Hecate had to admit, he was definitely the one who had been overly paranoid. The Chosen One, Alastor, was quite different from Ragnar. Ragnar had never focused on the people around him – he could save thousands of people, and he’d not even take a glance at them. Of course, they, his ‘friends’, would then talk to the people, so Ragnar’s image came off as more a duty focused hero who needed no thanks, who only strived to better the lives of people wholeheartedly, but…
Unlike him, Alastor was quite people focused. Take the situation right now, for example. He could’ve just left this person to Hecate – to let Hecate cut the ropes binding the man. But he did not. He personally knelt down, took out his knife, and talked to the man as he freed him. It… It was a nice thing to see, Hecate had to admit.
Not to mention the name he had chosen for their group – ‘Cleanse’. Hecate quite liked it – it was simple, to the point, and could evoke fear. And that was another thing different about the Chosen One – Ragnar would never be so passionate about assuming identities and driving fear into evildoers’ hearts, to make the world a better place, a place filled with justice.
He let out a trembling breath. Yes. He had to get Alastor to Enaj at any cost. But what excuse would he give the king, now?
—
In a discrete corner of the slum, where even the huts were nothing but rubble, and no life was in sight, Hecate and Alastor stood. It was a dumping yard; a place where trash even the slum dwellers felt was too unsanitary and unpleasant – mostly bodies – was dumped. Normally, Hecate would never enter such a place, let alone bring the Chosen One with him. However, circumstances demanded it. They had to dump the thugs they had killed somewhere, after all – they smelled quite bad after he'd messed with their bodies a bit to get the message across – bad enough that he couldn't leave them just anywhere. Not to mention, he did not know how Alastor would level up. What if it was very showy? They had to make sure no one saw it.
Hell, Severine had mentioned that… things that would haunt her forever had popped out of the Chosen One when he had extracted souls. It wasn’t very unlikely that that wouldn’t happen now, and thus he didn’t dare to take Alastor to the palace and make him become an Elementary Mage there.
Nonetheless, Hecate stared at Alastor with bated breath. Now was the moment – Alastor… was going to turn into an Elementary Mage right in front of him. Ragnar never did that – he went into seclusion for a few hours, and when he was out, he was stronger, achieving realms of progress never heard off before. Which was what made the Head Mage slightly apprehensive – if it took a few hours for even Ragnar, it must be the same for Alastor.
There were very high chances mana would settle into Alastor right in front of him – this was something he could let no one see. It was why he had surrounded them with low level stealth formations. The kind that would definitely be discerned by a mage in the Advanced realm, but worked perfectly fine against ordinary people and lower level mages.
He truly did not think an Advanced Mage would stumble upon this scene, all the way in this dumpyard, at this point of time, but if someone did… Well. A death or two for concealing the secret was not something he was opposed to doing. Unlike Severine and others of purer ideals, he was willing to do some unsavory things if that was what required.
It made him deeply ashamed of himself, yet he knew it was necessary and would not budge when required.
He stared at Alastor with unblinking eyes – What’s going to happen? Severine had mentioned something about tendrils of darkness, eldritchness laid bare. Things that made her feel like she would die – and considering she was a Half Step Arch Mage, that was no easy feat. Would they appear again? Would he feel fear pervade deep into his being, his very soul? Did he have to mentally prepare himself now—
“It’s done.” The Chosen One announced, and Hecate blinked. What? That… Nothing happened, though?
Seeing him blink blankly, Alastor smiled before spreading out his palm, a tiny ball of orange flame appearing within it. The first fire based spell any beginner mages learn… Fireball. And then it hit Hecate, the changes in Alastor. Mana flowed through the Chosen One’s body gently, like it had always been there, like Alastor had genuinely gone through the motions every good, experienced mage disciple did to form a steady, stable base.
The sheer stability Alastor’s mana showed made Hecate immensely curious. He didn’t know what else he was expecting – Ragnar was the same as Alastor in this aspect, after all. Ragnar’s progress as a mage, or as a warrior, or in the other countless specializations he had been integrating, were never shaky nor half hearted – it was what made the First Hero all the more amazing. But perhaps Hecate had subconsciously been expecting Alastor’s foundation to be at least a little shaky. Show some sign of being newly developed, require some more souls to become more stable.
Then again, Alastor would have definitely intended to become a stable mage – he would have factored in the cost it takes to stabilize his mana, and perhaps it was included in the ‘hundred souls’ deal.
What really amazed and stunned Hecate was the fact that he couldn’t feel a mana fluctuation at all when Alastor had become an Elementary Mage. An Archmage like him could feel even the slightest change in nature’s mana – they could feel the way the very air moved when someone walked. But Hecate… Hecate hadn’t felt any sort of change in Alastor when he became an elementary mage.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The Chosen One’s abilities truly were amazing.
But all of that became an afterthought as Hecate focused on the tiny ball of flame in Alastor’s hand.
Alastor had done what he had said – he’d become an elementary mage. He’d helped them wipe out some injustice. He wiped their mana traces, allowing them to take down far more than Hecate had imagined even in his wildest dreams without being caught… And he was only just getting started.
