Chapter 7
All three of his experimental subjects had been radical successes, all three had surpassed human limitations, but the first two had not been able to carry out their purposes… and the third one was starting to show signs of becoming another failure. Not that Izuka had very high expectations of Soldat to begin with. Soldat's purpose had been to temporarily fill the hole that Bertram, the second experimental subject, had left when he fell in battle during the Mad King's War. Still, Izuka was furious that Soldat was beginning to fail him just when he needed him the most. Izuka had no time to find another suitable human candidate to receive the feral serum, which is why Izuka was salvaging the remains of that filthy piece of trash that had dared to come back alive after almost dying – and shaming all the brilliant work he had spent on him.
An unarmored Soldat laid on top of one of the metal slabs that Izuka used to dissect the sub-humans, but ironically, he was using it to patch his subordinate back together. It had been many years since Izuka performed such a surgical procedure, not that he had ever needed to stitch wounds ever since being employed by the Daein Royal Family, which made the entire process feel completely foreign to his hands. At least his good-for-nothing lackey didn't flinch even in the slightest whenever Izuka pricked his skin with the needle he was using.
Izuka stared angrily at the large wound on Soldat's forearm. Soldat kept claiming that it had been caused by one of those sub-human thieves in the desert, which Izuka doubted vehemently. Only cat and tiger laguz roamed the Desert of Death, and Izuka had studied those two species enough to know that Soldat's wound couldn't have been done by either of them. The marks left by the fangs were far too big for a cat, and if a tiger had gotten hold of any human limb… even Soldat's enhanced body wasn't tough to maintain his limb attached to the rest of his body.
But the physical evidences weren't the only things that made Izuka doubt Soldat's story. There was no way that his creation could've been damaged so severely by anything that on the desert. Soldat was obviously lying to him! His master! His savior! His creator! Such an act of defiance had earned him a much shorter life-span, for Izuka had received a second reason to dispose of him and begin with the fourth subject when Izuka had no need for him, although, the first reason was more than good enough to get rid of him… If Soldat's injuries weren't healing themselves, it meant that his body was starting to reject the special brand of the feral serum Izuka had injected him three years ago.
What a pity, Izuka thought as he finished with the operation. Even though Soldat was inferior to the other subordinates because he lacked the finesse and lethality of the first subject or the raw power that Bertram displayed, Soldat's results were far superior. It was thanks to his dedication that Izuka had managed to build his secret army of feral ones.
"Get up," Izuka ordered. Soldat moved away from the operating table, and stood up straight. "You should be able to use your arm, but go to some priest and get it fully healed for combat." Soldat tried to make a fist, but he barely managed to move his fingers.
Izuka scoffed with anger. Soldat's movement did not make him mad at the soldier himself, but it did make him even madder at the frailty of the human body. He had spent the majority of his adult life trying to make humans stronger, so that they could be safe from the evil sub-humans that wished to destroy their way of life, but the power Izuka wanted to obtain came at a great cost. Even in his early stages, the powerful Bertram had showed signs of mental deterioration, and a powerful body was of no use if there was no mind to control it. And with Soldat, Izuka made sure that his mind would remain intact, but his body was starting to decompose as the days went by, and Izuka knew that Soldat's mind would be useless if the body could not respond.
If we are to survive, I must ascend humanity way past our weak selves. Numbers aren't enough!
"Lord Izuka," Soldat said, breaking Izuka away from his thoughts. "We must meet with General Tauroneo and Prince Pelleas."
Ah, yes, I should concentrate on this first. "I will meet with them, alone. I need you to run another errand for me."
"Milord." He bowed his head.
"Someone infiltrated our spy network, and that someone made sure to deliver a verbal message directly to me. It was a proposition"
"The Begnion Senate?"
"Duke Lekain of Gaddos."
"How are you sure, Lord Izuka?"
"Any other would've been stupid enough to have written a letter." Izuka smirked. "He's a clever one, and a major contributor of my business. I was hoping he wouldn't find my involvement in this until I had the crown on the head of my pretty little puppet."
"Wait a moment… aren't we being funded by someone in the senate to begin with?" Soldat raised an eyebrow.
"You can't treat the senate as one entity, Soldat. These men are treacherous beasts that aren't aware of each other's individual dealings outside of Begnion's politics." Izuka rubbed his hands together. "I have made a lot of money with them."
"In other words, Duke Lekain probably doesn't know that we've already come in contact with one of his colleagues?" Soldat asked.
"Exactly! I'm not privy to the specifics of what Duke Lekain plans to offer us, but that's where you come in." Izuka reached inside his cloak, and he produced a small leather pouch. "Take this dust - stop wasting it so much – and meet with a man named Levail."
"In Nevassa?" Soldat asked as he took the pouch from Izuka's hand. The soldier hid the warping powder in his pocket.
