Chương 69: Victory

For centuries, the dark lord Malazar the Maleficent had terrorised the world. In his fervent search for immortality, he'd discovered a crude method of extracting the very life force from people's innate magic. Magic was life and life was magic; the two were very different yet still interchangeable all the same. Through numerous forbidden rituals, he'd become a walking blight, his very existence desecrating the laws governing life and death.

Thousands of innocents had been slain by his hand to sustain his unsightly life. However, though his body had become more magic than man, the worldly desires of what little physical flesh remained still bound and enticed him. The remnant of humanity in an inhuman frame.

"Which is why Death sent you on a seduction mission," said Liliya, her expression dead serious.

"Which is why Death sent me on a seduction mission," said Levi, his expression mirroring hers. His voice was solemn, the flickering candlelight casting his face in dark shadows.

"To hunt him down, I had to dress up as a fair maiden and infiltrate a village that had a brewery Malazar frequented. For two months I was under deep cover, pretending to be a village damsel while awaiting Malazar to arrive. When he finally did, I crossed his path and was able to beguile him with my feminine wiles – why are you laughing?" Liliya's expression hadn't changed, but her shoulders had begun shaking, and slight noises that could only be chortles escaped her throat.

"I'm not," she said, her voice fully serious.

"Please, go on." Levi eyed her but continued.

"Our dalliance went on for weeks. During this time, he grew more and more bewitched until I had him utterly wrapped around my finger. One night, he formally asked me out under a moonlit garden. I pretended to fall for his charms – and as I embraced him, I fired off a dozen Sever and Cleaves into his body. He died immediately." He paused, sounding almost guilty.

"He looked so crestfallen too. I think he was looking forward to a kiss…" That broke the dam. Liliya burst into a fit of giggles, unrestrained mirth in her eyes.

"When you said you were a servant of Death, I didn't expect that to mean you crossdressing for months to carry out such an underhanded ploy…"

"Underhanded?" Levi protested.

"Do you have any idea how strong he was? If I'd taken him in a head-on battle, I would've been annihilated. In war, there are no such things as underhanded ploys. Only tactics that work and tactics that don't." Liliya smiled.

"Right, you can tell yourself that." Then she paused, a look of intense curiosity entering her eyes.

"Can you show me what disguise you used?"

"Absolutely not."

"Please?" Levi made to refuse, but hesitated at the look she gave him. He tried to resist, but as it turned out, he was a weak man.

"Fine," he groused. Closing his eyes, he concentrated as he applied the glamour charm. He heard Liliya give a sharp inhale, and he opened his eyes to see her staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You're lucky Montague didn't see you like this." It took a second for Levi to process her words, and another two seconds to suppress his gag reflex.

"Oh gods, please don't joke about that," he shuddered as he quickly dismissed the glamour, his facial features returning to normal.

"Who knows? Perhaps that would've been the better solution. It certainly seemed to work with Malazar." Immediately, Levi's gaze grew sober.

"Not exactly," he said quietly.

"He died, but his magic had evolved to such a point that his spirit lingered even after death. He slaughtered over half the village trying to drain their life force before I was able to fully put him down. Nearly a hundred people died that day." Liliya fell silent at that.

"Perhaps if I'd just used a normal strategy against him and ambushed him in an isolated setting, those people would still be alive. It would've been more dangerous, and I might've died in the process, but at least I would've known and accepted the risks." Levi's fists clenched.

"I lived in that village for three months. I became a regular at the local teahouse. They knew my name; hell, they'd have my order ready for me before I even arrived. The waitress there took me to go shopping with her once. That was the first place Malazar targeted. None of the workers survived."

"That's awful," Liliya whispered.

"I'm sorry, Levi." Levi sighed.

"It's in the past. The point is, you never know what might happen as a result of your actions. All you can do is steel your heart and prepare for the worst – and if the worst does come, then withstand it the best you can and do your damndest to make up for it in the future."

"I see," Liliya said.

"I will." Then she hesitated.

"Did you feel guilt over killing Malazar?"

"No," Levi said.

"I felt nothing but triumph and satisfaction when I killed him. He was a blight upon the world, and killing him meant saving countless lives. But at the same time, I still felt bad for feeling good. Because when it comes down to it… What we did was still murder. Murder for the sake of saving others, but murder nonetheless. Regardless of the circumstances, a life is still a life, and the act of taking it away will forever be an intractably heavy act.

The moment we forget that, the moment we become desensitized or used to it… That is when the line gets blurred, and we run the risk of becoming someone we shouldn't become."

"Someone like Phantasm?" Levi paused.

"If he were telling the truth about saving the world… Then yes. Someone exactly like him." Liliya nodded.

"I think I understand now. It's okay to be satisfied about the end result, but the weight of the act itself must still be recognized?" Levi smiled.

"Now you're getting it." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The next morning, Levi and Qorbin headed out early to scout the situation. Levi had on a magical glamour while Qorbin wore a different disguise from his customary 'Robin' persona. Neither of them wanted to be subjected to a foot chase first thing in the morning. As expected, the city was under total lockdown.

The news of the Duke's death didn't seem to have spread to the general population just yet, but even then, with the sheer amount of guards, adventurers, and Royal Sentinels patrolling the streets, the citizens could tell that something was wrong. Despite the sunny weather, the atmosphere was tense and foreboding, like a physical weight loomed over the entire city and it was only a matter of time before it dropped.

"So, how fucked are you?" Levi muttered quietly as they strode through the streets.

"Eh, it depends on how convincing Anastasia is," Qorbin replied.

