Capítulo 37: Chapter 37 - The Wonderful Skill of Screwing Over Plans
Locki's conversation with Drumlowe's spy, Ignatius Vrain, went without any further problems or sudden reveals. He had already known about how corrupt the council members were, so Ignatius was the surprised one when Locki said he already knew. Of course, Locki still noted their exact crimes and stances on the issue he needed to figure out.
His circumstances were both not as bad as he feared, but not as hopeful as he wanted.
The thing about politics is that there never were things that happened or were passed for simple reasons. Just as how his future self had revealed that Crawford Seam was related in some ways to the demons of Zeref, there was more at play with the Charms magic ban.
Ignatius had given Locki all the details of the supposed deal as well as everyone who was against it. So far, the young guildmaster had looked over most of the key points, but he could already notice a trend.
"... its shit." Locki mumbled as he looked out from the crystal glass walkway. It was a particularly interesting area in the floating mansion that was Fiore's Magic Council Branch; the floors, ceiling and wall were all glass so that the occupants could see the capital city of Fiore, Crocus.
Otherwise known as the Flower Blooming Capital, Crocus was a place Locki never really saw before. A massive sprawling array of red-roofed houses and streets full of flowers with a larger-than-life castle smack dab in the middle. Picturesque mountains and rolling, green hills framed the city as the violet and red sunset passed over the horizon.
"I'm sorry sir, did you say something?" One of the Rune Knights that followed Locki after his meeting with Ignatius asked.
Locki scoffed and ignored the man's question. The sight of Crocus was pretty and all, but he couldn't enjoy it; he never really had an eye for things like these. More importantly, his mind was too sidetracked with how shitty his current situation was.
The main problem he dealt with was who was pushing the Charms magic ban. While the Magic Council couldn't really create laws for other countries, it wasn't as if enough benefits would not sway Fiore's leadership and government into their decision. However, if they really wanted to enforce a law, there really was nothing that governments could do to realistically stop the entire force of the Magic Council. As seen in their ban of all things religious.
Therein lay Locki's main conundrum. The way to stop the ban of Charms magics in a way that the Magic Council would not resort to drastic measures.
That was the latter point, really; something for Locki to figure out after everything had been done. The first thing that needed to be done was to stop Fiore's government and the Magic Council Branch members from accepting their own deals to pass the ban. Which was… not looking good. Locki had been informed that seven of the nine Magic Council members were already in favor of the ban. The only thing that stopped it from passing outright was the intervention of Fiore's current ruling monarch, Toma E. Fiore.
For once, Locki felt he should pay fealty to the king as he stopped Locki from having more work.
However, that was basically only a stopgap. The king could only stop the ban from passing for a time before the final decision would be made with a majority vote that consisted of the Magic Council members along with the ministers and secretaries of Fiore's government. Basically, it was a long winded way of the Magic Council forcing the issue politically.
Honestly, Locki thought it was all bullshit, but he just went along with Ignatius' explanation of the matter. To sum it up simply, he had five days to convince, bribe, or impair the majority who were for the ban to pass. Only seven people from the Magic Council and ten from Fiore's own members. No big deal.
Once again, Locki sighed as he placed the purple black pendant of [Dimension Formation: Shambhala] on the glass corridor for a second. A small circle then etched into the glass, filling itself in with a series of little runes and letters he didn't know.
"Will that be everything, sir?" the Rune Knight asked Locki again.
"No, I have something for you to do." Locki waved at Ignatius' man. He held up three slips of paper with symbols similar to the one etched into the ground and passed them to the Rune Knight. "Go and place these near each control node within this place. Ignatius told me there were three, so place them nearby. Preferably in a hidden place with enough space for two– hmm, three people."
"It will be done, sir. Should I take you to the venue now?"
Locki hummed again, thinking over his plans. Things could go sideways rather quickly, and the fact that he didn't have enough time definitely hindered what he could do. If things could not be changed instantly, then he'd need to take more drastic measures.
