<hr>


    <04/03/1965 - 13:00 | Isolated Wildlands, Iktal Region, Sprawn Valley>


    "Man," Monarch sighed with regret. "How many dead-ends are there gonna be on this trip?"


    "Tch!" If Lance knew Monarch would be this annoying, it would have been better to do this alone. "We''re only on our third lead. If you were gonna complain this much, you should have said so up front. Would have brought a book to read or music to listen to."


    "Scout, what music are you going to listen to? It''s not like they make pocket-sized record players, and you can''t possibly think the music radio network out here is any better."


    He never does quit, this one. Lance ignored the bickering for now, reflecting back to the briefing earlier this morning. There was a lot more information packed into Lance''s current mission than what anyone would have expected. The Scarlet leaders must have some clever minds at work to uncover so much so fast.


    There is still the large mystery of the tower''s core function to uncover. Even with the ability to see directly into the core room at will, seeing machines and gears turning doesn''t quite explain the process at work, which was perfectly understandable to most. No man can pop the front hood of a car for the first time and suddenly have full understanding of how to disassemble and reassemble engine components. In this case, the tower''s core room converts pure lunar light from above into usable Leray energy in a balanced fashion. This implies one particular format (between Leray and Dark magic) can have an altered difference in projection ratio, though none of this explains why or how the tower''s core only projects to Sprawn Valley.


    Lance figured he would leave the experts to that one prospect, though there was much more. The key ingredients to this mystery lies mostly within ex-tower elites and ex-champions. Anyone who had merely worked inside of Eldora Tower in the past would know a thing or two about the classified operations inside that superstructure. Even those who didn''t know anything about the core might know how others conduct specific and certain protocols, such as updates to security detail and inner functions of the tower''s electronic system.


    One electrician was apparently open-lip about one interesting fact. If a power-blackout in Eldora City were to occur, Eldora Tower would be entirely unaffected. Leray magic has the ability to be converted into non-magic electrical energy, the kind of power people use for light bulbs and air conditioners, but Leray magic on its own cannot be a direct substitute, even with the elemental magic form of electric Leray energy. This begs the question: How can Eldora Tower stay lit during a power outage of an entire city?


    One way or another, the answer to this question is of great importance. Others are convinced that lunar energy is also a key factor of importance, before it is converted in the first place, though testing this possibility requires a lot more to work with than a concrete bunker slapped together with more walls and a makeshift power grid. Again; this is for the higher ups to figure out, but Lance found it all equally intriguing.


    Coming all the way out here to Iktal has nothing to do with any of this info. The whole purpose of coming out here is to follow up on potential leads, people who may be linked in one way or another to ex-elites of Eldora Tower. If even one can be found and captured, they can be motivated to talk. The problem is, these ex-elites are invisible. Even with most of them having a past record digitally available, anything which can be used to locate them is outdated. Some records have been scrubbed too, though not for every person. It doesn''t change the fact that somebody in that tower is going through incredible trouble just to keep these people hidden, as if Danton somehow anticipated the very possibility that Lance would go looking for them.


    With all of this in mind, Lance kept Monarch on subject. "We''re not out here for a picnic. We''re literally chasing phantoms. It isn''t going to be easy finding anybody."


    "But why out here in the middle of nowhere, in Iktal?"


    "..." Lance didn''t need too long to answer, for it only needed a bit of thought. "It''s the most logical place for ex-elites to hide. They wouldn''t return to a public-facing job unless their records were totally screwed with. They might be hiding in Cheyenne, but this only makes it much harder to access them if it is true, though I doubt those dogs would dare let outsiders into their precious town for any reason. They wouldn''t be sent to Brunus, because even though the restriction against magical usage there would hide talent, it is much too small of a place to hide, and suspicious as a place to retreat to. Gulop and Junon are already quite developed, though two other search parties are already combing those areas as we speak. Speaking in order of significance, that just leaves Iktal. It''s the largest piece of land that has the lowest structural development by comparison to proportion size. Even though most people live by the water, nothing forbids others from living further from the shore, and there isn''t quite enough activity to bring people buzzing here with tourism, so it stays quiet and often under the radar."


    "Here we go with all that logic again. There''s no way you thought of all that on the spot. The masters have known this long before either of us have."


    "I grow tired of your talk. If you don''t want a lesson and don''t want to speak of anything, don''t flap your tongue about the reason you are out here."


    Lance sure is something, though not at all how Monarch expected him to be. "That reminds me. What music were you planning on playing without having anything to bring? Don''t tell me you''ve taken up violin."