"The way I see it, there are a few ways this can play out. Best case scenario: we successfully convince the royal government that the Crucible exists and Phantasm is the one responsible for the Duke's death. Worst case scenario: I get blamed for everything and I'm forced onto the run." He shrugged.

"All in all, not too bad." After about an hour, they returned to the tavern. Breakfast was being served, and a delicious aroma spilled out onto the streets. Levi spied Liliya and Merriweather talking at a table; the latter had a large, kindly smile on his face while the former was bowing her head. It appeared she was thanking him. Levi's gaze softened. Teachers like Merriweather were rare to come by. Liliya was lucky to have someone like him at her back. Levi's thoughts drifted to his own mentor.

Would that man have come to save Levi if he got trapped in a similar situation? … okay, yeah, probably not. He probably would've just laughed uproariously at Levi's situation before telling him to figure things out himself. Liliya was very lucky, indeed. Liliya and Merriweather quieted as Levi and Qorbin joined them. Breakfast was a hearty meal of bread with home churned butter, fresh milk and fruit that'd been collected that very morning, cured meats, and aged cheese.

For several minutes they ate in silence, enjoying the good food.

"So," Merriweather said, turning to Liliya, "have you given any thought as to what you're going to do next?" Liliya hesitated.

"I'm still disbarred as an adventurer," she said.

"With Montague dead, I should be able to reverse the ruling. I think I'll head back to Luminarche first to talk to the Adventurer's Guild, see if I can get a retrial." Merriweather nodded.

"An apt choice. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you – those degenerate old fools owe me after they stood by and watched me get thrown into a prison cell without a word." He gave a disgusted huff as he shook his head.

"If you need legal representation, just let me know. I'll put you in touch with the best."

"And if you prefer to take care of the higher-ups in a more…" Qorbin coughed lightly, " direct manner … well, you're already in touch with the best." Merriweather's mustache quivered even as he maintained a dignified, serene expression.

"Aye, that as well, though I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"What about your father?" Levi asked Liliya.

"How do you think he'll react to Montague's death?" Liliya let out a long breath.

"To be honest, I don't know," she said.

"He'll be furious, for sure, but to what degree…" She trailed off.

"He'll punish me for ruining his plans, but after that, I have no idea what he'll do. Hopefully not another arranged marriage…"

"It's okay," Levi said commiseratingly.

"We'll make a black widow out of you." Liliya snorted.

"Silence, you. But that's why I want to get reinstated as an adventurer first, just to gain some added legal protections. After that, I can deal with the fallout with my family." Levi nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'll try to track down Phantasm again," Qorbin said.

"I wasn't able to find anything last time, but… I'm much more motivated this time around." His gaze became serious.

"The Crucible seems to be a bigger threat than I'd originally anticipated, more important than any political situation." Levi hesitated. Should he mention that Heimler had known about the Crucible? No, probably not. He didn't know what Qorbin and Heimler's relationship was like anymore – and besides, he didn't want to risk Heimler discovering that he'd been the intruder in the Restricted Sanctum. Granted, by this point, Levi doubted anything would happen even if Heimler found out.

Even still, though, something told him to not risk it. Perhaps it was the slight prickling of his instincts. At any rate, Heimler was bound to call Levi in to aid with his research any day now. Levi could ask Heimler about the Crucible then – as well as finally identify just what the source of dark magic at the top of the Institute's tower was. That had taken second priority with everything that'd happened the past week, but Levi needed to get back on track soon. And so, Levi just nodded.

"Alright. Will you be headed to other countries?" Qorbin grimaced.

"Yeah… I probably have to. I'll swing by Arcedia first, see if Syto found anything." Merriweather blinked in surprise, but didn't say anything.

"If not, though… I'll head to the other great nations and ask around." He didn't seem very enthused at the thought. Understandable, considering how Luminarche didn't exactly have the greatest relations with the others.

"In the meantime, you should definitely work with Anastasia. See if you two can figure out what was possessing Montague." Levi nodded, his expression growing pensive.

"Definitely." Perhaps this was the threat Death had spoken of. Levi didn't know, but… Montague's words echoed through his mind.

"Well," Qorbin clapped his hands together.

"That's that. Ultimately, we accomplished our objective. Montague is dead and Liliya is freed. I don't know about you guys, but I say that's a win." He raised his glass of milk with a grin.

"To victory!"

"To victory!" They all echoed in various tones of amusement before downing their drinks. The mood became lighter as they traded tales about everything that had happened during the mission.

Levi snorted when he heard about what Qorbin had implied about the Duke; Liliya seemed amazed that Levi had broken the wards; Qorbin snickered uncontrollably when Merriweather regaled them with his tale of using a lamppost against the garrison soldiers; and all three of them listened with no small amount of interest as Liliya described her fight against Montague. As the sun rose in the sky, Qorbin glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Alright, we should probably get going before the Royal Sentinels from the capital arrive. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up searching every home and store." He smiled.

"Let's head out, shall we?" From their scouting earlier, they knew that Lancaster had been sealed off from the outside world. Nobody was allowed in or out. The gates and walls were crawling with guards and adventurers, and it had been declared that anyone caught trying to leave would immediately be thrown into the dungeons. Partly because the authorities wanted to control the flow of information, and partly because they wanted to prevent any potential conspirators in the Duke's assassination from escaping.

Unlike the haphazard perimeter from the previous night, this one was much more secure. They'd brought in a sage to help ensure nobody would escape undetected. Even if someone was under perfect presence concealment, the sage would be alerted by the disturbed earth and air currents in the surrounding forests and prairie. Sneaking out on foot would be an incredibly difficult task. The four of them might've been in trouble if half didn't know how to teleport.

And so, at precisely noon, four people suddenly vanished from the city of Lancaster.