"Can you take me to where you keep prisoners? I need to speak with the one I came with." Locki asked.
For once, the guard did not answer affirmatively immediately. "The… Cultist?"
Locki sighed, knowing the man's worries. After all, while Ignatius was Drumlowe's inside man, it wasn't as if Ignatius was going to throw his life away to carry out the order. And colluding with a Zeref Cultist, suspected or confirmed, was something only the dumb or suicidal would do.
"You're Councilmember Vrain's man, and he had already given the order to follow my words. You're adept at such things already. As such, [why don't you just tell me what I need to know and keep quiet about what you hear and see]."
Locki rubbed his head as he finally saw the Rune Knight nod and follow his previous order. It really was easy to influence some random guy, but he didn't want to check if the councilmembers would have protections in place against Charms magics like his. He'd be doubly screwed if he tried to stop the ban of Charms magics by using something similar to influence people. At least, he couldn't use it as blatantly as he did now.
The young Guildmaster had time to think over his plans as he was led through the winding corridors. Once again, he nodded to himself, feeling as if it was a good thing to place markers with his teigu; he would get lost if he didn't have something to teleport himself.
Eventually, they came to a door with two Rune Knights that stood guard. They saluted to the Knight that Locki followed, and after a brief conversation, they were let through. Locki almost laughed at how simple it was; they were either too trusting or corrupt for their own good.
The room itself was larger than most he had seen. It was an elongated corridor, and from what his [Carpentry] skill was telling him, had been expanded with plenty of magic shoved in. There were hidden traps and guards that he barely noticed were there in the dark lighting of the prisons. Only a few floating candles illuminated enough for the young guildmaster to see.
A long row of metal bars went down into the darkness. Cells, Locki surmised. They were rather barebones. Basically small cubical rooms that were segregated by walls crafted from earth magic and Dark Ecriture. The only openings were covered by strong metal bars that almost glowed in the dark with how much magic was casted on them. They passed by many empty cells, but there were a couple that were occupied with mages chained to the walls of their room.
Locki eventually found the teen he was looking for. A rather disheveled-looking Ultear glared at him from inside the cage.
"You!" She ground out. "How dare you show your face to me? You gonna gloat now that I'm all locked up?"
Locki pursed his lips as he heard that, but he smiled inwardly at the ruse she crafted instantly. There were too many people that were listening at the moment, and he didn't need to openly be seen colluding with her.
At the same time, Ultear knew most about the benefits that faulty information was in the hands of your enemies. And from Ignatius' information, Locki knew that every councilmember had their own people within the jail to either make deals with prisoners or get leverage on the members making those deals.
Locki sneered, playing along. "Yeah, I am. It is rather refreshing, really. I can't believe you fell for my plot; did my magic surprise you that much?"
He saw a flash of understanding pass through her eyes, and Locki knew she had realized what he wanted already.
"Magic that knows what is a lie or not isn't that impressive." Ultear said as if insulted — which looked rather comical considering she was in chains. "I know plenty of stronger mages! They will definitely get my revenge!"
Locki shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I beat you and got my rewards." He purposefully waved Drumlowe's blank check that Ignatius gave him. "See this, I can buy whatever I want with it. I know Daki also gained something, so she might drop by to show off as well. Have fun in jail."
"You!"
Locki laughed, feeling like his words got through. If it was anyone else, he would worry that his actions might not mean much other than him bragging. Ultear was an accomplished spy. From Max's recountings when he followed her, Ultear put together many theories from a single sentence he said randomly.
It was why he was confident she'd understand what he meant. Which boiled down to: if Daki is here, use the blank check to buy whatever you need. It also meant that things were about to go south.
"…is that all you wanted to do?" The Rune Knight next to him asked. Locki could tell he played the part of a braggadocious mage well since the man seemed to look down on him suddenly.
"What? Can't I rub in my good luck?" Locki smiled as they finally left for the meeting that decided if Locki needed to be more… physically involved. Honestly, he wished he had such a thing as good luck.
