章節 373: Chapter 34: Talk
Having successfully annoyed the writer, Adryan stayed a while longer in the curiously oriented duo's flat. Having changed his appearance to that of an ordinary man with Creeping Hunger and changed his clothes, he walked calmly through the streets.
"That woman seriously needs a job. Every time you visit her, she sleeps in her room or smokes her life away on the balcony. She's a disgrace." Flora snorted bitterly in his head, annoyance clear in her voice.
Adjusting the scarf to cover his smiling lips, Adryan laughed softly. "She's like that; I doubt a few short words will change that. Though I must say, she's trying her best to improve."
"You call a job in the circus her best to improve? Ha! At least she's useful for making the kids laugh." Flora clicked her tongue, laughing in derision.
"She has good tricks," Adryan said, his grin even bigger.
Flora noticed this and quickly voiced her suspicion, "Why are you smiling?"
She could feel it; it was about her!
"No reason~" Adryan chanted.
Her suspicion grew even more. "Princess..." Flora warned.
If he was thinking she was jealous-
"You're afraid."
The Jacob didn't respond immediately. She was silent for 6 seconds. Finally, she said in a calm voice, "Why do you say that?"
Adryan replied flatly, "Did you think I wouldn't notice? You have been frustrated very easily and more silent than usual.
"There is something that scares you."
"..." Flora said nothing.
Walking calmly through the unsuspecting civilians, the black-haired man said nothing. His feet carried him leisurely through the streets of Azshara.
After half an hour and after crossing an alley, a black liquid came out of his shadows and quickly wrapped itself around his arm. With a thought, his body sank into the same shadows.
With two jumps, he was already in the bedroom of his flat. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Adryan stared at the wall in silence.
After long minutes, his voice broke the silence in his bedroom.
"It's for the Tower, isn't it?"
A tired sigh sounded deep in his head, so exhausted that for a moment, he didn't think it came from her.
"That's right..." Flora paused momentarily before adding, "Remember what I said the last time we talked about it?"
He nodded, "The suppression of the Sequences."
Adryan laughed a little, unamused; "I was wondering when you'd bring that up in our talks. I got tired of waiting, so I took the first piece."
"..."
At her silence, the idea that was whispering and tormenting his mind was confirmed.
"Sigh... You don't know what will happen to you, do you?"
According to Flora's words and what little he knew of the Tower, it made the forms more 'even'. If a Beyonder of a higher Sequence than the one on the floor entered, it would be suppressed to match the one on the floor.
The first floor of the Tower was equal to Sequence 7, and you could only use abilities at that level and below.
Flora was the Parasite of Sequence 4. Parasitism was a Sequence 4 ability and the only thing keeping her alive.
"And how would I know?" Flora growled in frustration. "Have you forgotten already? You said so yourself.
"The Jacob and Zoroast family, while we've managed to survive so far and even give birth to Demigods, we're still incredibly weak!
"Counting me. There are only three demigods in the two families. While we have done some tests, we never tried to test what would happen if one of us entered the Tower through a host. We are too valuable!"
Adryan kept quiet the entire time his companion spoke. Listening attentively and calmly.
When she finished, he gave a serious nod; "I understand your concern, Flora. B-but- pfff."
His expression broke a little, the corners of his lips quivering with such force that it looked like he was suffering from a sprain on his face.
"Princess..." Flora hissed through her teeth. Smoke billowed from her non-existent mouth.
Adryan raised a hand and covered his face. "Sorry, sorry! It's just that-that... pfff."
His body began to tremble; he barely restrained himself.
"pfff... pffffff" spittle escaped his super-tight lips, tears peeking out of the corners of his eyes.
"Seriously-"
"HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHHAHAHA! COUGH! Sorry! Sorry! But it's just that- hahaha!!!"
Her words were cut off by the maniacal laughter from the black-haired man trying to explain himself but couldn't utter three words before laughing again.
Knowing he couldn't do this, the red-haired man only went on for about four more seconds before recovering. Wiping away a tear with a final chuckle, he happily tossed it away.
"Fuu~ Wow, Flora, you're worrying about unnecessary things." He said with one eye closed, swinging his legs like he was on a swing.