Izuka scowled. "For a former scholar, you sure are dumb, Soldat! Duke Numida's ears are all over Nevassa! It's obvious that Lekain would want this meeting to take place far away from there!"
"My apologies, Lord Izuka." Soldat bowed quickly. "It was just wishful thinking on my part."
Izuka hated that about soldiers like Soldat. Their silly fetishes with things like cities always got in the way of rational thinking. Izuka could at least forgive such tendencies if it was directed to something like knowledge. Cities and castles could be destroyed, but not knowledge; it could be forgotten, but it could never be destroyed.
"Use whatever brain you have left to concentrate on your duties, you imbecile!" Izuka wanted to throw something at Soldat for the sake of venting his limitless frustrations, but at the moment, he didn't an object useless enough to waste on his slowly weakening servant.
"My apologies, Lord Izuka," he cordially said. Soldat picked up a nearby drenched cloth, and cautiously started cleaning the area around his injury.
Despite Izuka's growing hatred for Soldat because of the recent events, the scientist couldn't helped but feel pleased that Soldat acted like the good little puppet he was. And Izuka's huge ego always elevated itself whenever the sharp-tongued and proud Soldat bent his knee at his obviously superior master.
"Where exactly am I meeting this man?" Izuka thought that his servant had finally asked as sensible question.
"Glaive Prison," Izuka answered. "It's a small prison located just south of Kisca that Jarod has been using to hold some ladies he has taken a liking to."
"Lovely. I believe one of your spies reported some activity from there."
"For how long were you planning on keeping that information to yourself?" Izuka inquired with a displeased expression.
"I was just informed yesterday, Milord, and it seemed unimportant."
"Well, as per usual, you were wrong! Now tell me what the spies said."
"Some unnamed officer wearing carmine-colored armour stopped there a few days ago…"
"Must be that Levail," Izuka said more to himself.
"Apparently he's been holding executions for the majority – or all - of the soldiers stationed there."
Izuka cursed through gritted teeth. "It's begun! Damn that bastard Lekain! Everything was going so well, and now he comes and forces me to move at a quicker pace. The only smart thing that nincompoop ever does is throw money my way. Other than that, he's just a failure as a creature!" Izuka's old heart raced twice as fast. He clenched his chest, for the sensation of pressure and tightness he felt in his emaciated torso was deathly.
Curse this useless shell! Izuka thought as he almost tripped. The man of science took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, and Soldat just stood and watched as his master stared at the face of death. He thinks that he doesn't need me anymore! They all think I won't be able to bring mankind's salvation!
"Do you need my assistance?" Izuka barely heard Soldat because of his own loud wheezing.
It's the other way around! I don't need anyone to save me, but everyone needs me to save them!
"Leave..."
"Master, I can..."
"Leave! Know your place in the world, you tool!" Soldat gathered his belongings for the purpose of following his master's order. Izuka needed no help from the mortals. What he needed was for Soldat to leave him be so that he could conjure the dark spirits and ask for more time. It was always simple with them since they always asked for the same thing: another piece of his soul.
It was a cheap price to continue to be amongst the living... and Izuka the Cruel had no need for something so useless.
XXXX
The temperature around Glavie Prison was always moist dues to its proximity to Kunu Swamp. And the military prison had never gathered too much attention. Therefore, it was know for being silent and the ideal place to hide secrets. But that had all stopped on the day when General Levail asked to stay for one night. Ever since the decorated officer had set foot on Jarod's sick little hideout, the air had become filled with the sound crying men, angry shouts, pleads of mercy, and of course, the unmistakable noise of the guillotine's blade sliding down to decapitate someone.
General Levail was on a small chapel built right next to the prison. The high-ranking officer prayed with his knees bent, head down, a rosary on his hands, and a stained-glass image of Ashera, the Goddess of Order, before him. Levail should've been present at the executions of the men he had condemned to death since that was what protocol mandated, but he spent his valuable time in a dusty and nearly forgotten chapel.
Levail couldn't stand executions. He thought they were dishonourable, and though most of the soldiers were dirty vermin in Levail eyes, the carmine-clad general firmly believed that the empire's vassals should meet their end in the battlefield – no matter whether they had been loyal servants or just filthy disgraces on the empire's good name.
Someone else entered the chapel just as Levail was halfway through his ritual. Levail knew who it was because of the combination of the sound of the person's hesitant footsteps and the fact that he knew where to find him. Levail had couldn't help but feel a sense of dread forming in the back of his head because he had specifically told the only good soldier he had met not to disturb him.
"Sir!" Levail heard Aran stand up straight. "Sir?" Aran repeated when Levail didn't respond.
"Forgive me, Aran, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken." Levail did not move an inch.
"I don't think they will appreciate your gesture, sir."