~~~
If you asked Locki what his greatest skill was before he was sent to the Magic Council Branch, he would've said that it lay in his talking ability. Of course, with the knowledge of his magic, Locki would say he could get through most conversations easily. In the end, Locki was confident not in his politicking skills but his magic that could get people to follow him easier.
However, it was only when he sat where he was now that he understood just how much his magic simplified the process.
After he finished all the contingencies he could, Locki had been led back through a series of hallways to the main discussion area of the building. It was larger than the judicial courtroom he had been a part of earlier, but once again, it was uselessly decorated with expensive decor and furniture; all along the walls Locki could see large tapestries and paintings of distinguished-looking mages, and… the blonde narrowed his eyes, a barefooted child?
The young guildmaster took a moment to pause at the fringes of the room and look over the painting. It was a smaller one, sitting in a far corner of the discussion room. The child in the painting looked short, and she was dressed in a long, white dress that trailed down to bare feet. She was blonde with dull, green eyes that sent a small shiver down Locki's back as if she were looking at him right now.
"I see you have found the painting of Fairy Tail's first master."
Locki turned to find Ignatius behind him. The older man had his arms crossed behind his back as he smiled warmly in Locki's direction.
"Fairy Tail's…" Locki trailed off. He knew there were some guildmaster's who's paintings had been displayed here, but he got the impression that the Magic Council had a love-hate relationship with said Magic Guild. Fairy Tail was a powerhouse that wasn't going anywhere, but it was also the cause of the bill where damages would be compensated by the Magic Council through the guild's own coffers.
"Yes, Mavis Vermillion was around in the Second Trade Wars after mages were utilized as an acceptable unit for war. The Magic Council and Fiore honored her as one of the key figures during the war, ending it with the most acceptable amount of casualties. As such, they felt it would be good to immortalize her here in these hallowed halls." Ignatius explained.
"Acceptable amount of casualties?" Locki scoffed. He knew that war from his grandpa's journals; the man had participated in them as well. However, he had also said it was the bloodiest war Ishtar had ever seen, being the cause of more casualties than the first by wide margins.
Ignatius seemed to know what he referred to and coughed lightly. "Yes well… they had expected many more losses than what was actually seen. The addition of guild mages to warfare was something that was expected to be– how do you say this? Heavy in consequences."
Locki hummed, feeling like he barely understood the problem. "Fair."
"Hmm, yes. Let me lead you to my area. I can introduce you to my colleagues." Ignatius said, motioning Locki to follow.
The young man did so, but he turned to look one last time at the picture of Mavis Vermillion. She had been around in his grandfather's time, living through the Trade Wars before she emerged a victor. A part of him wanted to know if she had known his grandfather, but he knew that was a small hope as his grandfather was just a small soldier in Evermont until after the war.
Locki caught up with Ignatius quickly. They navigated to the center of the room where a large, circular table sat over an ornate rug. People conversed softly around the edges of the table where small plates of food and drinks were provided; Locki could make out a couple of them as the councilmembers he had seen before, but they were now unmasked.
A couple of people Locki steered clear from. One of those was Crawford Seam as the portly man laughed happily and entertained a couple of guests, and a short, goblin-like man who– oh wait, Locki paused as he recognized the crown on the short man's head. That was Toma E. Fiore. Next to him stood the intimidating figure of an armored man with tanned skin and thick, black hair; the chief of the Holy Blossom Holy Knight Squadron, Arcadios. Again, Locki wondered why the name was so long.
"Do not pay them too much attention." Ignatius whispered to him and Locki followed close behind. "That knight is more observant than others."
Locki pursed his lips, turning back to find Arcacios' dark green eyes locked on him. The blonde guildmaster offered the knight a weak smile, bowing his head slightly, and the knight nodded his head before he turned back to the conversation the king had with the current Magic Council Chairman. Unbidden, Locki wiped a bit of sweat off his brow as he took Ignatius' warning to heart.
That interaction just proved he couldn't go as crazy as he wanted to. The whole situation was something he could not survive if he tried to simply assassinate the councilmembers opposed to the deal.