    With a sudden smash embewed with rocky magical dispersion, Monarch was forced to jump back from a ground-wave attack initiated from the bottom of Lance''s bladed pole. "I had the wrong idea about you. I thought you came out here to prove your worth to the Scarlets, but now I think all you really want is to find out how many different ways I can kill you!" Instead of emitting anger, Lance sounded insane with a laughing smirk, as if he couldn''t wait to get some action underway.


    Having misjudged Lance once again, Monarch bowed and pleaded with apology. "Only joking! I meant nothing by it."


    "Tch! Joke like that again, and I''ll return the favor. Have to admit, it would be pretty funny if I detached that head from your shoulders; at least then I might miss all the useless chatter."


    Monarch didn''t talk back, for his own safety. It was strange only until now how relaxed Lance seemed, but this was his true face. Unlike with Krim and 99% of other subordinates, nobody would bat an eye if Lance killed someone on his own team; it''s in his exact character profile to do so, just for fun. So much for proving it was a made up description...


    "If you would spent half as much time being more inquisitive about the world around you, instead of talking trash, you would be far ahead of the other Scarlets." Lance knew where he was going with this, finding the last question interesting for a good reason. "Like for instance, that girl Krim hunted down, turns out she was versed in a number of lost spells, one of which includes an aura with the power to link internal mental noise with the external dispersion rate of the energy aura. Even though I am unaware of its invocation pattern, it actually is possible to generate an aura and play music directly from the brain''s memory. The aura becomes a well-amplified speaker all running on magic alone."


    Wait, so there actually was a way to play music this whole time on the go? "I never knew that. Sure makes me wonder why everyone else isn''t doing it."


    "Curious indeed. Lost spells are called lost spells because they dropped off in popularity, but there is always a reason when this happens, and a majority of the time, it is because at once moment, a local or national governor put a ban on such abilities." Lance kept walking while easing his own boredom, lining up another uncharted house in the distance, his next target. "Do you want to know why they banned the music aura in Junon?"


    "I... Yeah. Why would they want to restrict something so innocent sounding?"


    "It''s rather simple. Enough noise complaints came in when every delinquent in town found it humorous to wake people in residential zones from their sleep, bass-boosting whatever loud trash they could find. Not gonna lie, I would find it quite humorous too, if times were the way they were back then."


    So then, if Yuel was using this special aura, they must have lifted the ban, or perhaps extended exception to authorized individuals with that digital abomination they integrated into the current veil.


    "Other times, lost spells are simply abandoned because not enough people find it useful in battle, though there is always at least one idiot lugging it around, too stubborn to drop it. The point is, if the government has the ability to manually make changes to the veil and disable specific spells, then there may be useful applications for these spells, for Scarlets anyway."


    "You mean, if you knew how to invoke the spell, and used dark magic to rely on its invocation, thus preventing the blocker sequence code from executing?"


    "Unfortunately, dark magic amplifies all abilities, even when doing so ruins the intended nature of the spell. For combat, that isn''t usually a problem, but for non-combat spells, trying to twist dark magic to its form more or less corrupts the spell before it can be executed. However, I''m more than willing to bet there are lost spells which have not been discovered by the tower mages, spells which should prove most useful to us. The question becomes learning where to find these unique spells. So far, you''ve only thought to learn whether our targets could be ex-elites, but my chain of questioning is more complex. I wish to find out if there are other lost spells that these exiled mages may know about. Even someone from outside of Eldora Tower can be useful to us, if we play our cards right."


    "I don''t doubt our skills, only our rotten luck. We''re not going to randomly bump into ex-elites from Eldora just by walking door to door, even with your ability to snuff out lies made out of fear."


    "It''s an easy life skill, not an ability. And don''t rope me in with your reliance on luck. The reason things have not gone our way for so long, is that our enemy has always been one step ahead of us. Whatever they are hiding on that top floor must be something so obvious, that nobody in their right mind would correctly guess and put together its mannerism of truth. So, we have to gather more data for now."


    "Say we do manage to find an ex-elite, and prove they have involvement with the tower, and are happy to talk about it with a routine interrogation. What if all they know is—"


    "Shut it Monarch!"


    "But—"


    "I don''t deal in ''what-if''s.'' If you flood your mind with scenario after scenario, then you will only be knowledgeable about what might be, instead of what is."


    "I didn''t realize you were so poetic," Monarch murmured.