They could purify Enaj and conquer it. They could purify all the nobles. They could purify this kingdom…
A wild smile spread across Hecate’s face as his mind went to the only logical conclusion of his stream of thoughts.
They could cleanse the world.
—
Hecate let out a shallow breath as he stood in front of the king’s bedroom – even just the corridor he was in was grossly over-decorated. And he meant grossly over-decorated, even by royal standards. Gold adorned painting frames – not to mention the paintings within them costing an obscene amount themselves – littered the corridor. Literally. Littered, one after the other stacked intimately.
And then there were the occasional gold stools with gold vases and golden – hand crafted, all of them – flowers present in them. Not to mention the gold carpet and the cold ceiling, though he had to admit the design on them made sure to make the gold look not dominating, but integrated with the whites and reds. He liked the carpet and ceiling.
But nonetheless, this place made him feel nauseous, since it reminded him exactly what he hated so much about this kingdom. Or this king, to be specific. Greedy, uncouth, selfish, dumb…
Impatiently, he knocked on the door in front of him once more. The door, luckily, followed the good taste of the carpet and ceilings. It was adorned in a design of red and white, gold only enhancing its edges. Of course, it was still a bit gaudy – like, really? A red and white door that looked like the entrance to some dungeon? He’d expect to see this in a demon’s castle, not in a human kingdom’s. But hey. Better than the other adornments. Better than what the door could be – all gold.
He shivered and sighed, and to his luck, the door opened this time, the king standing there in all of his ‘regal glory’. The man was in his pajamas – which Hecate couldn’t hold a grudge on, since it had become nighttime – and of course, his pajamas were a mix of gold and white too, and he had a frustrated expression on his pig-like face.
“Hecate!” He growled, “What brings you to my chambers this late in the day?”
The Head Mage looked into the bedroom, being exposed to the sight of two nude women laying sprawled across the bed – oh, this was one of those days, no wonder this bastard was so frustrated at being interrupted – and bowed lowly. In a way he usually didn’t.
“This subordinate has something to report.”
Something in his tone must have given the importance of his report away, for the frustration on the king’s face dissolved. “I see.” He half grumbled. “Come inside.”
Bowing once more, Hecate stepped into the room – to their credit, the women scrambled to cover themselves up with the bedsheet – of course, also gold colored – when they saw that he entered the room. Which, for good reason – Hecate was known to be a stingy old miser, so there would be no seducing him. He might even show his anger at the women being in such an indecent position by scolding them right in front of the king, hell, maybe even scolding the king.
No matter how much in servitude, he was an Archmage, after all.
Of course, Hecate couldn’t care less about the women – he would’ve scolded them or reproached the king just to annoy the king in the past, but right now, he had much more important things to do.
“Tell me.” The king asked urgently once he shut the door to his bedroom. “What is it? What has happened? Is it something related to the heroes?”
“It is something related to the heroes, milord.” the Head Mage solemnly declared. “I have finally… succeeded.”
“Succeeded?” The king asked, seemingly confused.
“You know how I’ve…” he turned towards the women, narrowing his eyes—
“They’re trustworthy.” The king assured, “Or I could have them killed after this conversation, if you prefer.”
The women were suitably shocked, but before they could even get on their knees and beg, the Head Mage continued, “No, as long as you trust them, milord, it is fine.” Despite his reply, though, the women still looked shaken. “You know how I’ve always delved into the darker aspects of magic, Your Highness.”
The king nodded, his attention fully captured by the Head Mage.
“I have finally made a breakthrough.” Hecate grinned wildly, insanity apparent to everyone. It made the king flinch and step back, and the women whimper. “I experimented on one of the more useless heroes—”
“Experiment on the heroes?!” The king exclaimed, almost screamed, before realizing what he was doing and toning down his volume. “Have you gone insane, Hecate?! What shall we answer the nobles if they ask us why one of the goddess’ bloodline has died? Do you know how big of a scandal this can become if it’s revealed to the public?” Saying so, he took a glimpse at the women, his eyes suddenly a lot more steely and unwelcoming.
“But they did not die, milord.” Hecate chuckled. “No, no. They did not die. They’ve become an Elementary Mage instead.”
This silenced all of the king’s concerns as shock, surprise, glee, and then greed appeared in the king’s eyes. “Elementary Mage, you say? In one day?”
“In one day.” The Head Mage crooned. “And I could make him go further. Much, much further. However, the experiments I’ll be conducting on him… will require two things. One, a place where no one will question us no matter what we do to him. Two, a convenient excuse to give if he were to die due to a mishap. I… suggest Enaj.”
The king’s eyes widened. “Enaj, yes, Enaj.” He stroked his beard with a crazed grin himself. “None of the nobles there will dare nor bother to question me, and it’s near that beastly border so we can say he died while fighting them, because he overestimated his capabilities…. Oh, that would be perfect.”
“It would, wouldn’t it?” Saying so, the Head Mage removed a document from god knows where and hung it in front of the king’s face. “Then, Your Highness, sign this, and leave it to me… If this goes as I expect, this kingdom will reach heights it never could have imagined.”
—