After he was introduced as Ignatius' new protege— which went a little too well despite how he actually ended up there— everyone finally got down to business.
The lights dimmed around the edges of the room as everyone took up seats around the circular table. Locki knew that the table was supposed to represent equality, but the distribution of the members spoke plenty; on one side of the table, centered around Crawford, there were the seven councilmembers who supported the ban with ministers of Fiore mixed in. The other side was Toma E. Fiore and his confidants while those who were on the fence sat where the two groups would have met on either side of the circle.
Locki pursed his lips as he saw the whole setup, narrowing his eyes as sections of the circular table disappeared to allow entry to the middle. A spotlight shone down from above as the middle of the massive table seemed to fall into the floor and a podium rose up in its place.
"We will now hear from Ishtar's Magic Council Chairman, Crawford Seam, about his proposal for the ban of Charms Magic in Fiore." A disembodied voice spoke, and Locki craned his neck to try and see where it came from. Eventually, he gave up and focused back as the portly figure of the Chairman hobbled up to the podium.
"Gentlemen of Fiore's council and the distinguished members of Fiore's royalty." The man bowed as he stood in the center. Locki narrowed his eyes at who he had greeted first; Crawford Seam knew who exactly he had to convince. After all, Toma E. Fiore could only hold the issue off for so long. "I have already stated my wishes for this new Charms Magic Ban. I know last time there were some voices of dissent about the ban of such a wide range of magics, but I feel that it is important to note that in the countries that have implemented such bans had seen a large decrease in crime rates over their entire territories."
"Could we see sources for your claims?" A voice spoke up, and Locki looked over at Fiore's side. He could see one of the various ministers standing up to speak.
"Of course," The Magic Council Chairman smiled genially, motioning over to his side of the table. There, a teenager with starkly blue hair and a face tattoo stood up with a sheaf of papers. The next second, Locki found that the papers had been equally distributed to everyone at the table. "Now, while I would like to take most of the credit, a new apprentice of mine, Siegrain, had done most of the research to find these numbers. If you would turn to page fifteen, you would see that there has been a decrease as much as twelve percent in the reported cases of criminal mages within the territories who had implemented my bans. That's not all as most of those citizens who–"
A soft cough stopped the Chairman midspeech. There could be only one person with the standing to do such a thing to the portly man, and Locki turned to find that the king of Fiore had personally stood up. However, Locki's attention was primarily on one of the men who sat next to the king. Ghost leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the table without a care in the world.
"Yes… your highness."
Locki pursed his lips as he saw the man pause in his speech. He leaned forwards, catching the Chairman at the edge of the range of his [Cursed Knowledge]. The blonde smiled as he confirmed that the Chairman was definitely annoyed with Toma E. Fiore, or more specifically, with the royal adviser who sat next to the king, Ghost. It was perhaps with Ghost's intervention that this meeting had been going on long enough for Locki to get involved.
As he thought of this, Locki felt that Ghost expected him to be the one who would end this entire farce. That or Locki was needed here for some other purpose that wasn't either of the two options. If he thought about the fact that the future version of himself had S-rank levels of strength, then things would be both more complicated and easier. At the same time–
Locki quickly cut off that line of thinking. He shook his head as he felt that it was rather annoying to predict himself. There would be no end to troubles or things Ghost had planned if Locki took the time to think over every little detail. In the end, he had to just deal with the current problem in front of him, like Ghost had said.
At that moment, Toma E. Fiore spoke up, "Forgive me for my rudeness, Chairman Seam. However, while I see these numbers to speak of a great positive, I cannot stymie the imagination and freedom of Fiore's guild mages. If anything, I am more inclined to believe this ban would push mages with magics that fall under the Charms category into Dark Guilds as well as other unsavory elements. Our… neighbors in Bosco have one of the highest recorded numbers of slavers in Ishtar, and what these," the king raised the papers he had been handed. "Fail to address is how one of the most sought after magics in slavers is Charms magics. To suddenly ban them without quarter would only drive those with Charms magics into Bosco's criminal element."