    "Philosophical, you moron. It really is too bad that Kite Fargenst couldn''t win the championship and remain in power. The world would have been a very different place. So many things remain untouched by scientific research. But, he didn''t, and all we can do about it now is take that veil by force and return the natural state of magic back to the people."


    "The natural state of magic..."


    "Oh come on!" Lance rolled his eyes without turning around. "You forgot the most basic teachings of the Scarlets. Leray magic is not natural. If it were really so simple that only Leray and Dark magic existed as the primary coefficients of the entire magical conversion process, then there wouldn''t be a need to hide so much about it. I want to know why a charged Leray magic crystal or a dark magic crystal cannot be discharged in areas outside of the veil. Back before Eldora Tower existed, this used to be possible. It was how magic was invoked during the Avion War of Mages."


    "Right, I thought about that once. Wasn''t it miniature veils of magic projected from the person, or something?"


    "You''re close, but not quite right. Mages produced tiny versions of Leray veils, so that their Leray magic crystals would discharge, allowing people within the same field to use magic and spells. Even inside of such a field, dark energy from dark magic crystals could also be discharged. According the not-so-public records, magical discharge from Leray crystals without this personalized veil was impossible, however, during that war, reports of dark magic crystal usage was documented without the same of any veil, which violates the current laws of magic in this world. Like I said before, if you or I went to another continent and tried to use either Leray magic or dark magic, even with charged crystals, we would not be able to. Before Eldora Tower existed, it was possible inside of this continent, and without a nearby personal veil."


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "... Hey yeah." Is this why Lance is so infatuated with the hidden mysteries of the past? Monarch couldn''t lie to himself, even he wanted to know what was up with this one hiccup in the records. "I assume you already know?"


    "There can only be two possibilities," he answered. "Either, the history books are not telling the whole truth. Maybe the people who reported seeing unsupported dark magic dispersion were too stupid to see that some other veil was powering those crystals. Or, more than likely, they lied about what they saw, in order to protect a greater secret. Even this is something I find unlikely, since we would be talking about a collective of individuals with no ties to the government or to each other. It isn''t that this is impossible, just unlikely."


    "And the other possibility?"


    Lance traded himself a long and deep breath before stressing himself with the other alternative answer. "The only other lie, is that magical dispersion is not isolated only to Sprawn Valley, that using magic in any part of the world is actually possible; we just don''t know how to do it. The entire crystal configuration might have to be constructed in a different manner or charged up in a different way. It would have something to do with energy conversion, which deals directly with the heart of the current Leray veil. Something within that process might innately explain how it could be possible to use magic outside of an existing veil, and that the reason mages hide the conversion process is to prevent this knowledge from leaking out. It is a more likely scenario, but one much harder to prove without a leap in evidence."


    "..." Monarch didn''t say it, but the idea of using any spell outside of the safety zone was beyond tempting.


    "Now do you realize why it''s important to cover every single aspect of detail? While you''re out here complaining about sore feet, you could be learning the secrets that may one day make you the god of any world of your choosing. You could plunder any country with your unique magic, provided you kept competition away from you, and rule as the king you''ve always wanted to be." Lance knew he was hitting more nerve than thought, as Monarch didn''t have too mysterious of a background. Once the king of a tiny country of his own upbringing, Monarch left to come here, hoping to rule with magic as it would be more fun. Little did he realize how many rules and restrictions there were barring people from reaching the top of the food chain, and the intense competition did him no good.


    "I doubt it could ever be that easy... However, I cannot hide my temptation to such an offer. Like I said to you before. I will help you in this task, not for the immediate glory of impressing our boss, but for the long term greater good."


    "It sure is good to have ambition, and unlike other gangs, as a Scarlet, you are allowed to be selfish, so long as you don''t stab your master in the back. You can leave whenever you please." There was the additional stipulation of being sworn to secrecy, though Lance knew Monarch didn''t need to hear about it again, since Monarch isn''t the person who cares about that stuff... Well, at least he''s quiet and serious again.


    "I wonder if we should try pretending to be current tower elites ourselves, maybe a branch of a secret society within the tower."


    "Just don''t get too carried away. There is no room for error."


