THE SILENT PLOY
An entire month had passed quickly since the Tower’s surroundings slowly began changing. Palace’s foundations were completely set, and even some minor buildings were completely built, such as school and Guild Hall. The atmosphere among the workers had skyrocketed when the pill rewards were being given out, so much so that even some of the soldiers wanted to partake in work.
Lynne, on the other hand, while not training or concocting, had spent majority of time with others. He’d visit his dad every couple of days, spend some time with Thalia nearly every day, and indulge in reading when no one was available. He had spent some time with Parsia a week since the latter returned, and finally learned what happened.
As it is the custom from where he comes, Ayya is always of aware of where he is. Seeing as it was taking him too long to return, she snuck out of the Palace and the Kingdom and decided to have an adventure of her own. She’s what you call, he remembers him saying it, the clingy type. Also, make sure all the people I coordinate with are guys. She might kill them otherwise. And all Lynne could think at that moment was Crazy? Or cute? Nah, definitely crazy…
At the moment, he was observing the ongoing building from the top of the Tower, sharing a bottle of Heavenly Ale with Y’se. Even after chatting with her quite often, this big sister of his had always remained a mystery for him. Despite how many times he asked how she became a Queen, or what’s her rank as a Magus, or even if she knows his dad, she’d dodge it quite skillfully.
“Things are going well,” she said, smiling. “Everyone’s been working real hard for their King.”
“Aye, they want me to slave away concocting pills for them.” Lynne sneered. “But, it’s fine. I just hope things remain as loud as they are at the moment…”
“Ho ho, someone’s having a bad premonition?”
“Haii, rather, it’s more like I’ve been conditioned that, whenever things are going to well, I should immediately flee.”
“Oh. That’s kind of sad, actually.” she added casually.
“Heh, not all of us have the luxury of being the Queen of the Tower in the middle of nowhere who no one dares attack.” Lynne snickered.
“Well, now you do too.” she said, raising her bottle into the sky.
“Yeah…”
“How’s training going?” she asked after the two drank a bit.
“Ugh, don’t ask,” whatever tranquil mood Lynne had going for him collapsed upon the mention of training. “Aah, being a Magus is hard.”
“Nah, it just requires dedication,” she said. “You’re just juggling many things around at the moment. However, my lil’ bro should be able to complete that no problem! So don’t sully our great ancestor’s name!”
“… fuck off. You do nothing all day but find me with a bottle and ask: hey bro, wanna drink?” Lynne grunted. “Must be fun being you.”
“Ha ha, I suppose it is.” Y’se laughed joyfully, but her laughter came to an abrupt end as her eyes focused onto a spot in the distance.
“You felt it too?” Lynne quickly got onto his feet, his eyes slanting.
“Aye.” Y’se said, extending her hand toward him. “Hold my hand.”
“Hm.”
As their hands touched, Lynne felt space around them contort and open, and he felt an invisible vacuum suck him into the nothingness. A mere blink of a time later, he found himself on a wet earth, with temperature so low he had to circulate Mana just to warm up. As his eyes looked around, he spotted three frozen corpses lying on the ground, surrounded by thick trees.
“This is a jungle region that was pushed beyond the mountains?” Lynne asked, crouching down in front of the corpses.
“Yeah. Do you recognize them?”
“No.” Lynne shook his head. “Could it be just some random dispute gone too far?”
“… I don’t know.” Y’se creased her brows as she looked around. “Mana fluctuations… say otherwise.”
“What do you mean?” Lynne asked.
“They’re strong. All of them were frozen so quickly and so stealthily that we barely got a whiff of any Mana movement. Yet, we did – from so far away.”
“How strong?”
“At least a God.” Y’se muttered. “However, no one that strong should be in the work force. Hell, if you think about it, I don’t think we have ten Grand Mages in total, and all of them spend most of their time in that shitty temple.”
“Hey, I designed that temple!”
“… is this really the time?”
“Hardly,” Lynne sighed, looking around himself. “Distant, hidden, nearly at the edge of the formation. And no one else seems to have noticed.”
“Hm,” Y’se nodded. “We only did because of our Bloodline. We’re very sensitive to any unnatural Mana fluctuations, even spanning great distances.”
“There’s not much we can gather from here,” Lynne said, sighing yet again. “Didn’t I tell you? Flee, Lynne, flee, fool! There’s that voice yet again.”
“What do you want to do?” Y’se asked, probing.
