The Chimeric Ascension of Lyudmila Springfield-Chapter One-Hundred-Eight: Post Meeting
“That’s about the extent of our discussion,” I said, summarizing the meeting over a brisk tea party. We were back in the room connecting our bedrooms. The walls dimly flashed—proof that the audio and visual seals were valiantly defending us from anyone trying to intrude upon this ‘hollowed’ ground.
They were trying.
Gloria immediately fetched the city’s best mages after venting her rage at never once holding the upper hand during our talk. She challenged them to pierce the barrier veils.
It wouldn’t work. Even a High Elf would die of old age before they came close to cracking the algorithm.
Since we were immune to aging?
Yeah…
Only a genius could do it, except good luck finding one in the city. I doubt the country had someone who could match Tris’s intellect or magic crafting.
“You threatened Gloria?” Ami asked, her voice unsteady. “You even gave her time to prepare…”
“I did. It’s a show of force-- a proclamation that her sins must be punished. I refuse to let her get away with this. She’s done much to irritate me, even without growing angry over the obvious. Perhaps you’d call it selfish, but I wanted to remind the little, weak lord how lowly she ranked on the totem pole. She’ll never ascend it as long as I’m around. I’ll constantly remind her of what she failed to protect because she never cared for the village. Not genuinely, anyway.”
“…” I knew Ami wasn’t one to back away from a fight. Her fists were sturdy. She trained hard to get to where she was at, but her enemies… Monsters were one thing. Rabid dogs had to be put down. Cruel salamanders could be killed precisely because they weren’t humanoid—with free will, conscious thought, and the ability to decide their fate.
That was the problem.
Monsters thrived on instinct. Often, they never killed more than what they needed to survive.
Humanoids were different. Team Quella had already experienced the depths of despair a dozen times. So, the idea of another war or conflict, for Ami, left a sour taste lingering on her tongue.
Of course, nothing she could say would sway my mind.
“Speaking of that.” I turned to Sera. “I’ve something to ask you. It’s selfish, but can you remain in Requiesta? Your presence will apply unimaginable pressure on Gloria’s shoulders.”
“I was thinking the same. You or Tris wouldn’t have suggested your plan if either of you were uncertain about your ability to fulfill it. Gloria’s uneasiness will be a sight to behold. I won’t let her have a moment’s rest. Ah—just know that my staying here means ending Niva’s training with Lord Aetos.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” Now that I’d been there, I could warp to Sera’s forest whenever I wanted. I could take others there, too. Sera didn’t know that, so…
Time for another masquerade…
“I wonder if I can handle the spell? Actually, I have something already created. It just needs to be tested.”
“Really? You never seem to not surprise me,” Sera said, her smile always pleasant.
Niva kept quiet, focusing on only herself. After learning of the Water Lord, Niva knew why—possibly why-- she was granted the power to summon spirits. It was still a lot to ponder about. All that abuse… All that suffering… Ultimately, it failed to draw out the Water Lord from hiding.
That son of a bitch never cared for Niva. They saw her as a distraction to help them escape from the pursuers. But if this Water Lord was strong enough to kill the Fire Lord in the Ashlands…
Why not kill their trackers? Why pass them on to Niva?
It only made sense if you assumed the Water Lord was a sadistic bastard who…wanted to punish Gloria with repeated failures…
Not even that made sense because why subject everything to some random girl you saved from freezing to death? She wouldn’t have been kidnapped had the Water Lord left Niva to die.
We would never have met.
Literally, everything would’ve been different…
So…
Why?
“What are the chances of Gloria doing something before we leave?” asked Quella.
“Very little, but it isn’t zero,” answered Tris. “She must be careful with her actions because anything—even something indirectly minor—could be considered an attack, therefore being interpreted as a declaration of war. She knows forgeries exist within her paperwork, so everything will be examined multiple times.”
“She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place?” inquired Ami.
I nodded. “It is a conundrum that has no right answer. Should Gloria decide retaliation is the correct answer, she’ll align herself with Hymn. That means she approves of the horrid organization even though we’ve given her an easy out. In my opinion... She should cut her losses like severing a festering limb. It cannot be saved, but she could, momentarily, prolong her pitiful life for
that
much longer.”
“Mmn… It goes deeper than that on the surface level,” added Tilde. “Hymn was started by Gloria. The entire thing was originally her idea to bring in more money by catering to the sadistic assholes you can find everywhere. Losing it means giving up a lot of gold and silver.”
“I can confirm that Dirge’s wealthiest elites are frequent members,” said Tris. "I have the irrefutable evidence to prove it. Gloria is not in an enviable position. Either choice, really, will result in immeasurable unpleasantries. A happy ending is not awaiting her.”
“We’ll leave in two or three days, so feel free to spend your time as you wish.”
“What…” Everyone looked at Niva. “What will you do about Thaddeus?”
“I desire his death.” My answer was bluntly simple. “Except it isn’t about what I want—it’s what you want. That's why I won’t get involved anymore. I’ve set the stage, so whatever happens will happen because you willed it to be. Erin, it’s the same with you. Bart will remain at his home, so it’s up to you on how to approach this.”