    With them both now at the next house, Monarch quickly imagined manners of speech he could use to trick any ex-elite in hiding to fess up. "Of course." It would be his turn to speak after all, and with such newfound steaks, no ex-elite will ever hide from him.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Investigation ~ Artem Grebenshchikov (Pandemic)</a>


    <hr>


    <04/06/1965 - 16:00 | Delta Camp, (Unknown Region), Sprawn Valley>


    Days and nights marched on, testing the skill and wits of those most trusted to the task of phantom hunting. However, when Lance and Monarch returned to the main base of operations, the debriefing was lacking all inspiration. Out of the hundreds of people that were spoken to, not a single resident of Iktal or other regions were associated with Eldora Tower in any manner. Even for those who might have simply hid their past, Lance ensured he used methods to trip up any potential mage. Alas, Iktal was only filled with people living the countryside dream, and even though it was possible some areas were missed in the search, the boss wasn''t allowing for any time extension to the task.


    After deliberations, it was very clear that someone in Eldora Tower was taking drastic and careful steps to conceal any and all identities of people who used to live or work inside of the tower, including the small fry; cooks, cleaners, security guards, any position was fair game. They keep their credentials just as secretive as the FMCI does to their own agents.


    They don''t seem to care about covering the tracks as much with current Eldora staff and elites, which poses the interesting question for how they make the old ones disappear. Lawrence Citrin is nowhere to be found, not him or his family. Several of the previous elites that came before Trujima are either missing, have moved out of the country, or have had their entire identity data wiped or altered, and it''s been this way since long before Lawrence was even born. The only exceptions are made to those who have previously challenged elites or champions and failed to succeed in their intended challenge. This clearly means that, during event days, nothing inside most arena floors of the tower can possibly stand out as suspicious in any way.


    How many employees of that tower know the whole truth? It would be risky to kidnap any random smuck and ask around, since this would raise the alarm on what the Scarlets already know; it''s too soon. Danton doesn''t even know that the Scarlet Syndicate exists beyond anything more than ten troublesome gang members who might have kicked a window once or twice in their life, and until more can be learned, it''s best to play each card carefully. This is the reason why Krim was nearly on the hook for enacting such force when he did. Anything that deviates from the intended mission objective can have devastating consequences, and Lance knew he of all people wanted to succeed more than anything.


    Oddly enough, the disgraceful news that nothing could be learned about the mages of the past didn''t bother the masters too much, though it was because of a new face who showed up unannounced to the unimportant security personnel of this base. Nevertheless, this ex-prisoner who was somehow allowed to exist here today, making himself known and well-introduced, though Lance kept a safe distance until he could learn more...


    They can''t have seriously bought that, right? There is no such thing as an ex-prisoner for Verlith. The small-time criminals who don''t go to jail here are deported instead, as to not risk the security of the isolated facility. So, there is no such thing as ''being released for good behavior.'' Furthermore, it''s too impressive of a prison to escape from, with zero successful escape attempts on record. Being isolated to a remote island within the nation is what makes it so difficult. Having information about the prison is believable at best, but being inside and let out later is not. The boss has to know this, though is accepting the man''s lie for a different reason.


    This Nadiezer, he''s an unknown variable, so Lance concluded. Even if he is a skilled warrior, he may also wind up behaving like a serpent. Being deceitful appears to be one of many talents, and apparently high enough in charisma to get all the positive attention from the rookies.


    "No, no. Trust me on this, my fellow friends." Nadiezer, who was already getting along with everyone just started explaining why it was a bad idea to risk a prison heist for potential allies. "Most of the people there are all washed up. The very few you might find useful, would only stab us in the back to serve their own twisted desires, which greatly differ from what I hear this syndicate is about."


    "Still, I doubt they just let you out on good behavior. Wouldn''t that risk an intel leak of their own facility?" Lance had not asked the question himself, but silently praised the soldier who did, and listened closer for a reply.


    "Jeeze, you make it sound as if I killed a bunch of people. I''m more than happy to break bones and smash heads, but I was most behaved in front of the guards and staff."


    "Still, wouldn''t leaving you alone give you purpose to talk about the prison to others?"


    "You really believe the guards are worried about that?" Nadiezer''s rhetorical question gave him enough peace to fill in more blanks. "It''s like I already said. The worst that could happen in the event that prisoners are liberated are a bunch of washed up farts with no talent wandering around, and that means they would be pretty easy to recapture. I''m not saying it isn''t a bit risky on their part, but for our goal, it isn''t worth the trouble or the attention."


    Impressive! Lance wasn''t bothered that all the idiots in the room swallowed that pile of garbage so easily. Even garbage can taste good when tricked into believing it is a high-class meal. Lance knew the truth; Nadiezer is an expert manipulator, a liar who can fool the hardiest of minds. It takes having a screw loose to see it so easily. Wonder what his ulterior motive could be then. Best to say nothing for now.


    "Well then, what did you go to prison for? Did you egg a cop''s house or something?"