“This is complicated,” Lynne replied. “We can’t increase the security too much, as they’ll immediately notice something is wrong. We can’t even tighten the workplaces, because it’s already packed as it is. Should we get Grand Mages on shifts as overseers?”
“Yeah, that’s probably the best option.” Y’se nodded satisfyingly. “Look at my lil’ bro, already donning the air of a King.”
“Aah, I remember the days I wasn’t able to have a casual conversation around recently killed people.” Lynne said in a mocking tone. “Every day I stray further…”
“You can go back,” she said, smiling. “I’ll bury them properly and try to find more clues.”
“Be careful,” Lynne said, nodding. “You know how to reach me.”
“Aah, you’re so cute, worrying for your big sis like that…”
“Weren’t you already given lessons on how to behave around Lynne?” Lynne asked, curious.
“Aye, I have.”
“Wasn’t one of the clauses literally ‘Don’t stroke his ego’.”
“Aye, it was.”
“… and you still did?”
“Ha ha, what of it? I’ll praise you whenever I damn well please! As my lil’ bro, it’d be strange if your ego didn’t eclipse a combination of every King under sun!” Y’se proudly exclaimed.
“… right?!” Lynne exclaimed right back, his eyes shining. “I should be proud of everything I’ve done, right?!”
“Of course!”
“Hah, what do others know?”
“They just want to hold you back!”
“Who can hold me back?! I wanna see that face, so I can punch it silly!”
“Ha ha, go, go, lil’ bro!”
“… okay, let’s not do that again.”
“Yup, heard it.”
“Alright, I’ll go back. Let me know if you find anything.”
“Sure thing.”
Lynne moved quickly through the space, as his comprehension of its Law had progressed the most in the past month. He soon found himself at the top of the Tower, his eyes straying toward the south for some reason, almost instinctively. He quickly realized something; it was no longer him alone, or just a small group of people. Looking down, he saw the sea; men, women, children, young and old, numbering in tens of thousands. All these people relied on him to keep them safe. I donned the mantle of a King, yet I’ve been doing pretty much the same shit I always did.
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Looking back toward the place they found corpses, he creased his brows slightly, entering deep thought. Suddenly, his heart jolted; left, right, ten miles, twelve miles, then up north, then back to the west… silent, almost non-existent Mana fluctuations sprung up almost at the same time at the very edges of the currently inhabited places. He jolted onto his feet yet, by the time he did, the fluctuations disappeared as if they were never there.
He immediately tore through space and began moving from location to location, getting more worried the more he saw. As he arrived at the last, he found seven charred bodies on the ground besides a small lake. His body seemingly relaxed after a few seconds as, a mere blink later, he felt a burst of heat coming from his back.
“If you’re going to play with fire,” Lynne casually turned and raised his arms, overturning it upside down, whereupon a finger-sized fireball traveling toward him immediately disappeared. “At least make sure you’re not playing against fire.” a black shadow suddenly turned around in attempt to flee, causing Lynne to sneer. “Where are you going?” almost as if confused, the shadow kept trying to move forward, yet kept coming back to the same place it started. Lynne slowly began walking over, seemingly without any worries. Empyrean Child, like. However, why do I feel as if he’s no threat at all?
“Now,” Lynne quickly corned the shadow, which turned out to be black-hooded figure who was currently looking around nervously. “You and your pals have been causing some trouble for me. I was having a fine, self-important day of relaxation, yet you just had to go and ruin it, huh?”
“…”
“It’s fine, you don’t have to talk,” Lynne remained a meter or so apart, crouching down as his eyes fixed onto the figure. “I’ll talk. I actually love talking, you know? Everyone goes on and on about the beauty of a silent moment, yet here I am, thinking to myself, what the fuck are these dimwits drinking? Beauty lies in the bridge built with words, don’t you think?”
“…”
“So, with that in mind,” Lynne smiled, tilting his head sideways. “You and I are going to build a bridge so large it could encompass the whole damn world. I’ll start by asking questions, and you’ll start by answering them. For every time you remain silent, I’ll cut one piece of you. Shall we begin?”
“…” a strange, crimson flash later, the black-hooded figure suddenly fell onto the floor, one of its fingers toppling over and falling whole onto the ground as blood spurted out.
“That was a question.” Lynne still had playful expression as he looked at the figure.
“W-what do yo-you want to know?” oh? A girl’s voice? Interesting.
“Who are you?” Lynne asked.
“… I’m…”
“Ah, fine, you’re part of some secret whatever, I don’t really care,” Lynne said. “Did you kill those people of your own volition, or were you asked or hired?”