Locki read the room, finding many people agreeing with the king's words. Most interestingly, the people who understood the consequences the most were those who supported the Chairman. The blonde guildmaster couldn't help but sneer at the two-faced aspects he had been confronted with. Was this what people talked about when you came face to face with people who resembled yourself?
"Those are rather… strong accusations, your highness." Crawford Seam defended immediately. He bowed low. "I am willing to take a recess if tensions are rising; such matters concerning the safety of the populace of Fiore are important to consider. However, I must stress that we had been having these talks for such a long time. I have no doubt that you and your cabinet have important matters that require your assistance. Even I do not have the time to continuously banter here all day."
A smattering of agreements from Crawford's side echoed his words, asking for the king to stop dragging the issue. Those supporters on the king's side refuted those accusations, and they gave their own rebuttals to those same members. At one point, Locki realized that everyone just wanted to argue with each other. Their input really didn't matter so long as the Chairman and Toma E. Fiore continued to drag things out. The Chairman would win if things would be put to a vote, and the king of Fiore knew that so he just stalled for time as he hoped the Chairman would either back out or he could convince some of the Chairman's men to see his side of things.
However, with Ignatius' information, Locki understood that all of the councilmembers on the Chairman's side were there because there were more benefits to be had. Locki didn't really understand what money went into these things, nor did he quite understand the brides and blackmail that went into things. The point was that it was impossible to get these members to vote against the ban with the current strategies. They would not vote against the ban without being explicitly threatened, exorbitantly bribed, or blackmailed.
So, Locki decided on a course of action after he watched everything. He hurriedly scratched a note to Ignatius and slid the paper over to the older man as the room continued their back and forth. Locki had stopped paying attention as Crawford Seam and Toma E. Fiore started to just politely insult each other's grasp of the socioeconomics of Ishtar.
From the corner of his eye, Locki could see Ignatius read the note, pause, and then look over at him. There was an incredulous expression on his face, and Locki nearly chuckled as he nodded, expressing his determination. For a moment, Locki didn't know if Drumlowe's spy would follow through or not, but those suspicions died down as the man stood up quietly.
Since they were situated nearer to the middle of the table, many of the supporters of either side took notice of Ignatius' actions quickly. This was one of the people they wanted to drag to their side, so it was important to hear them out.
Ignatius cleared his throat as the room quieted down to only a couple of whispers. "I greet my king and his royal constituents." Locki saw a couple of those from the king's side perk up as he greeted them first. "Esteemed members of the council. If I may be so bold to voice my own concerns, would I be allowed to bring someone up to the podium?"
There was a strained silence that descended on the room after those words. Many of those in the room grew interested, but it was only two individuals who held the power to stop a councilmember of Fiore's Magic Council Branch.
Toma E. Fiore was the first to speak up with a smile, "Please speak freely, councilmember Vrain. I have been told about your work ethic."
"I am willing to hear what you have to say." The portly Chairman agreed. "However, I, like many others here, wish for an end to these tedious processes."
Ignatius nodded. "I promise that I will support one side so long as they can stand under my apprentice's scrutiny."
Everyone in the room caught the message in those words. Ignatius too sought an end to the back and forth, but his stance clearly supported the king's side. After all, the Chairman would have won if he said nothing at all. At the same time, the Chairman couldn't deny him the right to present his concerns.
Locki could clearly tell that Ignatius' words had angered the larger man as the Chairman spoke. "Very well, and who, pray tell, will you call up to the podium?"
"An apprentice that I picked up has the magic to be able to tell truth from lie. I trust his ability is true, and I wish for the members on either side to be screened so that I can pick the choice that lines up with my morals." Ignatius explained, and Locki smiled as he saw a couple of faces pale on either side. Locki confirmed that they had men stationed in the prisons of the building, and that they all had overheard the information that Ultear let slip.
Then, all eyes were suddenly on Locki.