    Letting them have their chuckles, Nadiezer gave them their first sliver of truth. "Nothing too exiting. They charted me away for domestic animal abuse."


    "Eh?!" The shocked expressions echoed out through the whole room, and even Lance''s eyebrows rose two centimeters. There''s no way he heard that wrong. Even among the Scarlet Syndicate, animal abuse is generally frowned upon, at least Lance assumed so. Still, what animals was he referring to?


    "You see," he explained, "I took the time in my youth to master summoning skills, even though I could only get three of them done right. Before all of that though, I was raised outside of this nation, and I had different pets too."


    "No way dude! Did you like, snap necks of dogs and cats before coming here? That''s sick!"


    "Yeah man, what the hell is wrong with you? Even dogs out here deserve more respect than that."


    ... Well, it sure is tense now, Lance thought. It makes no sense for Nadiezer to pull out fabrications making himself seem so monstrous, not unless he really is hardcore and wants to test their metal. No, something feels off here, as if this isn''t a grand lie.


    Strange as it was, Nadiezer answered their questions with his own backstory. "You do have one thing correct; the animals that live here deserve far better than what they receive..." Silence endured, demanding elaboration. "Your initial assumption is correct. Before coming here, I did unspeakable things to many animals, whether wild or adopted as a house slave. However, when I took things too far, some of those creatures took their own lives into their hands and ran away never to return, at least, the ones who survived managed to escape."


    After realizing he was about to be beaten to a pulp if his explanations ended there, Nadiezer kept going. "It was actually a simple desire; I wanted to see how intelligent the creatures were; whether or not they had any power, whether or not they had any free-will, and the experience provided interesting enough results to satisfy my curiosity for a while... But then I stepped foot into Sprawn Valley, and learned about the immortality system."


    "Why are you looking at me for? I''m not buying him a drink." After deflecting the expectant stares from his peers, Sergio waited for Nadiezer to continue the awkward confession.


    "The veil of magic stops people from dying, by limiting the amount of damage any and all spells are capable of inflicting. But it does a lot more than that. The veil also makes a potent connection between the space here and the magical dimension, while amplifying specific summoning spells. The natural order of creatures from the magical dimension is supposed to be developed by willful contract, but mastering the glyph variant of Massife is enough to bind a human soul to a Flare Drake for life, without having any expressed permission from the drake."


    "And you know this because..."


    "Dude, isn''t it obvious?" Sergio gently shoved his friend aside, trying to jog his brain. "Once Nadiezer realized there were magical animals here, he didn''t stop with just cats and dogs."


    "Correct," he admitted with such a misfitting soothing voice. "At first, all I tried to do was use an endurance test to see if the drakes fall asleep when their health stat zeroes out. Though the reaction and symptom is similar for us humans, the drakes return to the magical dimension, something that would happen with or without this stupid veil. Unlike us humans, it would take a hell of a lot more than dark magic spells to kill a magical creature; so much that I''m not even sure if slaying one is possible."


    "So, the summons can''t ever die? I bet you''re happy about that."


    "Hear what I have to say before making that dangerous implication again. If there is a way to kill a summon, I know not of one, nor do I care to know. However, I have learned that it is nearly impossible to break the link that binds a summon to its human master, once that link is made. Again, even without making a contract, the right spell invocation can bind an unwilling creature to the designated human, and in such a way where the creature would be incapable of running away or leaving on their own. The Leray veil, and only the Leray veil forces this doctrine. I know this, because I have stress-tested the system to ensure I was not wrong. Why do you think we never see the other elemental drakes of Tarzuse, Whicked Whyrl, and Aquamarine? They exist in other geographic locations of the magical dimension outside of the Leray Veil, and require willful contracts of strength in the first place."


    By now, mouths hung wide and open, for the realization of his words began to click without much need for thought... Nadiezer... He tortured them. He tortured every summon that he had, probably for enjoyment, yet unlike with ordinary house pets...


    "Precisely. Unlike ordinary house pets, the summons were held under a strict and most unnatural contract to continue serving us as our masters, slaves for the entire duration of our human lives. Even should that human die, another can later claim the same summon and repeat the cycle. Under a secret experiment using a small dark magic field, I proved that - under the right circumstances, the drakes and other creatures could easily break this link if they so desired to of their own volition, as few were freed given what I put them through."