“… hired.” a quaint voice replied.
“Interesting,” Lynne stroked his chin as he fell in short thought. “When?”
“… a week ago.”
“How?”
“… t-through others.” the voice grew weaker and weaker.
“Hey, look here,” Lynne grunted. “I’m fairly certain I’m asking straightforward question. So why am I getting half-assed answers?”
“I—I don’t…”
“Who hired you?”
“… t-they said som-someone outside the formation…” Shit. Lynne’s eyes immediately grew larger as he heard the last part of the sentence. Y’se did mention that my mom and her other clansmen were situated south. Could it be that the news of my and father’s arrival was leaked? No, it should be impossible. Y’se reassured me that any form of communication with the world outside the formation was impossible.
“How did you communicate?” Lynne’s playful tone disappeared, and was replaced by a harsh one, causing the girl to draw even further back.
“G-gift… we… all of us have Gifts…”
“…”
“… yo-you have to believe me…” This is bad, Lynne thought, ignoring the girl for the time being. Could they be thinking that I’m aiming to save the Dragon? No, impossible. Very few people actually know that. Still… how the hell did a bunch of Grand Mages infiltrate us so easily? There’s a very distinct difference between auras of Magus Realm and Grand Realm… and even Y’se missed it? Just who are these people?
“Who are you?” Lynne asked sternly, as he figured that’s where the crux of the matter lies.
“F-faithful…”
“… ones?!” Fuck! Lynne immediately jumped onto his feet, carefully looking around with creased brows. A week ago, he had stumbled upon the book called ‘Contemporary Record of Ancient Clans’. Among one them was a Clan called Shadows, that had disappeared ten or so generations ago, but their traces can occasionally be found through some minor realms. According to the book, the Faithful Ones are the Clan Ancestors’ direct disciples, and no one knows just how many of them are there.
“Grab my hand.” Lynne suddenly extended his arm, startling the girl.
“… w-why?”
“Either that or I behead you on the spot. Your choice.” with a slight hesitation, the girl grabbed his hand, whereupon Lynne quickly tore space open, and a few moments later, led her to the room where he concocted pills. We should be safer her. “How many of you have infiltrated our ranks?”
“I-I don’t know…” the girl replied weakly. After a short moment of thought, a decisive look flashed through his eyes as he began contacting Thalia, Parsia, Gru, Y’se, the Principal, his father and many others, giving them varied information, and instructing them directly. If the formation can no longer hide us, should we pull the brunt of our forces down south and further enhance the perimeter? No, that will draw too many curious eyes and they’ll know something’s wrong. Should I take a few elites and move myself outside the formation to scout the surroundings? No, that’s too risky. The immediate vicinity is probably being watched constantly. What were they hired for in the first place? Low-key obstruction? Or something much bigger? Even more importantly, can they sneak outsiders through the formation somehow? No, they shouldn’t be able to… right? “E-excuse me? A-are you Lynne?”
“… I am.” Lynne casually glanced at her. She still had black hood over her face, hiding her features. “Why do you ask?”
“… I-if you can p-promise not to kill me-”
“You killed seven of my people,” Lynne’s eyes narrowed as he glared murderously at her. “And you expect me to spare you?”
“I-I t-think I know w-who hired us… a-and why…” the girl muttered ever so weakly, avoiding his gaze.
“You told me you didn’t. I don’t care whether your personality is some shitty ploy or whatever, but you’re not surviving past today. Luckily, you can at least choose how to die.”
“Oh?” the weak voice finally disappeared as the girl uncloaked herself; it turns out it was a woman trying to play the part of a girl. Haii, aren’t you ashamed of yourself? She appeared middle-aged, her hair black and curled, face riddled with faint scars that are yet to heal. Her eyes appeared somewhat dead as she looked at him. “I didn’t expect the mighty King to be so heartless as to kill me for some pointless Mortals. You’d rather risk knowing nothing and uphold ‘justice’, rather than consider their sacrifices worth it?”
“… I’m really not in the mood to fickle ideologies with you,” Lynne spoke, a hint of anger in his voice. “So,” he slowly walked over to her and crouched, looking her directly into the eyes. “We’ll play a game instead.”
“Oh? Cutting fingers again?”
“No,” Lynne said calmly. “Each time you try to fuck with me, I’ll destroy a part of your soul.”
“Huh?!”
“But, I’ll make sure I do it slowly,” his voice grew deeper and deeper the more he talked, eyes growing colder and colder in parallel. “To the point that even grave wouldn’t be enough to wash it all away.”
