guest. I see no reason why I should be at odds with someone who fought one-on-one with the Lioness herself! In fact, I was just thinking about hiring you to deal with a problem of mine on that front."
The shadowy features gave away nothing, but Adinacus took the silence as a good sign.
"I see you called me Bandit King, it's a title few use for me and all that do are very in the know I'm impressed by your erudite knowledge. May I sugg-" Adinacus felt a cold sting on the back of his neck and clang as his amulet of mental fortitude fell to the ground. Knowing he was now open to mind magic he wasted no time screaming his lungs out.
"HELP! HELP! INTRUDER! HELP!" It was then that Adinacus realized he could no longer hear the ocean or the bustle of the city despite being just inside the balcony. Darkeye had blocked incoming and outgoing sounds. Adinacus had made a fool of himself for no reason.
Coughing lightly with his mouth closed to avoid accidentally coughing on Darkeye and angering him Adinacus gave the thorough intruder a weak smile. "Please I'm happy to tell you whatever you want before you use mind magic. Despite appearances, I do really want us to be allies."
Darkeye took all the rings from his fingers except for one before releasing his arms. Although released Adinacus was not seriously thinking about running. Yet.
"Royal vault. Go." Darkeye's words made Adinacus's eyes widen as he looked down at his right hand and confirmed the one ring Darkeye had left him with was the vault key. How did Darkeye know about that?
Not wanting to show hesitation Adinacus turned to obediantly begin walking to the vaults. While in his mind he was thinking of potential ways he could turn the tides on his apparent robber. His machinations were interrupted when he opened the doors to leave his study to find the two guards outside still at attention and alive?
Seeing him staring at them one of them spoke, "May we be of service, your Majesty." Yes, they were very much alive. Adinacus spared a glance behind him only to find Darkeye had vanished. But the invisibility wards in the Palace were made by the Green Pillar herself! No one should be able to become invisible here.
No that's not right. Adinacus had no doubts the Church had ways of circumventing their wards, especially the ones they so generously provided for their allies. It was one of the many reasons he tried to be as nice as possible to them to avoid finding one of their assassins in the night. Is that what this was? Was Darkeye a Church spy sent to rob him?
Realizing he was still staring dumbly at the guard who was waiting for an answer he spoke up.
"No, no, I was just admiring your uniform. Good job keeping it in excellent shape. Actually, that you mention it I'm headed to the Royal Vaults please send word ahead to make sure they're ready for me."
"Of course your Majesty it will be done and thank you for your praises." The guard gave a bow before raising a ring to his mouth to speak into.
The Trade Empire wasn't an Empire for nothing they were filthy rich, so much so that Adinacus had outfitted all his royal guards with message artifacts. An artifact that triggered the message spell when activated allowing for someone's words to be carried by the wind element to their intended quarry. Most only had one use before needing to be recharged with mana and the range was rather limited. The spell itself could also be blocked Adinacus had actually been wondering the other day if the earcracker spell used in the Hervalle War would block it, he suspected it could or at the very least disrupt the message contents enough to make them unrecognizable.
Anyway at the moment Adinacus was regretful he didn't allocate some of his artifact funds for a proper anti-invisibility artifact. He'd been afraid the Church would see such an act as disrespectful, but if they were going to rob him anyway what was the point?
Adinacus tried to keep his nervous look up as he continued walking to the Royal Vault past a few more posted guards. Internally however Adinacus was growing calmer after realizing Darkeye belonged to the Church. It would explain Darkeye's knowledge of the vault ring and his ability to show up at his balcony undetected by the many wards he'd donated to the church for.
The Church knowing about his amulet of fortitude was unexpected, but Darkeye not using a mind-altering spell on him was evidence they knew about one of the vault's hidden conditions for entry, having his mind clear of altering magics. Something Adinacus suspected the Church might have simply assumed as it is a common feature for better artifact vaults.
Despite them knowing so much though Adinacus had to keep correcting himself from being too composed to avoid tipping off Darkeye who was no doubt watching from close behind. The reason for his confidence was because he was certain the Church didn't know the most unique and most effective defense his royal vault had.
Looking forward to using said defense to turn the tables on Darkeye and maybe wring a few coins out of the Church for this brazen act they'd no doubt want to cover up Adinacus arrived in the circular chamber devoted to the royal vault.
