A few days later, I looked at the towering walls of one of the Lungmen mobile platforms; the bright city there was ignorant of the danger just behind this barrier. On the side, R.I. Operators fought with some Reunion Members lying in an ambush, unaware of a drone watching them from above. But such a move was to be expected by the dragon nesting in this city.
Amiya and that Evil Spirit soon met up with a stern Lung Officer, who, according to my information, was a literal 'Princess' of Lungmen. I observed her carefully, not just because of her beauty, but more so due to the sword hanging by her waist. I heard of that sword, Chi'Xiao, a masterpiece of a long-dead master, well deserving its fame, though many forgot about its origins.
Today, most people who recognize this sword know about its powerful Arts, but not the reason for its creation. Chi'Xiao, the serpent slayer, was born to hunt those beings that were derogatorily called snakes, especially their god: Sui. But in its long history, it gained another moniker, the sword of rebellion. Some think that said name originated from its picky nature about its master, not allowing it to be wielded by an unworthy person, but that's not why it was named as such.
Chi'Xiao gained its name due to its wielder pointing the sword at the reigning emperor of Yan; it happened more than once, at times even succeeding in the rebellion. As such, Yan tried to destroy this sword more than once, but always stopped as the danger of Sui was never fully gone.
To be honest, I found it quite ironic, knowing what I know, that this sword belonged to that dragon, and now to Ch'en, who also had her own dissatisfaction brewing underneath her stern expression. It would seem that 'respecting their elders' flows in their blood.
But returning to the matters at hand, I followed them into the city, hidden by Night Sorcery; I wasn't planning to have an official meeting but a secret one. After a short ride, they entered a central tower, where the Old Lynx and a dragon were already talking. I entered unnoticed and stayed on the side, watching the poor R.I. being played due to their lack of understanding about some past events, and I must admit, it was a pleasure to see Old Lynx being on the losing side of a deal.
As they were about to sign the contract, I decided to help them out a little before they entered a political minefield they hadn't signed up for. So I clapped my hands lightly, light applause for the play I just witnessed. Instantly, ten shadows appeared from around the room, weapons in hand, lunging at me, but before they crossed half of the space, twice as many spears of pure light appeared around, my Valkyries disarming every attacker before they could react.
-"Quite a greeting, Lord Wei."
-"If I knew you'd be visiting, Holy Son, then I would make more appropriate arrangements."
-"Sadly, before such a message could get to you, your brother would send his people to take this office over."
-"Sigh. Please sit, I hope you can excuse my subordinates."
-"Of course. Thrúd, you stay; the rest can retreat."-I waved my hand, creating a crystal seat for myself.
-"Yes, Son!"
At my command, the Valkyries other than Thrúd left, but Guinevere and Cellinia appeared instead. I created the seats for them, but Cellinia remained standing, taking the role of my guard.
-"Then, Son, what can I do for you tonight?"
-"I want you to help me help you."-I smiled with slight mischief.-"Talulah."
I could see his eyes narrow slightly, wondering how much I know.
-"If you are talking about dealing with Reunion…"
-"Lord Wei, please don't insult my intelligence. While my friends from Rhodes Island care about that whole movement, to me, at the moment, the whole Reunion is nothing more than a pawn in Ursus' hands. I could order their destruction, and nothing would change. I only care about a few individuals, with Talulah at the core."-I looked him in the eyes, not hiding the bloodlust accumulated during my wars.
-"Then what is Son expecting of me?"
-"Cooperation. I can make Talulah a heroic victim while the real sinner is pushed to the forefront. But to achieve it, I need the assistance of someone who can handle shadow almost as well as that snake."
-"Sigh."-Wei's shoulders slumped slightly.-"You truly know much, Son."
-"I investigated after having my doubts about her situation, finding traces of two snakes on her, one from Ursus and one from Yan."
-"You shouldn't call Lung a snake."-His eyebrow twitched.
-"Please, I met humans with more draconic blood than you."-I rolled my eyes.-"What's your decision?"
-"How is her state?"