There was no response from his companion.
"Oh, come on!" Adryan snorted a little. Dropping his back on the bed, he smiled calmly.
"Do you think I'd go into the Tower without knowing if you'd be alright?" he asked.
"Come on, Flora. Do you think so low of me? When have I ever done anything that would put you at risk?"
"Do you really want me to answer that question?" the Jacob answered simply, Adryan could easily see a worm raising an eyebrow.
"Touche."
"..."
At the return of the silence, the black-haired man rolled his eyes and got up from the bed. With a mischievous grin, he winked and leaned his head to the side.
"Do you forget that you are still under contract to my Lord and therefore under 'His' protection? You still have several decades to serve. You won't die so easily, my dear~"
"Wouldn't it be easier to kill me and free you from me? There will be no better opportunity than this. Once we enter the Tower, I will only be a Sequence 7 no matter what happens. If you wanted to kill me, there would be nothing I could do about it." Flora admitted with honesty and clearly hurt pride.
While they would both be Sequence 7 and thus 'equals,' she wasn't stupid. What could a Cryptologist do with almost no combat skills against a Pyromaniac?
A grimace formed on Adryan's face, his cheek burning and his mouth bitter. He felt as if he had eaten an incredibly bittersweet at the same time he was being slapped.
Did Flora think so poorly of him?
Did she really think he would abandon her after all she had done for him?
Adryan found himself somewhat hurt by this, finding it a little hard to believe that it was all like this. Thinking deeper to find a reason, his eyes lit up.
<You should know that you can't trust any member of this organization; they only care about themselves and won't hesitate to betray you if they can gain something in return>.
Remembering the words spoken by Flora the first time they met, he could only sigh internally, all making sense at that moment.
'Anyone who could say that about their family obviously didn't have a good relationship with them and vice versa. Flora grew up with the teaching that everyone was planning to use her.'
He made a mistake in thinking the Jacob family was similar to the Abraham and Zoroast families. The biggest clue should have been when she told him the story of why she was called 'Dancing Worm'.
What child watching their cousin suffocate would stand by and mock them instead of helping?
'No doubt it is a family of thieves. The Abraham family honorably represents the Door pathway, always holding the door open for the family. The Jacob family represents the Error Pathway very well, stealing and taking without giving back, never minding that they betray their family in the process.'
That is why Flora thinks he will abandon her as soon as the opportunity presents itself. In her eyes, she thinks she's just a burden, a disease he can't wait to cure.
A sad sigh leaves his lips, his eyes softening.
"I won't abandon you, Flora. I won't."
An ironic snort rang in his ears.
"And how can I trust you? I doubt you've forgotten, but I tried to kill you. That's why I'm trapped here in your body.
"Don't you think this is the best course for you? With some coordination with your team, you'll have a Sequence 4 characteristic. You can make a Grade 1 artifact or use it to promote the brat. I honestly don't care-
"I don't kill my friends." Adryan cut her off, his words heavy and honest.
A small whimper reached his ears, so small that he almost lost it amidst the following screams.
"FRIENDS?! Are you an idiot, Adryan!? I try to kill you!" Flora roared, running out of air if possible.
"And that's why you got trapped in my body." Repeating the woman's words back to her face with a smile, Adryan closed his eyes in pleasure, "You're already paying for that crime, no ailments."
"YOU ARE UNBEARABLE!" The Jacob Semi-Goddess gasped—a clear hiccup in her voice.
A chuckle escaped his chest as his smile softened a little more.
"And your friend." Adryan opened a mischievous eye, raising a finger pointing towards nothingness. "Don't forget~"
"URGHH!" a frustrated cry echoed in his head. In his mind, he could see the worm writhing on itself as if it had been salted.
"I love you too."
Closing his eyes, Adryan kicked off his shoes and lay better on his bed. "I'll leave you to your thoughts now I just want to take a beauty nap. Wake me up if anything happens."
It was more to joke than to take it seriously. As soon as he had entered her room, he had already used Hangover Time to seal the sound so no one knew he was there.
The same in W. E. It wasn't that he'd taken a day off, it was just that his soldier was filling in for him and dealing with the annoying stuff, with orders to inform him of anything interesting that might happen.
