Bab 74: Apollo's Promise
"Ector?"
"Yes."
"Sorry, I never got to hear his name..."
(Or maybe I did and I forgot? It doesn't matter, either way! I'll probably never meet him again...)
Feeling the growing dark energy emanating from the blue haired girl in front of him, Apollo thought it would be dangerous to keep beating around the bush.
"Okay, so, about the battle, let's start when we first hear about your army..."
Drawing a imaginary line in the table, Apollo started describing the events that happened in the last few days. From Negi contacting him and forming an alliance, to Jaylee's betrayal and the final battle the followed in the mountain surrounding his base.
Apollo beautified the battle, leaving the gore and his feelings aside. He made it as if it was not his tale, but the tale of an unlucky hero who fell to the evil mastermind's plan, putting himself as the villain to make Angela feel a bit better.
As he finished the tale, describing how Hime sneak attacked Ector, while they were charging from the other side, the group fell in silence and didn't say a single word for a long time.
"...Was Master cool until the end?"
"Yes, he never lost his confident smile, as if the world was at his grasp."
"...I see..."
"..."
(Why are we talking as if he is dead? Did she misunderstood?)
"Hmm, Angela, I'm sorry but-"
"No! No need to say another word! The memories of Master shall live inside of us and we shall meet again in the next world! But don't worry, we won't forget our role! As the defeated, we surrender unconditionally to the winner! Do whatever you want with us!"
"No, as I said, I think-"
"Master Apollo, please give us three days to prepare ourselves. While we are free from the system's influence, our loyalty was never that shallow that we can dismiss him just like that!"
"That's fine but-"
"Then, you over there, guide Master Apollo to the Palace. While many functions have stopped working, as a temporary guest room it should be good enough."
"Yes, miss Angela!"
"Wait, listen me out, it seems like there is some misunderstanding."
"Master Apollo, we will have plenty of time to talk after the burial ritual is finished. Please wait until then."
"BUT ECTOR IS NOT DEAD!!!!"
"""Eh?"""
"Sure, he should be hurt, but if so he's surely receiving treatment right now."
"So, we..."
"Stop cutting me off. Let me explain the little I know. You will probably not like what you will hear, but I think it's something that you should know."
"Hmm..."
"Starting again from the beginning, first of all, your Master is not dead. You will probably never meet him again, but as far as his life is concern, he should be fine."
"I see... that's a relief..."
"There is a world outside this Planet. As a civilian of that world, we, Masters, are protected by that world's laws, so whoever is responsible for this shitty situation, should also be responsible for keeping us alive."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because I saw their agent rescue other Masters more than once. I doubt the organization is doing this just due to the kindness in their heart. More likely than not they are doing this because they will be in trouble if anything happen to the people they kidnapped, so they must be obliged to keep us alive and well..."
"Hmm, when did you figure this out?"
"Hey, don't underestimate me! Even I will understand the general context if I'm given enough clues. At first I was worried that they were working outside the law, and that I would end up as a lab rat for some secret organization using GFT as a cover but the more I experienced, the more I'm sure that that's not entirely the case. GFT is real and while I'm not sure what's their aim in doing this ridiculous war tournament, at least I know they care about the Player's health enough to keep us under surveillance 24 hours a day."
"..."
"Do you think that's not the case? Then how do you explain them rescuing both Jaylee and me when Jaylee to do a suicide attack at his base? I never heard of that barrier technology before but I can bet all my savings that thing is not cheap and it's probably a consumable good!"
"..."
"Well, I'm getting side tracked, anyway, your Master is fine, but he is probably out of the game, so the only way to meet him again is to survive this whole game and go look for him wherever he lives."
"I see..."
"So, I ask you, not as the winner of our battle, but as someone aiming to free all of you from this system, would you lend us a hand?"
"I-"
"Don't answer right now, give it some thought and answer only after understanding the danger that this proposal contain. Enough of that! We got more urgent matters to deal first, and we have already wasted enough time! Let me now tell you about what happened last night and why we are here!"
Apollo's change of pace caught Angela by surprise and she stood stunned as he bombarded her with the latest news.
Bang!
"HOW DARE THEY!? TO USE SUCH COWARD METHODS ON A DEFEATED ARMY, THOSE COWARDS KNOW NO SHAME!!!"
Breaking the table with a swing of her fist, Angela stood furious, not knowing where to release her anger.
(Hehe... her arms are so slim, but she is as strong as those Oni... I better be extra careful with her...)
"Calm down Angela. As infuriating as this news are, we have to keep our heads cool to not fall into another trap set by them."
"I know you are right, but it's hard to hold back myself!"
"Here, have some tea..."
"Thank you.... Master Apollo. I have made up my mind. We will follow your lead and eliminate all your enemies!"
"Are you sure? Won't you need time to prepare, like you asked before?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Without a Master, all machinery stopped working, so it will be impossible for us to ever get out of this planet on our own, but if we follow you, we will have a slim chance of meeting Master Ector again, right? Then, there is no need to waste more time. The faster we start working, the faster we can meet Master Ector!"
Seeing Angela's enthusiasm, Apollo felt compelled to smile.
"Also, you don't seem the kind to treat us as disposable pawns, right?"
Despite Angela's mocking tone, she sharply stared at his eyes, looking for signs of falsehood as he answered.
"Of course! I will always do my best to keep everybody alive!"
"Good. That's good enough. Then, please take care of us from now on."
Passing Angela's last test, Apollo and Angela exchanged a handshake, officializing their alliance.
"Hmm! You too. Please take care of us from now on. I promise that once this war is over, I will free you and find a way to locate your old Master."
"That's all we wish! Then, Master Apollo, what should we do?"
"First let's..."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
SLOP
SLOP Okay.
I give up.
Some things are not meant to be fixed....
So let's just leave it like that...
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone