The City of Calamity's avatar froze, clearly caught off guard.
"You forgot? You're an independent entity now!" Alaric continued with a smile. "As an independent being, you can challenge your core. Or are you content to remain under its domination?"
"…You're trying to manipulate me," The City of Calamity's avatar said after a moment's silence.
"No, I'm just stating a fact. There can only be one City of Calamity in this world. You coexist with your core now because of the Lord of Mysteries' seal, but that seal will eventually break. When it does, how will you deal with your core?" Alaric spoke unhurriedly, his tone almost gentle, like a patient teacher. "As you said, your world is one of submission and domination. So why not dominate your core?"
The City of Calamity's avatar felt its thoughts unravel. Its earlier words weren't lies... domination and submission were its instincts. Now that Alaric had laid bare this truth, those instincts drove it to consider a new possibility.
"You're not unmoved by the idea," Alaric's voice cut through, tinged with amusement. "And lucky for you, I'm happy to lend a hand in conquering your core."
Alaric hadn't initially cared much for the City of Calamity's core on the Western Continent. He had no desire to see Medici become a Calamity of Destruction. But since the City of Calamity had dared to suggest he and Medici could end up as its puppets, he'd show it why flowers were so red. A little sowing of discord between the avatar and its core, followed by a surprise for the City of Calamity, seemed fitting.
After a few seconds of thought, Alaric grinned. "Of course, if you're not up for challenging your core, that's fine. I've always been curious about splitting and merging Sefirot, but I haven't had many chances to experiment. Maybe the City of Calamity would make a good test subject in the future. After all, you're not exactly a saint."
If the City of Calamity were torn apart, would its fragments unite or fight to the death for dominance?
Fragmented Sefirot pieces would be less dangerous, potentially allowing controlled creation of City of Calamity vassals to bolster a group of Hunters' strength. Alaric was genuinely curious about the answers.
Of course, in his current state, he couldn't dismantle the City of Calamity unless it already had a tendency to split. His success in severing this avatar stemmed from that inherent inclination.
But what he couldn't do now, he might achieve when the Western Continent's seal broke in the future.
And if he changed his mind someday and wanted Medici to assimilate the City of Calamity? Simple... merging was far easier than splitting. If Alaric could fragment a Sefirot, he was confident he could reassemble it.
While The City of Calamity's avatar inadvertently set its core up for trouble through its Hunter instincts, Klein, Lil' Amon, and the others had escorted the Lemon Restaurant's tourists back to the cruise ship.
With the source of the calamity sealed, Bansy Harbor gradually returned to normal... at least on the surface. The fog lifted, the monsters vanished, and the port once again resembled a bustling tourist hub.
"But it's all an illusion. Those turned into marionettes can't revert to normal. In essence, this place is a graveyard…" Alaric, in his Jack guise, withdrew his gaze from a passing Bansy native. Even with The City of Calamity's branch power sealed and under his control, he couldn't reverse Bansy's fate. Such was the destructive power of a Sefirot.
Except for the rare few who could withstand a Sefirot's corrosion or high-level beings immune to it, Sefirot were poison cloaked in sweetness for most.
"Even for those few who can handle a Sefirot, it's not necessarily a blessing…" Alaric thought of the Ancient Sun God, with the Primordial One reviving within, and Klein from the original story, fighting the Celestial Worthy to exhaustion. Even if Klein won temporarily, his humanity would inevitably erode completely one day. Alaric shook his head.
"In the end, Lovecraftian-esque powers are a slippery slope, even for me as a mini Nyarlathotep…" Alaric gave a self-deprecating smile. As a mini Nyarlathotep, he was nearly incapable of death... hard to kill even if he wanted to. But as Alaric, his humanity was constantly tugged downward by Nyarlathotep's nature. One misstep, and there might be no Alaric left, only Nyarlathotep.
"That's why I study humanity, stay close to humans, and admire good people," Alaric mused, his gaze landing on Klein, who was petting his cat. A sudden thought struck him, and he asked, "Gehrman, are you sure you want to take that cat on your travels? It looks like an ordinary kitten, probably too fragile for all the travel."
Klein, engrossed in petting the cat, paused. He gave it a couple more pats before turning to Alaric. "I was planning to entrust it to Lady Cattleya for now and pick it up after the trip."
Alaric recalled the colorful crew on Cattleya's The Future... minus the terrifying Mushroom King, but still a collection of eccentrics. He paused, then said diplomatically, "Why not have Leonard take it back instead? He'll probably stop by when we explore the book world later. Leonard's a bit dim, but he should manage a cat just fine."
After a beat, Alaric added, "Cattleya's a pirate admiral, after all. She's bound to run into battles with other pirates, and I'd hate for the kitten to get scared."
Klein looked thoughtful, then nodded. "You're right, I didn't consider that. Leonard might be the better choice."
Alaric's attention shifted to Lil' Amon, who was toying with a lizard. "By the way, where'd you get these animals? You didn't steal them from someone's house, did you?"
"That's my little secret," Amon said with a wink and a smile.
Klein, clearly struck by a thought, looked at Amon. He seemed reluctant to part with his kitten but said, "Amon, if these animals were taken from someone's home, we should return them. Their owners must miss them."
***
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