Letting out a satisfied groan, he covered himself well with the blanket and, with the help of the cogitation, quickly fell asleep, with only Flora's grunts and murmurs as white noise.
Watching her charger sleep, Flora didn't know what to say.
'Friend...' mumbling in her mind, a tired sigh left her lips.
Closing her eyes, she, too, joined the dream world with the black-haired man.
...
Helikon District, Great Library of Lenburg.
With huge bookshelves that were easily taller than normal houses, filled with books of various sizes, and neatly arranged, this thousand-year-old library was the oldest and most important in the world.
Two people were sitting at one of the many tables in this exclusive library, in an even more exclusive room on the third floor, reading one book with a large stack of others at their sides.
The older man with the long, wrinkled face, Zelig Ritter, looked at the person sitting across from him calmly. His eyes behind silver-rimmed circular glasses glowed softly in the lamplight.
"I'm surprised you were the one chosen to introduce Mr. K to the Tower." Zelig mused as he turned the next page of his book.
The person before him was a short-haired, tanned-skinned man of Bayam ancestry. His brown eyes stared boredly at the book pages in his hands, which were written in Intis.
"Mr. Thaddeus wants everything to go well; no accident will be spared, " the man replied, his voice surprisingly soft yet deep.
"If it is you, there is nothing to worry about." Zelig said as he closed the book, "Is it just an introduction, or will you accompany them on the floor, Mr. Uron?"
"I will be a guide. As I said, no accident will be forgiven." Upon repeated, his tone was a little graver than before.
The older Zelig nodded calmly, all interest in the subject being abandoned.
"How is our communication with the Royal Museum? The transfer is to take place in October, is it not?"
"That's right." The tan-skinned man replied, "Recent events in Backlund have brought unexpected benefits. The previous talks that never came to anything finally found common ground."
Zelig nodded again. Calmly, his eyes moved from the man before him to the book in his hands.
"You think she'll come?"
The flame of the lamp trembled for a moment before returning to normal.
For the first time since he sat down, Uron looked up from the book he was reading to the older man in front of him.
"It's her father's Memorial Exhibition. I wouldn't be surprised."
"Should we increase security? She is a Sea King, after all." Zelig questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Uron shook his head. His gaze returned to the book in his hands.
''Mr. Thaddeus says it's not necessary. Her guarding the Museum greatly diminishes the odds of anyone trying to do anything. And if a fool were to try, I'm sure it wouldn't be three seconds before the wrath of the Sea would fall upon them."
章節 374: Chapter 35: Face to Face
Thursday, 30 August 1349. Mission Day.
Adjusting the straps tighter over his white shirt, accentuating his figure a little more, Adryan grabbed his black leather jacket and slipped it on. Checking the hidden pockets of the same and the charms and multiple paper figurines in them, he gave a soft nod.
Two black gloves covered his hands, one of which was Creeping Hunger in Faceless mode. Stashing Vecchio Pomodoro and Tauk Millenium in one of the free pockets, the man nodded in satisfaction.
Like last time, he was not in his usual Harvey Wayne disguise but that of a man with no significant detail to highlight apart from a mole under his left eye.
"Ready, Flora?" The black-haired man questioned the air.
"Let's just get this over with."
The young man could only sigh and shake his head slightly at the demigoddess' cold reply.
While looking relaxed and calm, he was a bit nervous.
He was confident that Hunters Hallow knew that he wanted it to protect Flora when they entered the Tower. But he couldn't help but fear for her safety.
'You saved me from the Divine Whore and the Flesh Wrecker. I'm sure you can protect her from this.'
All was done, and with that, the shadows enveloped Adryan, and he disappeared from the room he had rented in a minor hotel...
Half an hour later. Helikon District.
Taking a step out of the shadows, Adryan found himself inside a dark wardrobe.
'Of course.' Rolling his eyes, Adryan grabbed the handle and pulled it open.
"Excuse me."
"It's good to see you, Mr. Adryan." One of the two occupants of the room answered. He was a man with malicious eyes, pale skin, and a brown waistcoat.