-"She is alive, but not herself. I confirmed that she is under the control of the snake, some kind of possession. I have no way to resolve it without risking her true spirit, so I need a little time before making my move."
-"Will you be able to achieve it?"
-"Yes, I have at least three contingency plans already prepared, though they are not exactly something I'd like to implement."
He looked thoughtful, but I could feel from his thoughts that he already agreed. As he was about to tell his answer, Ch'en spoke up first.
-"Why would you care for her so much?"-She looked at me with eyes full of wariness.-"Are you also trying to use her?"
-"Yes and no. My plan indeed requires her to use her birthright, but that just means to achieve an end. The reason is simple: she is my friend. I received something precious from her, and I don't plan to turn my back in her time of need."-I raised my right hand and let my flames appear on my palm.
The gold, black-red, and blue flames danced on my palm, causing the feeling of dread to fill the room. I could see that most people didn't understand my meaning; only Old Lynx and the dragon got it, but their reactions were starkly opposite. Old Lynx looked at me as if seeing something unclean, her thoughts screamed 'scumbag' at me, while Wei looked shocked but ecstatic, his inner thoughts full of prayers to his brother that his daughter inherited his spirit of finding a great life partner.
-"What?"-Ch'en asked, noticing the slight change in Wei's expression.
-"Ehem. This indeed gives him all the rights to care for her."
-"Just some Originium Art?"-Ch'en looked unconvinced.
In the end, Wei explained to her and others about what my control over fire represented, causing Ch'en to look at me with entirely different kinds of wariness and hostility. But leaving the siscon aside, I returned to the main subject.
-"So, Lord Wei, I believe that my show of goodwill is enough to get us to work together."
-"Yes. Tell me your plan."
-"As you know, Laterano is about to have a war with Ursus. Reunion is at the core of this conflict. I will win, forcing them to push scapegoats for their schemes, but before that, I need you to lay the groundwork."-I gave him a few documents.
He read through them quickly, his brows rising slightly with each page.
-"This is enough to purge the radicals from the army."
-"Yes, so I want you to be the 'mediator' after the first battle between Laterano and Ursus. If we play our hands right, we can whitewash the core part of Reunion, allowing Talulah and her allies to not be stained by the sins of that snake."
-"Your plan sounds solid, but it relies on Lateran victory, a decisive one at that."
-"Indeed."-I smiled.-"I don't dare to claim being equal to that snake when it comes to conspiracy, but when it comes to power…"
I tapped the armrest of my chair, manifesting my Reality Marble. Before anyone could react, we were no longer in an office, but at the edge of a crystal forest, the White Fortress surrounding the giant three, now named Læraðr after my new Authority, towering over everyone. But what attracted the eyes even more were the five smaller fortresses, floating around the Læraðr.
Moments later, we returned to the office, but no one thought that what had happened was just an illusion. I gave them a moment to collect themselves before continuing with our conversation.
-"Now that the cards are on the table, let's move to the details."
And so, Wei, Old Lynx, and I spend the rest of the evening and night talking about how to deal with Reunion and Ursus hidden behind them. The Evil Spirit also joined in the conversation at some point, making suggestions here and there but remaining not involved in the political aspect of the plan. In the end, we decided on a strategy that, while still needing some minor adjustments, gave us the greatest chances to gain everything we want to achieve.
R.I. would continue as they planned, supporting the suppression of riots in the slums and helping with Infected, but some of their focus would be on securing proof of the involvement of some officials and spies from Lungmen. The Lungmen Guard Department will lead the whole operation in the slums, but they will take a much less aggressive approach, working with underground forces to evacuate people as quickly as possible.
Wei will use his contacts to pressure Ursus to take action against Chernobog and Reunion, elevating the scale of this incident into something greater rather than trying to minimize it. He will take a hard stance, even pushing for mobilization of the Yanese military in preparation for war. At the same time, he'll covertly contact the Emperor of Ursus with information about this conspiracy, focusing on Talulah's importance to both Laterano and Lungmen, forcing the emperor to take action.