In that moment, Locki felt a rather odd feeling of accomplishment. He always wanted the acknowledgment of those around him. Granted, he went about it in ways that bordered on criminal, but there was just something electrical about how all these politicians all had to stop and consider him. If he wasn't about to do what he knew he needed to, he would have enjoyed the feeling more.
"Hello," Locki smiled widely, sauntering up to the podium as the Chairman of the Magic Council stepped down. "My name is Locki Wyn, Guildmaster of the Scarlet Hand Magic Guild. I am here to tell you all that I have recently been, under the purview of guildmaster Drumlowe, investigating those involved in Dark Guilds in Fiore."
Locki's smile grew as a hushed whisper spread throughout the room. He knew everyone here had some connections to the Dark Guilds in Fiore, and the only ones who weren't corrupt were Fiore's royalty.
At the same time, Locki knew that he couldn't realistically sway any side to support him. Those under the Chairman were either being blackmailed or were too corrupt to trust, and siding with Fiore's royalty was a losing battle.
As such, Locki decided that since all sides had been settled, he needed to stir up as much chaos as possible. Arcadios, Toma E. Fiore's right hand man, would support him; Locki could see that man nearly bursting a blood vessel from all the boring back and forth. The only thing he needed to do was give them sufficient evidence and reason to start detaining the other side.
"Young man, you should watch what you say. You're treading very dangerous waters now."
"Chairman, councilmen, members of Fiore's royalty. I say this charade is too much." Another councilman spoke up, glaring at Locki. "I remember this young man from yesterday's trials, and I dare say his case was one of dangerous methodologies and violent tendencies. Such a mage would drag down the level of this–"
"I remember Locki Wyn was deemed as acquitted when we were discussing his case." Ignatius cut off the man before Locki's credibility was tanked.
Locki chuckled as he looked at the old man who sat back down in a huff. He was one of Fiore's Magic Council members, and one of the ones who were most probably being blackmailed.
Now, Locki was no stranger to blackmail; he was currently being blackmailed by Drumlowe, after all. And there were several factors that tied into the success of blackmail. One of those being that no one else knew exactly what happened, and as such, could not use said material against you. If everyone knew, then you'd be screwed.
At that point, there was the danger of the person taking drastic measures with the reveal. It was a tightrope act to tease what you held over someone, making them fear to act against you.
Locki, however, wanted that chaos.
"Thank you again, dear councilmen of Fiore's Magic Council. Though, dangerous waters you said, right?" Locki's tone picked up an octave, enjoying the moment of everyone's attention on him. "Like how you pressured several towns using the threat of the Night Jackal Dark Guild to send their daughters and well-earned money your way? Or how about when you endorsed the kidnapping of your fellow councilmember's family to rope them into your side?"
"How audacious!" Another man stood up, face pale. Locki knew him as the man whose family had been targeted, and now that Locki had revealed it, there was no telling what could happen.
"Calm down, everyone!" Chairman Seam spoke up quickly, glaring at Locki. He huffed angrily, blowing steam through his nostrils. "Young man, you are making a mockery of your privilege, and are piling baseless accusations on innocent men. For your, and anyone associated with yours, safety, I suggest you cease your attempts to slander these men."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Locki agreed easily, throwing everyone off. So far, he saw a couple of Rune Knights begin to make their way to the table to apprehend him. "But, why don't you trust me? Is it evidence? 'Cause I also have that."
Locki passed a glance to Ignatius, and he saw how the once confident man looked deathly pale. The blonde guildmaster knew his actions basically killed all the goodwill the other man had created over his career; Locki tore down all pretenses, and if Ignatius followed along, that was not all he planned on doing.
Ignatius trembled hard as he waved over a Rune Knight and passed him all the evidence he had collected as Drumlowe's spy. There were a couple things he hid, but Locki only needed some to prove he wasn't simply rambling.
Locki didn't start again till everyone had a copied piece of evidence in front of them. Next to them were the reports of Charms magic banned in other countries, discarded and forgotten. He almost laughed at how easy it was to switch everyone's attention.