Sitting in the chair of the room was a beautiful blonde woman, pale-skinned and wearing a gothic dress with a large hat. Her cold, expressionless blue eyes were closed, and she appeared to be taking a nap.
Zombie Maric and Wraith Sharron. They stood in a small private reading room at a bookstore where they were supposed to meet.
Smiling at the duo, he gave a soft nod as he removed the Burnt Band from his forearm.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Zombie. Miss Casper.
"How has Azshara been treating you?"
Maric looked at him for a few seconds before answering, "Not much to say. We're just following what you told us; we haven't interacted much with the population."
"I simply said to be careful when going out, not to be antisocial and lock yourselves in your rooms," Adryan replied with a flat face.
An eyebrow on the Zombie's face twitched. Other than that, nothing more happened.
Huffing a little, the black-haired man gave them a serious look; "I'm using some of my contacts to find an artifact to deal with the full moon's effects; I'm assuming the one who will be using it the most will be Miss Sharron, right?"
Since Sequence 8 Lunatic, the Beyonder of the Chained pathway would suffer from different curses. Each time they advanced, a new one would replace the previous one.
Zombie's curse was that they will begin to increasingly thirst for the warm blood and fresh meat of human beings. This state will be severe during the full Moon, causing them pain. While Wraith's curse would be on the night of a Full Moon, they either need to consume a certain number of Human Souls or become extremely weak. Choosing the former is equivalent to being on the brink of losing control at any moment.
Certain artifacts of the Moon pathway, specifically those made of the Lunar Scholar, could suppress these curses, allowing them to maintain their rationality and strength.
Maric was taken a little by surprise, his eyes widening and his eyebrows rising slightly. The zombie looked to his side toward his companion, who at some point opened her eyes and looked at the black-haired man in front of them.
"Is that true?"
"As far as I know, I have never told you a lie, Miss."
Looking at the man, Sharron closed her eyes and gave a soft nod: "I thank you. With the artifact, the nights will be much easier."
"You are under my wing now. I have my pups to look after." Adryan smiled slightly, approaching them.
Maric looked sideways at him, his gaze not as malicious and much more controlled. There was a hint of curiosity in it. "You are more familiar with our pathway than I thought."
"I have a good information center." The red-haired man replied with a smile.
"Before we go. You are not familiar with the Tower, are you?"
"We've heard of it, but we've never been inside," Maric replied.
"Only certain members were chosen to enter. And several of them never returned, and many of those who did failed to complete the floor." Sharron added without opening her eyes.
The black-haired man listened intently, his brow slightly furrowed.
"So, are you guys ready to go in?"
Sharron gave a soft nod as her eyes opened.
"We are, Mr Adryan."
He looked at them for a while, then nodded slightly. "If anything happens, just stay close to me."
With everything in order, the now trio left the room on their way to the rendezvous point.
A while later...
In the middle of a park, with giant trees and a few clearings with ponds and paths and seats, was the Temple of Knowledge. From the outside view, one would think that one of the many Greek temples went through a hole in space-time, crossed centuries and millennia, and landed here.
But strangely enough, as strange as it looked, it was not an eyesore. It blended in nicely with the colorful roofs of the numerous buildings surrounding its edges.
The trio was moving along a hidden path through the forest.
The path was hidden by means of rituals and diversions. Only if you knew of its existence could you pass through, and even then, you would have to know how to move along it. If not, you would end up in one of the clearings in the park.
They only knew how to move because the older woman who brought the documents with their new identities had shown them the way.
'Not even a Hunter could find this path. I doubt I would have if I didn't know it was here.' Adryan admitted to himself.
He would have been lost long ago without knowing which way to go.
Unable to help himself, a chuckle came from him.
'I could say that about my whole life here. Without Klein, I would have been dead long ago. Most certainly, he was and is my guiding light.'
His sudden laughter caught the attention of the duo walking silently behind him. Maric looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow while Sharron tilted her head to the side slightly.
'Sounds a bit like a fox...' The Wraith couldn't help but make a mental comparison. Her head tilted a bit more.
Thus, and without much witticism, the trio followed the path until they finally reached the discreet entrance to the Temple of Knowledge, which was a door hidden in a tree.
