Chương 41: Unqualified

The door remained open this time, as more people continued to trickle in. It wasn't long before all the friends he'd made at the desert arrived. First, it was Brenton walking in with an exaggerated swagger, and boasting about his deeds.

"So then I said, 'I'll spare you just this once. Run, and never show your face again. Your sword cannot match mine.'

" Brenton dramatically claimed.

"Then, he shrank back in fear, so I turned my back on him. But you have to be careful of these noblemen, Evel. They're sneaky little bastards. In that moment, my back was turned, he went for a sneak attack on me with his flaming mouth! For someone like me, it was just a warm breath, so it didn't take much effort to dodge everything. Then, I timed my ability perfectly and BAM! His head went flying with a single strike." Evel perked up in curiosity.

"A fire-based ability?" Igneos also had a similar ability, but instead of breathing it out, he summoned them in the air and launched them. Brenton scoffed.

"It's pretty common among rich families, but fire is pretty lame if you ask me. Leo's heat is way cooler."

"They have some way to reliably awaken someone's powers to be fire-based," Elena added, nodding solemnly.

"Why would they do that? Wouldn't you always want to have a unique power to be less predictable?" Evel asked, scrunching his forehead in confusion. Elena and Brenton shrugged. Brenton continued to tell his stories. There was a bit of a discrepancy between his explanations and Elena's, but Evel listened with great interest regardless. Before long, Juniper came through the doors. Her eyes immediately perked up upon seeing Evel, and she ran over as fast as she could, her eyes filled with a mix of worry and hope.

"Evel! I'm so glad you're okay! Any news on Fern? Did you run into her?" The moment Juniper's eyes landed on Evel's, she knew. Her eyes turned puffy, and her lips quivered.

"I found her body with six others… She had joined a group led by a blonde-haired man." Evel explained, hesitating on every word.

"Somebody named Lucien, and he… later betrayed her. I'm so sorry." It hurt to tell her the truth. He still had doubts about whether that was really the right decision; he had no way of knowing how Juniper might react. However, with Elena's sharp gaze from the side, he had no choice. Juniper went silent. Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes remained fixed on the floor. She slowly sank down and hit the ground with her knees in front of her. A soft whisper was all she could manage.

"She promised me." She covered her eyes with her hands, and her white-tipped hair covered the remainder of her face. Her breathing was shaky, as she softly whispered to herself. Evel couldn't make out the words. Elena wrapped an arm around Juniper in a hug, as if isolating her from the room.

"I-it's fine… I'll manage…" Each word came out jagged and cracked. Elena softly rubbed her back.

"You saved my life. If I can't even support you when it hurts the most, then what sort of friend would I be?" Juniper shrank further inwards. After a few more minutes, the sobbing stopped. Her hair parted as she looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot. The veins of her neck bulged as she struggled to get her words out.

"I'm gonna kill him." A soft whimper. Elena continued rubbing her back, but didn't reply. Juniper's eyes travelled across the room.

"I'm gonna kill him." She repeated, this time her voice laced with venom. Elena sighed.

"You can't." Juniper's head jerked to Elena, her eyes wide open, "You're taking his side?"

"You're weak, he's strong. You're unqualified to kill someone like him, and even if you can, the remainder of your life will be forfeit. Remember, we're all part of the same army now. I don't want you to throw your life away for nothing." Juniper's whole body shook. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"You—" Her eyes darted to Evel and Brenton, but the two of them remained silent. Neither of them took her side. She opened her mouth to continue her sentence, but the words were never able to leave her heart. She hastily got up and ran away. Evel watched her stumbling body shrink as she ran off into the crowd. He couldn't help but sigh.

"Was that really the best way?"

"I don't know, but I don't want her to throw her life away and dedicate it to such a dream. It's best if she gives up." Elena responded hesitantly. Even though she had projected confidence in talking to Evel earlier, it seemed she was having doubts.

"Will she? Give up, I mean," Evel asked.

"I don't know, but to be honest, I really hope so. Obso is… terrifying." Elena shuddered.

"Obso?"

"Igneos's family name. Father used to tell me stories about them to make me behave, but I had never encountered anyone from the family until now." Evel's gaze travelled to Lucien again, but this time focused on the short black-haired man who he was in the midst of discussion with. He hadn't given Igneos much thought. It was difficult to stand out when he stood beside the shining star that was Lucien. However, after Elena's words, Evel couldn't help but re-evaluate the man. Still, nothing in particular stood out.

Even in the fight, he hadn't been able to contribute much other than saving Lucien from Bremin once. Elena jumped up to her feet.

