Chương 103: Awkward Conversations

As part of his training, Levi's mentor had taken numerous measures to ensure that he'd get used to dealing with surprises. Whether it was teleporting him into a giant spider nest while he was asleep (during mating season, no less), or yanking open the bathroom door and tossing a small incendiary explosive device at him while he was on the toilet (Levi suspected laxatives were involved, but his mentor denied it), no act had been off limits. Much to Levi's consternation.

One might argue the measures were a little more drastic than necessary, but there was no doubt that they were effective. They instilled a preparedness in him that allowed him to react to any unexpected curveball with a certain poise.

"You deformed sniveling ratfucker!" Multiple Sever and Cleaves blasted forward, followed by an entrail-expelling curse, a hepatic-shredding spell, and a testicular implosion curse. All of which were cast in less than the span of a second. They flew toward Phantasm – only to suddenly stop in place, hovering impotently in the air.

"Now, there's no need for that," Terminus said from where he suddenly appeared between them. He looked like he was about to say something, but then he caught sight of the final spell in the chain. He blanched slightly.

"Is… Is that spell what I think it is?" Levi ignored him, his eyes narrowing as his vision turned True. How did Terminus stop his spells? If it were a magical barrier, then the spells should've either been reflected, dissipated, or absorbed. Instead, they were merely suspended in place. Spatial manipulation? No, not quite; the fabrics of reality were undisturbed. Rather, it was as though the rules of the space were rewritten… A boundary? An artificial boundary imposed in space that prevented anything from crossing?

Idly, he realized that the entire tavern was empty. Phantasm or Terminus must've asked the staff to clear out beforehand.

"What spell?" Phantasm asked.

"If you're surprised he's going straight for the kill, don't be. He's not the type to hesitate–""That spell will make your balls explode." Phantasm spluttered, whirling to Levi.

"That's uncalled for!"

"No!" Levi snapped.

"What's uncalled for is you framing us for killing the Duke." Though Levi couldn't see behind the blank white mask that obscured Phantasm's face, he got the feeling Phantasm blinked.

"I did what?"

"Don't play innocent. You used us as patsies."

"I did not," Phantasm said, sounding offended.

"What are you talking about?"

"The Royal Sentinels are blaming Qorbin for killing the Duke and his heir." Phantasm blinked.

"What? How? Didn't Ravenbane tell them about me?" He paused.

"Also, you guys did kill his heir…" Levi coughed.

"The government didn't believe them," he said, dutifully ignoring the latter bit.

"They haven't made any official announcements yet, but they already tried to convict Liliya behind closed doors for being complicit in the murders of Duke Montague and Theodore Montague."

"Was she convicted?" Phantasm asked, actually seeming concerned. Then he paused.

"Also, I thought she was the one who killed her ex-fiance…"

"No she wasn't," Levi said, somewhat unconvincingly.

"And thankfully not, we were able to get her off." He hesitated.

"Hold on, so you didn't intend to frame us for the murders?"

"No, not at all," Phantasm said.

"My apologies for that."

"Ah…" There was a moment of silence.

"Fucking Royal Sentinels," Levi muttered.

"Hear, hear," Phantasm agreed. Then he stiffened.

"Is that why Ravenbane has been sending the entire international underworld into chaos the past two weeks trying to find me?" Levi blinked.

"What? I mean, probably. What has Qorbin been doing?"

"He's tearing the underworld apart," Phantasm said.

"Calling in every favor he has, blackmailing people, inciting wars between syndicates, recruiting agents in three different countries and dozens of minor unaffiliated villages… You're telling me all of that is only happening because he was forced to go on the run?"

"... to a degree, yes?" Phantasm groaned.

"Fucking Royal Sentinels."

"Hear, hear." Terminus looked between the two.

"I think I'm missing something here," he said.

"Phantasm, how do you know Maplewood?" Phantasm turned to stare at him.

"What," he said blankly.

"Maplewood," Terminus said.

"Veli Maplewood." Phantasm was silent for a long moment. Five seconds, precisely. Levi was pretty sure Phantasm had counted all of them.

"Terminus," he said slowly.

"Do you… Do you recall when I told you about the adventurer that I ran into during Operation Dragonmole? The one that somehow broke through my [Sanctum] and cut my arm off?"

"Yeah," Terminus said as Levi mouthed the word ' Dragonmole' incredulously.

"Levi Ironwood. What about him?" Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"..." Phantasm turned to Levi.

"Did you use some sort of mental compulsion spell on him?"

"No…"

"I see," Phantasm said. He breathed in, held it, and released it.

"Terminus, this is Levi Ironwood."

"Oh," Terminus said. Meanwhile, Levi was staring at Terminus in a mix between disbelief and wariness.

"You're part of the Crucible? That's the organization you mentioned?" Terminus blinked.

"Who told you the organization's name?" He looked at Phantasm.

"Phantasm…" he said, his tone disapproving.

"Have you been monologuing to your enemies again?" Phantasm hid it well, but a near-imperceptible flinch ran through him. It seemed he'd neglected to mention a few details about the confrontation in the wyvern cave.

"In my defense," he said weakly, "I thought he was going to die afterward…"

"Why is the Crucible working together with the Resistance?" Levi asked. Terminus frowned, turning back to him.

"I already answered you earlier."

"That was before I found out who you were working for."

"Does that change anything?"