Beside it stood a Bayam ascent man with deep brown eyes accentuated by slight dark circles under his eyes and short black hair.
He held in his right hand an open pocket watch. His gaze focused solely on it.
"You are 10 minutes early. Good work, Mr. K." With a click, he closed the watch and put it away.
Adryan smiled; "It's a Church mission. The least I can do is to be on time.
"I assume you are Mr. Uron Maltir?"
"That's right." Uron nodded calmly. He then looked at the people behind him.
"Are they all you're taking? Is anyone else joining us?"
The red-haired man was about to answer 'Yes' but stopped himself. After some consideration, he shook his head. "We may be joined by someone else once we're in the Tower."
A black eyebrow rose. "And why would that be? Why are they not with us right now?"
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Mr. Uron. She's already with us right now; she's just unsure whether to join us."
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, and they gained a certain silvery glow; Adryan could feel as if such a gaze was reading him.
Those glowing eyes moved from Sharon and Maric to the forest around them. After a while, the man's frown softened a little, and the silver glow disappeared.
"If that was a joke, I must say your humor is awful. There's no one else here but us."
"You might want to check your eyes, you idiot. I'm here!" A familiar mocking shout rang in his ears, and the Conspirator couldn't help but laugh a little.
Deciding to play along, he nodded his head and winked at Uron.
"Fufu~ What do you want me to say? I know how to break the ice~"
If the man wanted to take it as a joke, so be it; whatever happened, he had already been warned. He just refused to listen.
"That's the members of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom for you. A bunch of tight asses who refuse to listen to any truth other than what they believe is right." As if reading his mind, Flora added between derisive chuckles, drawing another chuckle from her charger.
This seemed to further strengthen Uron's resolve. He rolled his eyes in boredom and walked over to them.
"If you're done laughing at your lousy joke, Mr. K., We have places to go, and the clock is ticking."
Giving an exaggerated bow, Adryan extended his arm behind him, inviting Uron to come forward. "Please show us the way, sir."
Flat-faced, Uron accepted the invitation and took the lead, with Adryan, Sharon, and Maric following behind him, the latter giving a glance at their leader's back.
This time, Uron took a different path from the one the trio had come from and stayed around the Temple of Knowledge.
After walking for a while, they left the park/forest and re-entered the city. Calmly, the duo moved through the crowded streets of Helikon without much inconvenience until not long after they left the district.
After a long while, the curious group stood before a bar in the Artelia district.
On a large brown sign, 'Joe's Bodega' was written.
"Are you sure this is it?" Adryan asked, looking sideways at the man, who nodded nonchalantly.
Without answering, the man entered, followed by the trio. The bar was not unlike what he was used to, with a long table in the back, several stools in front of it, and several circular tables on the floor, with people drinking quietly.
It looked more like a place to drink with colleagues than with friends.
Uron just walked on by without talking to the bartender or any of the waiters moving around the place. He went straight to the staircase, which was guarded by a tall man of sturdy build.
Uron pulled a set of keys from his pocket, and the key ring was a small owl.
The guard gave a simple nod and let them pass to the next floor...
Locking the door to the room with the owl key ring, Uron turned to look at the group with a deep and serious gaze.
"I'm sure you briefed them, but I'll still repeat what we're about to do."
"We are about to enter the first floor of the Tower. What it is will be better explained once inside. What you need to know is that your Sequences will be suppressed to Sequence 7, the same with your artifacts. So, if you have any higher than this, I recommend you put them away now. If you take it inside, it will be confiscated, and you can only get it back if you complete the floor.
"You can leave it here if you like; this room has been treated with various rituals. No one can enter or leave until the key reopens the door, freeing this space."
Adryan looked at Uron with a raised eyebrow.
Did this guy really think he'd trust his artifacts to some shoddy ritual?
Grabbing his left glove, he pulled it off, revealing... another black glove underneath.
As Creeping Hunger left his hand, his face, hair, skin, stature, and musculature began to change. Within 8 seconds, his appearance had returned to that of Adryan Kenway.
For Creeping Hunger's Faceless ability to work, the glove had to be on him at all times, the moment it was removed he would return to his original appearance.
