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The sound of Evangeline tapping her fingernail against the wooden grip of her seat echoed in the otherwise uncomfortable silence between the gathered headmasters. As soon as one of the other headmasters was about to speak, Evangeline simply lifted her other hand, just enough to gesture them to wait, while never stopping her tapping that was making everyone else here nervous. Everyone present was a headmaster of an academy of their own, but not a single one of the twenty other people present wanted to piss off the diminutive vampire. Evangeline had asserted her authority as soon as things started spiraling out of control, and she didn’t need to make more than one example.
People kept forgetting. Mahora was one of the few academies with their own Champion, but the only reason Negi was that Champion instead of Evangeline, was because the first choice had turned the offer down. She had always been, and still was, vastly more powerful than Negi.
The silence stretched on for an uncomfortable length of time, and all the other headmasters were getting restless. They hadn’t reached their positions by being fools, but the situation wasn’t something that lent itself to just sitting around and waiting. They knew the value of caution, but they were used to being the ones to make all the decisions, and to taking decisive action.
Glances were thrown at one of the headmasters in particular, although not a lot could be seen beneath the heavy red robes with mechanical motifs and the breathing mask that covered the man’s face. Holy symbols in the shape of cogs decorated the man’s equipment, and many mechanical parts could be seen beneath the robes, but it was difficult to say how much of him was machine and how much was man.
Finally, the Asari Matriarch leading the Thessian academy entered the room and took her seat in the circle of rather lavish chairs. Usually, the central holoprojector would be used to view matches, offering every headmaster their own chosen view, but now the device lay dormant. The matches were suspended for the time being, although they’d all reviewed the last match several times from different angles. “Well?” Evangeline asked as the Asari got comfortable.
“Physically they’re all fine, though that was to be expected. Two of mine will need several weeks of time and likely some therapy due to their mental state. They’ll recover eventually, but I’m not sure how their future participation will be influenced. Their enthusiasm certainly will, whether for good or ill. The others, including yours, have already recovered, and I heard Sa'violi already calling for vengeance, so she's going to be fine." The headmaster of Thessia reported. “Had they been exposed for longer, or if the participant that caused this had been able to use their full powers, the results would’ve been much worse.”
Eva looked towards the headmaster of the academy named Ordo Sangreal. “Anything to say for yourself?” She asked. They’d all been suspicious of the participation of the academy in question. Mostly because they hadn’t gotten participants from that part of the universe for ages. They knew there was a chain of academies there, most under the general name Schola Progenium that mostly trained orphans, and they hadn’t heard of Ordo Sangreal before. They’d been leery to allow the participation of the new academy, but there were no rules against it. Not just any organization could claim to be an academy, but participation in events like these was one of the conditions for being recognized as one.
“Flesh is weak.” The mechanical voice of the headmaster echoed. “If they cannot face adversity, they should not participate. It is hardly our fault that your people are too fragile.”
“Fragile-!” The Thessian headmaster stood up, clearly ready to tear the man to pieces, but a single raised finger from Eva interrupted her rant and forced her back into her seat.
“I’m fairly confident that you are aware of the rules despite being new. No attacks that cause permanent damage to participants. Attacks aimed directly at the psyche and mind of a student like that, causing enough pain and discomfort to scar even seasoned adults, certainly qualify. Or are you trying to say that your machine would be fine if I tore your mind apart?" Eva leaned forward a bit. "Be my guest. Make the claim. We can test it right now.”
“Reporting: violence between the representatives of the schools is forbidden. You would not break your own rules. Thus, your threat is empty.” The man responded calmly. He’d not shown any signs of discomfort at any point.
“Funny thing that. We have all these good people bearing witness. I wonder. What they’d say if questioned on what happened to your mindless husk? Want to wager your life on that?” Eva smirked a bit. The murmurs from the other headmasters made it quite clear what they’d say. Although, she was mostly bluffing. It would set a very bad precedent after all.
“We also evaluated the equipment confiscated from the team of Ordo Sangreal. Incidentally, we also went through the equipment of their other teams on a hunch.” The Thessian headmaster reported.
It was the man’s turn to display outrage, for the first time since the beginning. “You had no right to steal our-“ His words were cut off as he was forced back into his seat, just like the Thessian headmaster earlier. The same invisible force seemed to force him to keep silent. Eva gestured for the Thessian headmaster to continue.
“All of them had forbidden equipment designed to work around the format of the competition. Most were designed to cause mental trauma either through extreme pain, or mental derangement. The aim was clearly to cause permanent harm, even when the fights were conducted in a manner that made physical damage nigh impossible.” The Thessian headmaster continued. “In addition to being forbidden in purpose, none of the items were actually created by students. Our investigative spells revealed that they’d either been created by various artisans of an organization called Adeptus Mechanicus, or a race known as the Drukhari, meant to be used as torture implements.”