The vault entrance sitting in the middle of the floor was the only visible part. The rest of the vault was obscured beneath the flooring. The walls of the room were occupied by twelve Numina Royal Vault Guards decked in at least two artifacts a piece. All of them stood at attention as Adinacus made his way to the vault door and inserted his ring into the matching keyhole.
The artifact safe was triggered sending a thick cloud of dark mana to envelope him. Feeling the cloud scanning him for any mind magic Adinacus only had to wait a moment before the cloud returned to the vault and the door silently opened.
Now was his chance. Adinacus entered the vault letting the vault door close behind him while he continued briskly walking past piles of artifacts and gold to his salvation sitting in the center of the vault hovering in its own custom-built artifact container. The dull iron scepter was nondescript except for the sapphire at its tip. It could easily be mistaken for a rich man's walking stick. That was actually how it had fallen into Numina's hands, they had raided a merchant transporting luxury goods and had stumbled into the jackpot. He had no idea where it originally came from, but it was now known as Scepter of Numina. It was the vault and their nation's last line of defense.
Just about to enter the range of the scepter Adinacus couldn't help but quicken his pace even more as he readied himself to say the words which would send the artifact into his hands and he could send this Darkeye spy of the Church packing.
"The Unbroken City stands forever." A familiar voice rang out in front of him.
Yes those words, he would say them once he took another step. Oh no that hadn't been his voice. Lunging forward Adinacus spoke the words as quickly as he could "the Unbroken City stands forever." But it was a desperate attempt he knew as much as anyone it was already over.
The scepter's container opened and sent the Scepter of Numina like an arrow into the shadowy hands of Darkeye who was no longer invisible. As Darkeye's hands closed around the scepter and immediately activated one of the artifacts many spells created a transparent blue shield around the thief.
Seeing Darkeye even knew how to use the notoriously counterintuitive Legend Grade Artifact Adinacus couldn't help but collapse on the vault's cold floor overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness.
"How? How do you know an activation phrase only the current King of Numina and their successor know?" He couldn't help to ask even in his current state. He knew fighting against whoever had that artifact was useless. More than anyone he knew just how powerful Warport Krovak's trump card was. But how could he know the phrase? Even the original Mage who'd made the artifact had been executed as soon as he set the phrase. Could one of his Royal Vault Guards overheard him say it once and sold him out? No, he always made sure the vault was sealed and he was alone before he said it. Darkeye knowing it made no sense!
Darkeye ignored him instead picking a few other items out from the vault along with some platinum coins.
Adinacus couldn't believe his eyes. Was the Church so shameless they would rob him blind even after taking the Scepter of Numina?
But Darkeye seemed immune to shame as he continued taking more things from the vault. Adinacus almost cried out in outrage as he saw Darkeye produce a pouch also covered in shadows, before filling it with more items. Adinacus couldn't help himself as he started to silently tear up at such a sight. His family's biggest pride, their wealth, was being demolished before his very eyes.
Just when Adinacus was readying himself to see the figure pull out another bag Darkeye stood up and spoke as if to himself, "That should be enough for now." He turned to Adinacus and gestured with his shadowy arms to the vault door.
"Can you get the door for me?"
Adinacus found the request so ridiculous he just swiped his ring over the vault door to unlock it. Darkeye with his bag close to bursting vanished and the door opened a fraction before closing once more leaving Adinacus alone in his now much more spacious vault.
Adinacus tried collecting himself but failed. His tears which were a trickle before now flowed openly. He moved his hand to wipe away his tears but he found his fists were still clenched in rage.
The Church may have stolen his people's most sacred treasure, but they were unlikely to flaunt it unless they were ready to go to war with Numina. That meant everyone other than the Church still believed Numina had the Scepter so as far as the purposes of deterrence and projection of power go he might as well still have it.
Damn! Adinacus thought to himself realizing just how thorough the Church's schemes were. If he were to come out saying the Church stole the Scepter while lacking evidence not only would the Church deny it, but he would be admitting he no longer had the Scepter and Numina would be a sitting duck for rival world powers to conquer. Numina had built up a fair number of gripes from their pillaging in the past and Adinacus had no doubt without the Scepter of Numina and the Church's protection they would be under attack on all sides.
Now that the Scepter was gone Numina only had the Church's protection to rely on.
In the end, the Church robbing him only forced him to rely on the Church more.