Grabbing a strip he had prepared earlier, the red-haired man tied his hair into his usual high ponytail, leaving as always a few loose strands that framed his face.
"What?" With a raised eyebrow, Adryan asked Uron, who was looking directly at him.
"It's nothing." The man shook his head, looking away from him.
Rolling his eyes, Adryan pulled several red poppies, vials, candles, and the symbol of the Scarlet Monarch from his jacket.
He quickly placed everything in its place before Uron's hard stare, who said nothing and made no attempt to stop him at any point. He just stood and watched, as did Sharron and Maric, who stood to the side closer to the red-haired man.
With the red poppies, candles, and symbol in place, Adryan looked up at the duo. "Do you have anything you need to keep?"
Sharron shook her head curtly.
The youngest in the room nodded in response, placed Creeping Hunger on the 'altar', he knelt down, clasped his hands together in prayer and closed his eyes.
"The Scarlet Monarch who burns Depravity;
The Calamity forgotten by Time;
The Stranger that comes from the Unkown;
Your devoted servant prays for your attention;
I pray for you to take this offering;
I pray for you to open the gates to your Kingdom!"
With the whispers reaching his ears, Adryan began to draw the sphere of light in his mind.
After a few seconds, the candle fire that illuminated the altar rose, and a fiery gate formed...
"Praise the Monarch!"
Opening his eyes, clearing the altar, and now with the glove in a safe place, Adryan turned to look at the duo.
"Ready?"
They both nodded.
Turning to look at a serious Uron, no words were exchanged, the message clear in his smile.
The dark-skinned man merely nodded and held out his right hand. In the palm of it, a tattoo formed. It was a circle interspersed with several rings, with various symbols and triangles all pointing in one direction.
This black tattoo glowed purple; the next second, Uron opened his mouth, Ancient Hermes reverberating off the room's walls.
"Open!"
The next instant, the tattoo pulsed, and the once-fanned room was now empty.
...
To his eyes, he had barely blinked, and the room with its soft cream walls and single bed was replaced by a strange black ceramic floor.
Grasping his head, the redhead only grimaced slightly at the hammering in his brain.
'Is this what it feels like to become suddenly stupider? Urgh...' Blinking slightly, he looked up and looked around.
Maric and Sharron were only a little further away from where they were before, both had their hands on their heads, surely going through the same thing he was.
A few feet ahead was Uron, his eyes tightly closed and one hand on his head.}
Seeing Sharron and Uron's reaction, alarm bells immediately went off in Adryan's head.
Flora still hadn't said anything yet!
Taking advantage of the fact that the others were still in a daze, he was about to whisper to check her condition when suddenly everything spun around.
Thud!
Dropping to one knee, the red-haired man clutched his chest in pain. Feeling as if multiple knives were stabbing at his heart and lungs.
Huff! Huff!
Breathing heavily, Adryan blinked several times in rapid succession trying to clear the lights in his eyes.
What was happening to his body?!
His eyes widened.
'Flora!'
As soon as he thought that name, a blinding white light formed in the air above him. Drawing the attention of everyone present who had finally recovered from the effects of the suppression of their sequences.
Adryan didn't look at the people around him or listen to what they were saying, his eyes were completely focused on the blinding light above him that was getting smaller and smaller and a figure could be made out in it.
Reacting quickly, the red-haired man leapt several metres into the air as the light suddenly vanished and a figure fell.
Extending his arms, he caught it princess style and he fell gracefully to the ground. His scarlet eyes never leaving the beautiful face in his arms.
She was a young woman, her long woolly white hair reminding him of clouds in the sky. Her eyelashes were delicate, and her features were very pleasing to the eye. She was wearing an elegant purple dress that only accentuated her beauty.
The red-haired man looked dazedly at the woman in his arms, in an uncertain voice he asked, "Flora?"
The woman's eyelids twitched slightly, with some annoyance they fluttered open revealing beautiful pearly gray eyes full of confusion.
"Eh?" the woman mumbled, her voice identical to the one Adryan hears in his mind, only this time coming from the woman in his arms.
-----------------------------------------------
Wednesday, September 18th. Adryan's art drops.
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