"There are… procedures to this, young man. I appreciate you bringing these to light, but we cannot halt everything because of—"
"Contrarily, I appreciate these measures." Toma E. Fiore cut the Chairman off before he could change back to the actual matter at hand. He stood up in his chair to seem taller, still shorter than Arcadios who sat next to him. "I, for one, do not wish to make deals with… people who think they are above the law. Is that not what the Magic Council desires as well?"
Locki smiled happily as the king immediately backed him up. No country liked how the Magic Council influenced their laws; they had restricted mages for use in wars until the Second Trade War, and that was only because of a variety of factors at play. To so blatantly try to manipulate countries and their legal systems, that was already crossing a few lines.
"Your highness, please see reason. Let us take a recess, so that everyone can cool off. Perhaps we can exclude the members who are outlined in these pictures until there is a time for further analysis of their actions?"
By all accounts, Locki would give the portly Chairman his dues. The man had taken a situation that looked like it would collapse, and had pushed off the issue quite expertly. A few voices of agreement echoed his words, almost diffusing the volatile atmosphere.
Almost.
There was only one thing that Locki had specifically asked Ignatius to change. A piece of evidence that was put in between all of the pages to hide it so that only one man would try to seek it out. A blurry picture of a man's family who were kidnapped, and the tearful faces of his daughter and son. Locki had specifically asked Ignatius to cut out the mother who protectively embraced her children, leaving only the two alone.
And that was enough.
"Where…" the councilmember's voice was a low rumble, but it filled the entire room.
"Councilmember Hurst?"
"Where is she?" Hurst spoke up, louder this time. He looked over to the councilmember who Locki had framed when he first spoke out. "Where is my wife, you damned lowlife?!"
Hurst smacked the evidence Locki and Ignatius provided down, nearly growling at the man. Several Rune Knights who had originally been moving to apprehend Locki looked at the new development, unsure.
At the same time, Locki could only watch as he brought such a scene on. He wanted this. He had caused this.
"Calm down, councilmember Hurst! Are you forgetting where we are?"
"Calm down?" The man, Hurst, stood up. Locki could see him clearly now. Hurst was middle aged with a head full of salt and pepper hair, but Locki focused more on the tears that streamed from the man's expressive green eyes.
At that moment, Locki saw himself. A man with nothing to lose. Unlike himself though, Hurst did not have anything to support him; to pull him out of the self-destructive actions that Locki had pushed himself on.
And he, for an infinite second, hated himself.
Locki snapped his head in Ghost's direction, and the disappointed look his older self sent him was like a punch to a gut. That look disappeared as Locki ducked when something flew into [Cursed Knowledge]'s range.
His line of sight traveled to a red light that flew to the other side of the table. The second it connected an explosion engulfed it, forcing Locki to shield his face as wood shrapnel flew out.
"Get down!" Someone shouted.
"Apprehend councilman Hurst and that mage!" Locki frowned as he heard the blue-haired apprentice of the Chairman yell out to capture him.
He glanced around the room, seeing the Rune Knights begin to scramble around. The explosion threw the room into chaos; councilmen and royal constituents charged the doors while Rune Knights tried their best to get to Locki and the enraged councilman.
On the side of Councilman Hurst, the man had grabbed a wooden wand from somewhere, flinging fireballs around the room. Locki narrowed his eyes when he saw that a couple Rune Knights had split off and circled around Hurst protectively. He found that many other Councilmen had knights protecting them, adding to the chaotic situation as those knights pushed others out of the way for the councilmen they were protecting.
Locki ducked down as another bolt of red shot over him, exploding somewhere nearby. The armor of the Rune Knight clanged louder in his ears as the screams for help and peace echoed in equal measure. At one point, some manner of yellow barrier had erected around the table, trapping Locki, councilman Hurst, and a good amount of Rune Knights inside.
Hurst seemed to grow more panicked as he flung his wand in the direction of anyone nearby. Locki pursed his lips, staring at the man who continued to cry. He traced the [Dimension Formation: Shambhala] on his hip as he knew he could escape quite easily, but that would mean this situation would continue to escalate.