"They're not for them. They're for me." Levail knew that the young Aran wouldn't understand. Both of them were purging evil from the world because a greater evil – Duke Lekain – had allowed it. The cold truth Levail lived with every day was that every just action he performed came at a great cost. He had to allow and participate in Duke Lekain's questionable activities in order to at least taste the life of an honourable servant in the empire's service.
"I was the one that brought you the evidence... I'm the one guilty."
"That's not it." Levail decided not to tell him about all the politics behind their actions. Aran thought that Levail was in Daein to get rid of the abusers, and Levail used that to keep him by his side since he needed at least one person to help him understand the full situation in Daein.
"What is?"
You think I'm killing them out of punishment, but my master ordered me to dispose of any possible loose ends.
"You do not want to know, Aran." Aran's pure motives reminded Levail of himself when he was a squire, and Levail still rued the day he faced the cruel truth: honour and chivalry were long forgotten, and used as propaganda to manipulate young men and women to fight for the causes of sovereign lords.
Levail noticed he had lost track of his prayer, and he wasn't fully sure if he was holding the correct bead. Levail sighed before speaking. "Why are you here?"
"Someone has asked to see you. He's Daein, sir."
The general stood up and faced his junior. "How can you tell?"
"It's not hard to distinguish Daeins." Aran touched his cheekbone for a brief moment. "Everyone here figured out that I was originally from this country."
He must have suffered, yet he had no though of revenge. "Describe him."
"Tall, around his mid to late thirties..."
"Tell him to go away. Tell him I will meet with only his master." The Begnion general was sure that the message had not been corrupted. Duke Lekain told him not to show even the slightest bit of flexibility when dealing with Izuka, and that was how Levail intended to do things.
"He doesn't see like the type that will respond well to such a message."
"How many guards a left?"
"Me and the warden," Aran answered.
"Then send him. If that man ends up killing the warden, then he'll be doing us a favour."
"Very well, sir." Aran nodded.
"Get your belongings; we leave for Nevassa once the warden is dead." Once Aran left, Levail resumed what he was doing from the very beginning of his ritual.
XXXX
Prince Pelleas and I were finally able to begin with the war meeting when Izuka decided to finally grace us with his presence. We didn't wait for very long, but it was still insulting to be forced to wait, especially since knights such as myself always took timeliness very seriously. My slight frustration disappeared when I noticed Soldta's lack of presence. It felt relieving to know that I wouldn't have to deal with Soldat's counterproductive attitude in what could've possibly been the most important meeting in Daein history since Queen Elincia handed my country over to Begnion.
The fact that Izuka had not started running his mouth the moment he entered the ruins' "throne room" did concern me, and it was then that I noticed just how dull he looked. He appeared to be beyond tired, maybe even hopeless, which was odd for a man like Izuka, whom despite his lack of physical fitness, he always seemed active and energetic.
I know it was wrong to feel elated over another "person's" misfortune, but I knew that if Izuka's state of health was as bad as he looked, then I figured that he wouldn't put up much of a resistance against the strategies I had for the coming uprising. My worries lied with Izuka wanting to take control over everything – including the military aspect. And though I knew that the man was certainly a respected scholar, I was the expert when it came to warfare. If I ever needed to twist and destroy a living being, then I would call for Izuka's help, so I wanted him to allow me the freedom to work on the revolution as I wanted.
"Lord Izuka, are you well?" Prince Pelleas asked with genuine concern.
"I'm fine, Your Majesty," Izuka said hoarsely. "Knight! Say what you're going to say. I'm a busy man, so hurry up."
I had to agree with Izuka on one thing: we both didn't want to be on the same room.
I cleared my throat. "Given the recent attack, I fear that waiting is no longer an option. Therefore, we cannot wait any longer."
Izuka heavily sighed. "I'm afraid you're right, knight. I wanted to wait for a better candidate for your position, but I guess you'll do."
And I would've liked any other personal advisor to the future king of Daein.
"Izuka, please do not say such things," Prince Pelleas said in my defence. It was apparent that both Izuka and I were surprised at the bold thing the boy had said.
It seemed that Izuka shrugged what boy said as a mere slip of the tongue, but I knew that the boy was slowly gaining confidence in himself.
"I haven't had the time to come up with a strategy," Izuka said. "I trust you have one, or do I have to do everything?"
I ignored that last query. "I believe that the most important thing right now is to cut Numida from Begnion..."
"Ah! I see where you're going. We should take Talrega."
"Not at all. Talrega is too close to the border. We might be spotted by the dracokinghts on patrol. I suggest Cisqua. Its north of Tarega, and all merchants and messenger pass through there."
Izuka raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a plan?"
"Yes."
"I have no objections. If Prince Pelleas grants your request, then do whatever you want."
After that, Begnion had to deal with the wrath of Daein... and mine.