"Yes? Forgive me, but I don't think I really buy the whole altruism angle from an organization that's tried to kill countless people, multiple times. All in the past month alone." Concealing the wyverns that would've massacred the nearby village and all the adventurers who came to stop them, handing Hawke the archdaemon ritual which would've caused thousands to die, even killing Duke Montague to have his far more unstable and belligerent son Theodore Montague take over…

Every Crucible plot Levi had come across – and thwarted – was designed to sow chaos and destabilize the country.

"Altruism," Terminus mused.

"Who said anything about altruism?" Then, his entire expression shifted. Gone was his warm genial air, replaced by something far more intense and terrifying. His eyes hardened, and the defined smile lines that previously made him look so affable now seemed like ruined scars.

"Allow me to clarify my position. The Yukihasan imperial government is sickening. This is a country plagued with blight and rot, slowly getting its life squeezed out by the bloodstained fists of monsters who wear human skin. You ask why we're working together with the Resistance? The reason is simple. It's because we must. Because every moment this country remains in control of the Emperor is one that makes my skin crawl and my heart ache. Because this is a country that tramples upon its people like cattle.

No, not even cattle. Insects. Because this is a country where dreams are snuffed out before they can even blossom into thought – and what is the point of humanity if not to dream?" Terminus clenched his fist, and Levi's spells, which had been hovering in the air all this time, shattered into shards of mana. Simultaneously, a terrible pressure exploded forth from him, causing the walls to tremble and crack.

An overwhelming bloodlust poured forth from him, so intense that it would cause a nearby civilian's heart to stop.

"So yes, Levi Ironwood. I suppose in a sense, you are correct. We are planning to kill countless people." Terminus's dark eyes gleamed with a menacing, unholy light.

"We will dismantle the current government on every level. We will hang the feudal lords, crush the stewards beneath massive stones, and burn the governors alive. We will crucify every last rotten member of the imperial court, rip the innards out from the corrupt military generals, and as for the Emperor himself – well, I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I do think it would be the happiest moment of my life if I were granted the privilege, no, blessing to beat him to death with my bare hands."

Levi stared at him, his eyes slightly wide.

"And you know something, Levi Ironwood?" Terminus continued.

"Even then, even then, that still won't be a tiny, small fraction of the pain the people of this country had to experience over the past Goddess knows how many years. It is our obligation, our moral imperative, our duty as mortal men to right this wrong." He tilted his head.

"Then again, you understand, don't you? That is why you broke every international law at the border and attacked those Huntsmen. That is why you risked an entire war to save those refugees."

"I…" Levi hesitated.

"I never told you the exact details about what happened at the border–""You didn't need to," Terminus said.

"Without my presence, the refugees would've never made it across. I told them to wait for me, damn it all, but they must've panicked. The moment I returned and saw them gone…" He let out a slow exhale.

"I'd thought the worst. A horse is nowhere near enough to outrun a Huntsman. The fact that they were able to survive and cross the red line… That means someone must've stepped over it first. Someone from Luminarche's side. Who else could it have been except for you?" He paused.

"Also, you were literally using one of the border Huntsmen as a tour guide. I can read between the lines."

"Ah, right…"

"But that's beside the point. You agree with me, don't you, Levi Ironwood?" Levi was silent for a long moment. Then, he let out a controlled breath.

"Yeah," he said.

"Yeah, I do." Perhaps not to the same degree of unadulterated violence, but in terms of the underlying principle… This country needed to change.

"Then that's all there is to it," Terminus said. His tone became entreating.

"Work with us. At our current rate, it'll take us another six months before we're able to disable the Dragon's Leyline. Perhaps even longer. But you… Your presence changes things. Your ability to manipulate space to bypass even the Curtain…" He smiled.

"That is precisely what we need." Phantasm twitched, looking at Terminus.

"You still want to work with him? Even after knowing who he truly is? He's the reason why our last four operations in Luminarche failed, you know… Years of planning and preparation, ruined. And he cut my arm off."

"An acceptable cost," Terminus said without hesitation. Phantasm twitched again.

"I will gladly work with even the Hollow if I thought it'd help increase our chances of overthrowing this government." He turned to Levi.

"So, how about it? Will you hold up your end of the deal?" Levi examined him for several moments. As much as he wanted to shake his head and say no… He disliked the Crucible, but he disliked Yukihasa even more. He hadn't seen much of this country yet, but what he did lay his eyes upon nauseated him. Luminarche was corrupt, but Yukihasa was rotten to the very core. If the Crucible intended to overthrow the imperial government, then… Well. Enemy of an enemy, right?

It wasn't as if Levi hadn't already been planning to do the exact same thing. Though, before that, he had to make sure of something first. Softly, he asked, "Is this related to the Crucible's goal of saving the world?" Terminus blinked, not having expected that.

"No. We will save Yukihasa first. The world comes after."

"I see," Levi said. He gave a nod.

"Our deal's still on."

"Then, let us not waste any more time. Phantasm here will lead you to the Source. After you've finished whatever business you have, we'll rendezvous here and proceed with the plan to disable the Dragon's Leyline and put an end to this Goddess-forsaken regime once and for all. Are we in agreement?" Levi and Phantasm glanced at each other. Phantasm didn't seem to be much happier about the partnership than Levi was, but… They nodded their assent. Terminus smiled.

"Excellent. I'll see the two of you later, then. Try not to kill each other in the meantime, will you?"