Erin nodded, remaining quiet while she pondered. I could offer advice—that was it, though. I wouldn’t tell her what she should or shouldn't do because the decision had to come from her.
Regardless of their choices…
I wouldn’t supersede them because it wasn’t my right.
Erin soon excused herself to my room. Longtooth followed her while Niva shared a look with Yew. “I think I’ll head to mine,” said the spirit summoner. “Umm… Yew?”
“Okay. I’m right behind you.” Yew pushed her chair in as Surtr transformed into his ‘toy’ form. He jumped onto her shoulder.
That separation spawned more partings as the others resigned to their room to rest, recover, and think about the future, leaving me, Sekh, Tris, Tilde, and Sera at the table.
“So?”
“So what, Master?”
“You’re my teacher, so how did I do?”
“I mean… I don’t have much left to teach you. Tris’s kinda taken over that role. Oh, it’s almost enough to make a grown fairy cry…” She wiped away those fake tears. “But I approve of putting her between, like you said, a rock and a hard place. She’s gonna lose a lot no matter what she chooses.”
“As she should. I’m thinking of robbing her treasury regardless. Our war fund doesn’t
need
more assets, but it doesn’t not need them, either.” I sighed. “If only her death would be for the better…” The pure mana of a Holy Lord… The life force… The strength…
“You mentioned that before, but can you explain?” inquired Sera. “I’m curious to hear your thought process.”
“The short-term benefits are numerous,” answered Tris. “When you see a weakened enemy, you do not give them time to gain strength. You must be lethal in your execution when possible. So, if we were strictly in it for personal gain... The choice is obvious. However, the long-term consequences are diabolical. They’re antithetical to our immediate goal because of those who will swoop in to take advantage of the power vacuum.”
“There’s also Lord Enele. The Dark Lord of Justice cannot show favoritism,” I added. “I’m not foolish enough to have a man like him as my enemy. Besides, let’s say we do kill Gloria. Lyudmila Vredi Springfield may be known as a conqueror if we do not precisely control the narrative. Maybe Meruria uses my ‘careless destruction’ to orchestrate a ‘group’ to save the world from a 'Vredi that has gone mad.’ That woman desires power and control more than anything. Dominating others is her entire motivation. It’s why she wakes up in the morning. As strong as we are, Sera... We cannot take on the entire world.”
“Of course, that’s not likely to happen. But our true foe cannot be underestimated. To do so would be playing into her hands, which will never happen again,” said Tris.
“Ironically, Gloria only lives for entirely unrelated reasons. I’m not sure if I would call it luck. Anyway, depriving her of Hymn does more than reduce her available forces. It’ll ruin her reputation. She’ll naturally direct her hatred towards us, which we can use against her because her organization was ultimately responsible. We can throw that in her face at every opportunity. We could even create a smear campaign to further ruin her. So, we could wait until her anger reaches a boiling point. She’ll attack, putting her in the wrong. We defend ourselves. At that point, who would blame us for killing her? It’s self-defense. Even Lord Enele will see it that way.”
“I see… The thought process is interesting, but I cannot say you’re wrong. Frankly, I’m impressed by how many angles you’ve considered.”
“I wouldn’t be a [Beacon of Wisdom] if I overlooked something like this. I do not like surprises, Sera. They’re an ill-omen in my line of work.”
“Well, surprises of a certain kind,” Tilde quickly added. “You can’t lump them all into one category.”
“Ah—Yes. You’re right. There are a few I welcome.”
“Bringing the topic back to Hymn… I’m almost certain Gloria will dispatch Arella," said Sekh.
Tris echoed that. “She’ll likely send her with an emergency tool to warp her away from danger. Glintfang is the same. Hymn’s loss will hurt, but their deaths will sting even more. It’ll splatter Dirge with a blemish it cannot hope to wipe away for at least a few decades. The same goes for her Soul Warriors. Killing them will put the country behind until the next summoning ceremony.”
“An emergency artifact to summon away when death is near? All we must do is prevent it from being used. Tell me, Tris. Will that be difficult to accomplish?”
Tris grinned like a lion. “Of course not, my lord. I’m already devising ways to handle it should their deaths become necessary. There are benefits and detriments to their deaths—both advantageous and disadvantageous for what we desire. Either way, those sent to defend Hymn—should she choose to sacrifice their lives—will not survive.”
“There you have it, Sister. Trust us.”
“I do trust you. All of you. I know you’ll handle it the way you feel best. I don’t often throw my name around. It isn’t in a Vredi to do that, but this can be an exception. I haven’t felt like this in centuries.”
I haven’t felt like this in centuries, huh…
From there, we left the discussion of Gloria’s impending suffering for later since the fates of two of her advisors were still undecided.
Niva’s and Erin’s choices would have a butterfly effect on Tris’s plans, so nothing was set in stone.
Chapter One-Hundred-Eight: Post Meeting
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