Adinacus thought back to his visit from the Pink and Purple Pillars just a week prior and how Fiolla had jokingly suggested he give them the Scepter of Numina. In hindsight it was blatant. The Church had never even bothered to hide their intentions.
Adinacus couldn't help it, he screamed. The vault's walls echoed the scream right back to him as if mocking him for being blindsighted by such a move.
Suddenly he remembered another of Fiolla's requests, the Krovalina.
Oh no, he wouldn't let them get that too. Adinacus rushed out of the vault to give orders for the Krovalina to be brought back to port.
While rushing out of the vault he spared a glance to the twelve soldiers guarding the vault. Only forty-six guards worked in this room on three separate shifts with ten held in reserve for unexpected absences.
The Church likely learned about the vault's mechanisms and maybe even the Scepter through them. A ruthless gleam shone from his eyes. He might not be able to respond to the Church directly but that wouldn't stop him from getting some form of revenge.
After sending his orders for the Krovalina, Adinacus gave another set of orders for all of the Royal Vault Guards to be summoned to the vault room immediately. Separately Adinacus sent for Numina's top torturers to report to the vault room as well. It was time to get some answers. One way or another.
------------------------------
Avior walked out of Warport Krovak's east gate while lugging his sack loaded with artifacts behind his shoulder. He was still invisible of course.
He recognized the Green Pillar's work from a continent away, Vizor might have good warding skills and great consistency, but he was too consistent, too predictable in where he placed his traps for intruders. For a Wardbreaker at his level, only one person on the planet could really make him sweat over a ward and they were a continent away hopefully still sleeping unless something had gone very very wrong.
Looting the Scepter of Numina, or its name before that the Rod of Trials, had put him in a good mood. It was a rather nice artifact crafted by someone Avior assumed to be a Ninth Rank Mage who lived long ago. He'd chased its history down to the Northern Continent where it had been used to train Mages with its extremely complex and convoluted activation mechanism. The Rod of Trials had been handed down by the leaders of one of the North's Warbands until being lost before the start of the era some many hundreds of years ago. Then a couple hundred years ago Numina found it and used it to defend their Warports and scare their enemies ever since. Well, they had been. They couldn't really use it for that anymore.
As for its creator, Avior suspected some real bastard of a Ninth had made it for their apprentices who'd had it before it ended up in the Northern Tribes' hands. Whoever originally made it was long gone, but they had been pretty dang powerful. So much so that this artifact was even useful to him while he was below the Ninth rank.
People didn't call them Legendary Artifacts for nothing.
In a past life, the Radiance had even told him she suspected it was more than twice her own age. And she was the oldest being other than probably old sleepy and the Angels Avior had ever met. If she said it was old then it was OLD.
Still walking while manipulating the light element to reflect incoming sunlight around him otherwise known as invisibility, Avior finally decided to stop reminiscing about history and address his new situation.
Yes in hindsight he may have overreacted to being yelled at, but a part of him thought everything had played out for the best in the end. He had gotten his motivation to take the Scepter of Numina and a few other knickknacks, while as a plus he had done a scan of the Warports and found Prim wasn't there. According to Owl's report that made it likely she had been taken by the Church if she was still alive at all.
So off to the Holy City for him.
As for his "friendships" which were now likely defunct as a result of his actions Avior saw the experience in a positive light.
It had reinforced something he knew but hadn't had to worry about since he started ruling with unquestioned strength. The unfortunate truth that his social skills were weak.
Additionally, he'd discovered a weakness in what he had previously thought was a strength. He had assumed his emotional resurgence after discovering this would be his last life was a boon that could help him foster relationships with people who were finally real, but in reality, his emotions were just a distraction especially since he hadn't been used to really having any strong emotions for his past few hundred lives.
Better yet he'd come up with a plan on how to avoid losing his emotions again. He would simply avoid social situations and supposed "friends" entirely. He'd gotten too wrapped up with them anyways.
He needed to remind himself there would be no real friends if the world was destroyed like last time. He needed to stop fooling around and focus everything back on his goal.
Well, he would at least check on Prim first. At least she hadn't betrayed him. Yes, right after he found Prim then he would go hole up somewhere to push for the Ninth Rank with everything he had, no more distractions.
Besides he hadn't heard from his servants in a while so hopefully whatever they were up to would make up for whatever time he'd lost.