Eva looked towards Darion, the headmaster of the Argus Mage Academy. His connections to the seedier parts of the universe allowed him access to information that wasn’t widespread. “The Mechanicus is a major organization outside Ordo Sangreal, ostensibly without a connection besides being part of the same empire, and my sources inform me that the Drukhari are a race that wouldn’t be allowed in any academy, anywhere, and certainly aren’t part of the Ordo Sangreal.”
Eva lifted an eyebrow. “Even you wouldn’t take these Drukhari?” That caught her by surprise. Argus took in people almost entirely without question of their background. They mostly cared about results.
"No. We might dabble in the darker side, but we have our limits as well. The entire universe they come from is horrid, and the Drukhari are the worst of the lot. I'd rather take in straight-up demons. And I don’t mean the good kind of demons either. Their purpose in life seems to be to commit the maximum number of atrocities.” Darion shook his head.
The Thessian headmaster continued again. "Incidentally, we took a better look at the participants from Ordo Sangreal. They've been chosen based on appearance, level, and age so that they might pass off as students, but none of them qualify as students by the standards of any other academy. In fact, we have reason to believe that Ordo Sangreal doesn’t even function as an Academy in more than name. Once we got that far, we had our telepaths take a better look, and while Ordo Sangreal fulfills the qualifications required of an academy on paper, the whole thing is a staging ground for something else. We're not yet sure what, since these so-called students were not informed, but it is clear that they are operatives and not students. Young and relatively inexperienced operatives, enough to pass as students, but operatives nonetheless."
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Eva locked her eyes on the man. “I believe we’re back to tearing your mind apart, but this time for information. We all want answers and you’re going to provide them either voluntarily or involuntarily. I believe I would enjoy the latter more, so be my guest and refuse to answer.”
“There is no certainty in flesh but death.” The man suddenly chanted, and his body started to glow before exploding. The whole explosion was caught and frozen in ice, the flames themselves becoming motionless and shrapnel frozen in place, protecting everyone else present, who were rather shocked by the revelations and the sudden turn of events. They had allowed Eva’s posturing, though would’ve protested actual torture, so a sudden suicide came as a shock.
"If you think this is enough to protect you, I've got bad news," Eva grumbled. "Darion, get his soul, would you? If he’s not going to talk in life, then he’ll do so in death.”
Darion frowned. “I can’t. Some power whisked his soul away as soon as he died. Some divine power.”
“The same likely happened to the assassin who caused all these problems. He was found dead after the match. His body was intact, so we tried to resurrect him of course, but it didn’t work for some reason.” The Asari Matriarch reported.
“This would’ve been useful to know earlier. Not that I find it likely that he would've shared any information even if I hadn't pushed him so hard," Eva grumbled. "Tear everything you can out of the operatives. Since they aren't students, protections no longer apply. They are hostile agents until further notice and shall be treated as such. I want to get to the bottom of this.”
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“So, you thought I could tell you more about the whole mess?" Seraphiel asked, studying what little was left of the headmaster who had blown himself up. The explosion had been suppressed, but most of the damage had already been done.
“You already indicated that you’re familiar with them to an extent when you informed us that the equipment couldn’t have been made by a student. I can only assume that you visited their universe at some point, just like you did ours.” Eva clarified her thinking.
“Hmm.” Seraphiel made a non-committal sound. “You’re not wrong, but my information is likely very out of date. Do you know how long they’ve been a part of this universe?”
Evangeline had done some research on the subject, even if the answers were not satisfactory. “There’s no clear answer to that question, but at least several thousand years. Closer to ten thousand according to some estimates. Theirs is a very shitty part of this universe, and nobody goes there if at all possible, which is why no one is entirely sure when they arrived. Heck, I know plenty of people are trying to escape.”
“Right. So, you can imagine how many things could’ve changed since then. Even if that universe had been brought here right after I left.” Seraphiel re-iterated. “That said, part of what made them so shitty is that they aren’t exactly quick at making changes.”
"So, you do know something," Eva confirmed. "I have to admit, I was a little shocked to see someone kill themselves over a matter that shouldn't be so major. Despite my blustering, I could’ve done only so much to the man due to concern over students who weren’t even killed in the end. There was evidence of wrongdoing, but he could’ve gotten off with just pulling his academy, canceling the whole project to become an academy, and paying some wergild”.
Seraphiel poked some of the ashes to find something useful. “Well, one thing you should know is that martyrdom is something to strive for among them. In fact, they’re practically looking for opportunities to martyr themselves. If they thought martyring themselves would gain any sort of benefit to their cause, they’d happily do it. There’s a reason why most of their participants were signed under religious Classes. You’re dealing with fanatics. Also, everyone that comes from that universe is crazy, to an extent. I'm one of the saner examples, and that's just because I was only visiting.”
Eva shivered. “A terrible thought. People even crazier than you.”
With a slightly amused smile, Seraphiel picked up a burnt portion of red robes with a cog symbol. "This man was part of an organization that used to be called Adeptus Mechanicus during the time I was there. Hardcore technophiles and trans-humanists. They are also what passes for scientists among them, so all the equipment the participants used was likely made by them. The piece of equipment I pointed out certainly was, as well the sanctified weapons they used. Lives are cheap to them, so they could easily throw away countless of them, just to test a theory or your reaction to something like this."