Locki's own plans were… not as radical as what was happening right in front of him. He favored threats and misinformation, so he expected some outrage, but he was not ready for something like this to escalate to this extent.
That was why Locki chewed his lip in indecision as he stared at the hysterical Hurst. He knew it would jeopardize his plans if he saved the man, but then Kagura would probably be disappointed in him. She would understand his actions if he explained –she always would– but then, Locki felt like he would fall further into a place he never wanted to be in again.
Once again, inexplicably, Locki moved against his inner wishes for the sake of his guild members.
Gritting his teeth, Locki slapped his [Subspace Ring] and donned his [Rune Woven Armor]. The silvery armor expanded over the young man as he charged forwards. Rune Knight blocked his path immediately, but his Curse let him easily sidestep them all as they simply stopped briefly before they grabbed him.
Hurst saw Locki's charge, pointing his wand in Locki's direction. The fireball formed within a second and shot towards the blonde with an enraged yell.
Locki's eyes widened as the fireball spell entered the range of his [Cursed Knowledge], crossing its distance in a fraction of a second. And in the fraction of second, Locki gripped the spell with his Curse, locking it in place long enough for him to step over it. He released his hold on the spell as soon as he angled his body and covered his head with his armored arms.
The explosion sent a shock of pain through Locki's legs. His chest felt like he had been hit with several sledgehammers wielded by giants, and his vision blurred as he tumbled wildly through the air. At one point he painfully crashed into the Rune Knight's who surrounded Hurst with a loud clash of metal on metal.
Locki was dazed as he stood up in an instant, locking onto Hurst easily as the man was within the range of his Curse. The blonde's vision was still blurry and his thoughts were jumbled up from the pain, but he still was able to grab the man with his Curse, stumbling over to him and stepping over the Rune Knights he had bowled into.
"Your wife is fine." Locki slurred, grabbing the man by his shoulders. He grit his teeth as his vision stopped swimming. The councilman's attention was now fully on him. "I promise it. Your family is okay. You don't have to do anything but give up, or now they will no longer be worth the price of keeping you on their side."
Hurst's voice trembled terribly in Locki's ears. "R– really?"
"Yesh." Locki said in a hurry, but he bit his tongue as he snapped his head in the direction of the blue-haired boy who was now within his range. He had wondered where he remembered the description of blue hair and a face tattoo from, but they were the bastard who had originally tried to get the Tigertooth Gang to keep tabs on Kagura.
Locki narrowed his eyes as his mind put all the pieces together. Crawford Seam being connected to the Demons of Zeref, this Charms Ban that clearly supported the efforts to drive Charms mages into the human trafficking business, the Tower of Heaven being supported by Dark Guilds, and Ghost's presence here.
This event would most definitely place Locki as the target of the guilds within the Balam Alliance that was tied to Zeref's Cults.
And this blue-haired child on the other side of the yellow barrier was definitely connected to the Tower of Heaven.
"Gods dammit." Locki cursed as he realized that of all the plans he ruined, his own were the most screwed up by none other than himself. He gripped the [Dimension Formation: Shambhala] and promptly teleported into his room.
Daki –who was currently flipping through this week's issue of Hottest Wizard– flopped on the bed as she turned to face him. She raised an eyebrow as the burn marks on Locki's armor. "Plan C?"
Locki sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. In the end, it always came to violence. Next time, he was just going to start with that. "Yeah, plan C."
"Cool, I'll break out the midget."
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Dabombd1g1t1
Dabombd1g1t1 i'm sorry for not updating this story for so long. I admit it fell off my notice for a while, and that this chapter was like pulling teeth for me since I hadn't really thought of it in awhile. Honestly, it mainly stemmed from the fact that I had everyone else's fight planned while Locki's was just "he does things idk, figure it out".
Really, I just want this arc to split into a bunch of Interludes, but I feel like I need to keep it centered around Locki.
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