“Heh, I don’t think you’re so crue---AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!” she suddenly screamed mid-sentence as she felt something deep within her tear apart from her being. The pain was beyond physical, or even mental; it attacked every part of her whole, and she lost control over everything she was. As if doused in eternal hell, all she felt was pain; burning, freezing, bleeding, cutting, stabbing… all possible ways to harm someone seemed to have manifested deep inside of her and were resonating outward, causing her body to franctically spasm on the floor as she screamed, her pupils rolling back into her head. “ST—AAAAAHAHG- STOP!! I’LL T---AAAGGGH--I’LL TALK!! AAAAGH!” screaming continued, with Lynne standing above her indifferently. She begged for hours to come, yet Lynne didn’t move an inch, just observing. In the end, whole ten hours had passed until spasms slowly died down, and her voice weakened. She was still conscious, as Lynne made sure she never passed out. Her whole body was covered in sweat, and her already faintly dead eyes grew even deader.
“Who hired you and why?” he asked coldly as he sat her back up.
“Heh,” the woman chuckled mockingly. “Fuck you.”
“… let’s tackle your memories this time around,” Lynne sneered. “I bet even someone as ugly as you has some memories she holds close to her heart.” the woman shuddered as she felt cold wash over her. And Lynne didn’t fall back on his words. Just like the first time, it hurt all the same, but it was worse. All throughout, she dove into an illusion, with her favorite memories being ripped apart by invisible force, with all the people she ever loved being destroyed and removed from her mind, never to be remembered again.
The woman had finally learned of true cruelty and madness. Prior to this very moment, she prided herself on that same thing; to remain cold, indifferent as you watch others collapse in deplorable harrowing. Yet, this was so much more. This was cruelty for the sake of cruelty, madness spawning from the depths of one’s heart. To attack one’s soul, even among the most deplorable ones, was a taboo very, very few ever took part in. And, even if they did, it was brief. Soul was considered something sacred, something humans should never play with.
Yet, before her stood youth who didn’t care. He watched her calmly and coldly as all she ever lived for was being ripped apart from within her, as the pain no living should ever suffer through assailed every inch of her whole. She felt fear. Fear far greater than the one she felt toward her Masters. Fear far greater than the one she felt toward the harrowing figures of the past, legendary Mages, or even ambigious Gods. Fear she felt toward this youth was one stemming from the depths of her soul. Those eyes of his replaced all the memories she loved, and those eyes stared deep, as if piercing her. She wanted to beg for mercy, but no voice would come out. There was only suffering.
“… I’ve finally grasped something with my own two hands,” she heard his voice resonate deep inside her Soul as the walls that made her who she was collapsed slowly, one by one. “After being led by the nose for so long. Not many things in my life ever went the way I wanted them to.” the voice was cold, yet strangely warm, slowly healing those collapsed walls. “Whenever I’d turn a corner, there would be a wall. There would be someone or something else dictating what I’m supposed to do… where I’m supposed to go.”
“However, I finally have something of my own,” the voice continued, managing to calm her somewhat. “Something feasible before me. And, for it, I don’t care what I have to do,” the voice grew colder again. “Because I’ll never allow anyone – be it Mortals, Mages or Gods – to take it away from me. I don’t want to erase the memories of the ones you love. I can imagine I’d want to stop living if anyone did that to me,” he continued. “But I will, without a moment’s hesitation, if you keep fucking with me. To me, you’re nothing. You’re worth less than a single Mortal out there sweating every day to build something.” most of the collapsed memories slowly returned to her, and she felt tears of joy trickle down her cheeks, warming her cold body. “So, I’ll ask again. Who hired you… and why?”
“I-it was…” the woman muttered weakly, afraid to even hesitate for a moment. That fear had already been inscribed in the depths of her. It was something that can never truly be erased, regardless of how one tried. “M-miss Hyorn,” Lynne’s eyes flickered. “A-and targ-targets were you… and your f--”
“Father?!” Lynne immediately jolted onto his feet as he felt weak Mana fluctuations coming from the direction of his father’s temporary house. Worry assailed his heart and he felt a strange throb, whereupon he immediately tore the space open and moved, leaving the woman lying on the floor.
“H-heh,” the woman chuckled weakly. “M-miss Hyorn… y-you made a big mistake. Heh… hehe…” then, she finally collapsed, unable to hold onto a thought anymore. Her sleep was filled with memories that were returned back to her, and she finally understood the joy of them, which inflated her fear toward that youth even more.