"Let's just give Juniper some space. She has to make the decisions herself. All we can do is support her." As far as Evel was concerned, Elena knew better than him during situations like these, so he hesitantly agreed. Then, the final person from their Yosten cohort arrived. Wearing the same woollen clothes as the rest of them, Leo awkwardly walked forward into the room. The moment he saw Evel, his eyes lit up, and he immediately ran towards him.

"You survived!" Evel smiled back, "Was there any doubt?"

"Yes. I thought you would be dead for sure!" Evel furrowed his eyebrow. Leo was blunt if nothing else. Brenton chuckled.

"If I'm being honest, I had my doubts as well. When the first nightfall hit, and you still weren't there…" Evel shook his head and loudly sighed.

"Where's the faith?" Brenton softly swayed his head side to side.

"Oh come on, you know we're joking. So how exactly did you manage to survive?" He tilted his head toward Bremin.

"I imagine he probably helped here and there."

"Not telling. Why would I share my success with friends who don't even believe in me?"

"Success? You managed to score some rewards?" Brenton raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe even a little more than you guys did."

"Hoh! Confident! Now I have big expectations!" Brenton laughed and slapped Evel's back a few times.

"I'm starving! Let's go eat, guys!" Brenton walked over to a nearby table and took a seat. Leo and Elena followed behind. As she left, Elena gave Evel one last piece of advice.

"There are utensils; stop eating with your hands." Then, she joined the other two at their table. Evel smiled. Brenton had gotten much more confident, and Leo no longer had a constant sadness and self-doubt in his steps. The two of them had changed a lot from the experience. Elena had remained unchanged in how she acted, but he could tell her movements had sharpened. Even while she walked, a confident air surrounded her, similar to what Evel had seen in Diana when he first encountered her. Evel turned to his right.

Bremin's eyes were fixed on something distant, so Evel nudged him to get his attention.

"Look what you've done, Bremin, your aura scared them off." By now, Evel had gotten extremely familiar with Bremin's aura. Within such close proximity, he still felt uncomfortable, but he could manage just enough for it not to show on his face in any way. Bremin paused, then his eyes wandered to the table where they had moved. They had started eating the fish meal and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it.

"Probably." He replied.

"Just how do you go about making friends? I can't imagine it's easy for you." Bremin held Evel's gaze. After a few seconds, he nodded.

"It's difficult."

"Well, if you're willing to listen to some advice, there's a really easy place to start." Bremin continued watching Evel with a blank expression, so he continued.

"Just even a little smile would go a long way —or any expression, really. Your face and your behaviour make you seem like an unfeeling killing machine. Who'd wanna approach that? I mean, you are a killing machine, but I suspect you have some emotions in there too." As if replaced by a statue, Bremin remained absolutely motionless. Had his words broken the man? He could handle himself in combat with an issue, but conversations were where things got too difficult? Then, a subtle movement.

Bremin parted his scarred lips, revealing a shiny set of white teeth. The rest of his face didn't move, and his eyes remained unchanged. Silence. Evel tilted his head. Why was Bremin showing off his teeth? He thought he had come to understand Bremin a little, but his current actions just made no sense. Evel's eyes travelled to the plate before returning to Bremin. The fish were boneless, so he's probably not asking for me to check his teeth… The silence continued. Bremin remained unmoving.

Evel's eyes opened in realization as it clicked. It was a smile! Or at least an attempt at one! He smiled back and gave a thumbs-up.

"Keep at it!" Progress! Bremin closed his mouth and gave a very subtle, very expressionless nod. He turned away once more, gazing out towards the direction of the banner wall. Evel felt a little excited about the development of this unlikely friendship. The smile was atrocious, but hey, Bremin was trying. [Ahem!] A voice injected deep into his mind immediately pulled his attention. He perked up. It was a voice he would probably never forget, Arlo. The entire group went silent as everybody scanned the room.

Soon, everyone's attention landed at the door where they had entered. A stern man, in a practical, clean linen tunic, showcasing a ferrum knife emblem. He had charcoal black hair and a black cloak, which seemed to absorb all the light in the room. As he stood silently stroking his goatee, his eyes met with each individual.

"First off, congratulations." His voice was normal, as if he were having a regular conversation. In the absolute pindrop silence of the room, the words reached everyone without issue.

"Second, I'm sure you are all greatly anticipating the rewards you've earned. Worry not, that will come. However, before that, there is something far more important we need to discuss." His eyes scanned the group once more as he took slow, careful steps forward. Like repellant magnets, a pathway formed as he walked across the room. Before long, he arrived at the wall of banners and placed his hand on the wall. He turned to face the crowd once more and held his hands behind his back.

His posture was straight and his voice stern.

"Your future."