    With one loud clap of emotion, Nadiezer made his point nice and clear. "So, let''s recap. This Leray veil of magic that pretends to coat the land with sugar and rainbows, gives a son of a bitch like myself the capability of owning any magical creature I want as a slave. I can then abuse this slave as much and as often as I want, and unlike in the outside world, that same creature cannot sever the invisible chains added to the dominion, nor are they granted the ability to die. The mere existence of magic itself is not what makes this so, but rather the rules installed into the Leray veil, something unique though not for too long a time. Now tell me, which is more cruel? Allowing a system where an animal may suffer while eventually facing relief, or a system where an animal may suffer endlessly without end, for eternity with no free-will to break itself from its own master?"


    After several mild gasps of epiphany, the entire atmosphere shifted in revelation, though only slightly. "I... I didn''t know that."


    "Seriously? The drakes have their own free-will, if only not for the veil?"


    "There are also many additional creatures from the magical dimension who are incapable of being allowed to communicate, evolve, or link with other humans, though the existence of the Leray veil blocks them from ever spawning into our world naturally. If that weren''t cruel enough, though I''d need more time to confirm it, I have a theory that the summons linked by the Leray veil undergo unnatural changes, both in physiology and direct parameters, to fit in with the whole, ''non-lethal'' magic thing the lunes have going on around here. If I''m right, it means elements such as Flare Drakes are naturally weakened before we ever get to see them, their true form a mystery, and the alteration permanent."


    "Hey now! That''s all interesting, but do you think I''m going to pair up with a psychopath that gets off on murdering dogs and slapping drakes around for boredom? Humans deserve that kind of crap, and one day, all will be bathed in the light of our creator, to be purified or torn asunder. That said, I don''t think people who love hurting non-human creatures will sit very well with the divine."


    Nadiezer had to pause, not expecting actual believers of this strange cult, though it fits perfectly well all the same. "That''s fine with me. I don''t need a team to operate, and I already have the blessing of our master, directly from the man himself. If it''s any consolation at all, I don''t bully my drakes anymore. I''m not against doing it again to further any additional research, though I doubt it will be necessary going forward."


    "I''m starting to wonder why our master brought you on. You must be wicked strong with magic."


    "I''m simply one hell of a master with summons. What else can I say?"


    "You can cut the crap, new-stuff." At last, Lance figured he had enough just listening arms-crossed. It''s time to see how real his resolve is. "I''ll admit it''s all an interesting story, but it''s sad if you really expect me to believe that your entire sole purpose for being here relies on ''freeing'' the summons from the clutches of the government."


    "I don''t care what you believe."


    "That''s too damn bad!" Who does he think he is? This man is looking for a beat down! There are only two in this whole world with enough power and balls to speak to Lance with such confidence, and Nadiezer is sure to lack one of the two.


    "I get that it''s a bit ironic, me trying to bring salvation to the same creatures I tortured for as long as I have. But you see, it''s not because I really love them or anything. I''m doing this out of respect; that''s the difference. There is no respect or honor whatsoever in removing the free-will from the creatures that inhabit the area. This is the reason I believe humans to be more evil between species. Humans do possess free-will, and yet they use it to remove it from others they think are different from them. All I did was try to learn more about these creatures. So, since our goals are one and the same, uninstalling the Leray veil over this pathetic false utopia, I suggest you fall in line, Lance."


    How... How does he know my name? Did master speak it?


    Lance is really shocked by this? How cute. "Don''t underestimate what I learned in my own background. I am a criminal. I am a villain. I already know that I''m trash, that when I die there won''t be a single tear wept for me. That said, I don''t need to play the role of hero to free the souls I wish to liberate. No matter which side of the war I am on, I will free those who have been bound by these man-made magical chains. That means the veil has to die!"


    Spoken with such vigor, Nadiezer already had the others completely won over, the moment a bit surreal with such choice words. With exception to Lance, others were motivated by this additional plight.


    "The Scarlets will free the people from the chains holding them back from pain and death, as dark magic should be, but we will also smash the shackles that dictate how summons should behave from within their own dominion. Only then may we have the right to sit beside God when this is all over."


    "That may well be all and good, but we still don''t have a plan to destroy the veil. Even if we just flattened the core without replacing it, the drakes will lose their connection to this entire world."


    "If that is what you really believe, then you are not well informed."


    Lance wanted to smite his weapon through the man''s face, but was shaken by the very idea that it could be true. Is Nadiezer right? Does he really know more than Lance, as much as master? Who is this guy?


    "Don''t lose hope, my fellow maniac. Our masters still have some leads they wish to pursue, all in due time. Plus, I caught rumor of a new project in the making, something big. All that is required of us now, is patience, and loyalty."