Laterano, meanwhile, would prepare for the Ursus' Imperial Third Army to leave Ursus' borders, preparing to put a different kind of pressure on Ursus, a more direct one. All that to stack the chips high enough in our favor that Talulah and her people could be exonerated, and even if the whole of Reunion couldn't be saved, those who mattered could still live in light, not being burdened by blame.
And beneath everything, a confrontation between me, Wei, and Kal'tsit, on one side, and that snake on the other. A game with stakes high enough to change the political landscape of the whole of Terra, one that neither side could afford to lose.
When the sun started to rise, we decided to end the meeting, but one last issue needed some kind of arrangement: me. I couldn't appear in the Lungmen openly for now, but I needed to be close to the events in case anything happened. But before Wei could suggest some method to resolve this issue, Ch'en interrupted him.
-"He can join our Guard Department."-She turned to me.-"If you can hide your wings, no one would think that the Holy Son is working as a simple policeman."
-"I can work with that."-I nodded and got to work.
I had my three pairs of wing hide in different dimensions, while my halo was hidden by Night Sorcery. After that was done, I had my Banshee's Crown turn black, which, together with my pointed ears, made me look like a Banshee, or Liber as they are often misidentified as such. After changing into the Lungmen Guard outfit, I indeed looked nothing like a Holy Son. Seeing me in uniform, Ch'en's eyes lit up; she even nodded lightly, as if confirming something to herself. But she then noticed that I had no weapon, which made my look incomplete.
-"Don't you have a weapon?"
-"They are rather recognizable."-I had my standard and Caliburn appear near me.
-"Indeed. I'll have you use one of the standard ones then."
-"Just give me a sword; a shield is not my style, so I'll use an Arts Unit instead of it."
-"Sure. I'll take you to your quarters. The room next to me is free, so you can use it."
-"Cellinia, meet up with Penguin Logistics and cooperate with them to contact underground forces on my behalf. Guinevere, you should act as my representative here, cooperating with Old Lynx and Lord Wei."
Both of them nodded.
I followed Ch'en out. She took me out to her car, silent the whole way until we were on the road.
-"How should I call you?"
-"Eno. I'll call you Ch'en if you don't mind."
-"Suit yourself."-She gripped the steering wheel tightly, as if considering whether she should speak or not.-"Eno…"
-"You want to ask about Talulah?"
-"Yes. Can you tell me how she is doing? Before that whole possession, I mean."
-"Sure."
I told her about our meeting and what Talulah wrote in her letters. About the Ursus' winters and struggles of the Infected, but also about her past and struggles. I didn't mention anything too personal, as even if she was her half-sister, some things shouldn't be talked about without Talulah's permission. After Ch'en circled the whole district for the third time, I ended my speech and reminded her that it's almost time to start her shift.
Only then did Ch'en notice the time, causing her to speed up toward the Lungmen Guard Department headquarters. But we quickly noticed that we had made a grave mistake. When we exited the car, I could feel all the eyes focus on us, and with my identity being secret, we had no way to explain this away. Soon, Ch'en and I were surrounded by gossip-hungry coworkers, causing Ch'en to blurt out that I was important to her when asked who I was, deepening the misunderstanding.
I needed to lower my presence with Night Sorcery to escape the crowd, leaving Ch'en to deal with them by herself while I headed toward the armory. Inside, I found a sword that matched my fighting style, and started to look for the Arts Unit. As I was impersonating a Banshee, I found an old and mostly scrapped one, taking it to a workshop in the corner to repair it and change its shape into a pen. I wasn't exactly good at making tools and weapons, only using what I knew about Arts and Magic, together with some basics I had read about, to make this Arts Unit work.
I didn't need it to amplify my Arts; it was enough for it not to explode at use, so after tinkering for an hour or so, I managed to create something matching my low requirements. I watched it over and promised myself to learn more about weapon-making when I had some free time. I was about to stand up when a voice called out to me from behind.
-"Man, you are quite bad at it, huh? Need some advice, newbie?"
Behind me stood a tall woman with green hair and a noticeable horn. But that horn was not black or bone like Sarkaz's or Lung's horns; it had the color of her skin. I looked at her, and nodded, deciding not to waste her goodwill.
-"Please."