“You don’t seem to appreciate them very much.” Eva detected the note of derision in Seraphiel’s tone, something that the Angel rarely displayed so openly.
“I don’t, and at the same time I do. I spent way longer in their universe than in most others, and as you've alluded, it's not a happy place. I spent most of my time with the Aeldari, and I believe there are a few of them as students in Mahora. Anyway, that universe is rotten to the core, yet they survive, by any means necessary. I have a slightly better view of the Aeldari, mostly because they gave me sanctuary when I was still trying to work out how my exile worked. And because my first mission was to aid them in their plight. I also learned a lot from them, as shown by my Class. Still, I can’t say that I have too many fond memories of them as a people either. Time has given me some perspective. Doesn't change my derision when it comes to the other races of that universe." She glanced at Eva. "I know you don't have a high opinion of Humans in general, but the Humans of that universe are a hundred times worse. Not entirely their fault, as the universe in general was horrid, but they didn't exactly make things better."
Eva nodded thoughtfully. “Any guess why they’re doing this? Are they after you perchance?”
“I…doubt it. As much as I scorn them and their Imperium of Man, there were other, bigger enemies in that universe. I killed some of the Mon’keigh, but in that universe that’s nothing odd. Billions of deaths are written off as acceptable losses. You could say that their Imperium and the Aeldari, which I was part of at the time, had common enemies, and both thought that fighting those common enemies was more beneficial than fighting each other, at least most of the time. They weren’t friends or allies, not by a long shot, but I believe my actions in the long term helped their Imperium as well. Heck, I wouldn't be too shocked if they'd held a parade in my honor for getting rid of one of the Chaos Gods. Or likely they decided to give that honor to one of their leaders and held a parade for him. So no, I don’t think they’d carry a grudge against me. And that’s assuming they even remember me after all these years and can connect me to who I was back then. I wasn’t advertising my name or background. No, while I will never dismiss the possibility entirely, I find it very unlikely this was directed at me specifically.” Seraphiel speculated.
“So why then?” Eva asked.
“I honestly can’t say. I don’t know what’s going on with them currently. One thing though. I’m quite confident that this won’t be their only operation of this type. More than likely, they had a dozen similar endeavours of similar scope going on at once. I could speculate that they’re trying to test something. Whether that’s the System and the powers granted, some of their new weapons, your reaction, the power of Classers outside their area, or a hundred other things.“ She frowned a bit. “I’ve been taught that leveling up after certain thresholds is impossible without special resources.”
“Correct. That’s one of the things that makes the Core Worlds special. And I think I see where you’re going with this. No, I don’t think they have ready access to those resources. So, they’d have trouble at level 500 at the latest. The resources needed at level 250 are not too hard to get access to, even for those groups that keep to themselves and don’t trade much. Those resources are found outside the Core Worlds and can even be substituted with even more common materials, albeit at a horrid ratio. They likely wouldn’t have large amounts of those resources, unless their worlds for some reason had access to them, so they wouldn’t have too many high-level individuals.”
"Unless they became Champions. Despite everything, or perhaps exactly because of how shitty that universe was, the number of individuals that would make for great Champion material is rather large. I would not be too shocked if they had several Champions from their ranks." Seraphiel pointed out.
“I think I know of at least three off the top of my head. And I think at least one of them came from this Imperium you mentioned.” Eva nodded in confirmation. “I have to admit I’m not fully aware of all the current Champions. That’s more Negi’s problem, and if I remember correctly, their Champions have been mostly inactive.”
“That’s even allowed?” Seraphiel questioned.
“Certainly. As long as you come to an agreement with your god and said god isn’t at risk of being dethroned due to your inactivity. You’d probably have to make an effort every hundred years or so if you had enough achievements already.” Eva shrugged. “But returning to the topic, you think they’re just testing things?”
“That’s just one theory that makes some sense. I honestly can’t tell you anything more. I’ve been out of touch for too long.” Seraphiel replied with a shrug. It really had been a very long time since she’d visited that universe, and she wanted to forget most of it.
She fished a damaged machine from among the remains. "Aha! I knew it. This is what they call a cogitator, or what the rest of us would call a computer of sorts. They'll likely try to retrieve this as it holds all the information the headmaster managed to collect. I imagine they will send someone stealthy for it after a bit of time has passed. And before you ask, I do not recommend trying to connect this to your systems. There's a reason they have a cult dedicated to machines and the horrors that their computers get up to can't be understated. Trying to access this without the correct rituals would likely infect any computer you link it to."
“Understood. I think we might be able to arrange a trap of sorts.” Eva commented and gingerly took the scorched piece of technology.
"Perhaps. Just remember, they have more patience than you. That's something you should always keep in mind. You might think you're patient, but compared to them you're child hopped up on sugar. They have people who can happily dedicate entire generations and families to some mundane task that's completely worthless. Imagine what they can do to something that actually matters."