Guardian's Sacrament
THONK!
Ilsamor's eyes widened, seeing his attack was intercepted by another sword. Without thinking, he jumped back and took a stance akin to that of eastern masters. However, when he recognized who stopped his attack, his alertness left its place to confusion.
"Asemi?"
The shrine maiden was panting, her katana was at the same place where she thrusted to stop Ilsamor's attack. Her bangs were covering her eyes, and a light sheen of sweat was covering the open parts of her arms.
Nocturn, who was watching the events until now couldn't stop himself any longer and began to laugh, which was the only thing ironically stopping the atmosphere getting too tense at the moment.
"Oh my god, I can't stop it! BWAHAHAHA!"
Laughter, however, quickly drew Ilsamor's attention back to Nocturn. He knew his time was limited, Domina Regna Sola was a very strong skill with a very high upkeep cost. Nocturn was still a threat, and he couldn't risk of him escaping after he went all that trouble. He once more stepped forward with the intention of killing him, but this time Asemi blocked his path.
"You have done enough, Ilsamor. I will take it from here."
Ilsamor raised a brow. Since when Asemi spoke to him with such serious tone?
"No need for you to bother yourself, Asemi. You can go ahead and take the command of upper division. I will join you as soon as I kill him…"
"…You misunderstood." Asemi said, she was still not looking into Ilsamor's eyes. "I meant the command. It seems you are too tired to see the whole picture, that's why I will take your place."
"What?" Ilsamor said, and his eyes turned to hazel for the first time since the fight started. "You can't do this! Why are you acting like that? Is this because I caught Nocturn? It is not a problem, if you want to be the one to take Hikari's revenge you can—"
"He will live."
"…What?"
"He will live."
"Asemi, are you serious?" Ilsamor asked, he was getting angry for the first time. "This man is a murderer, a sadist and one of the leaders of the Laughing Coffin! He must have killed tens of players already!"
"Nope…" Nocturn said, without even lifting his head from the grass. "I may have ordered deaths of hundreds but personally, I have only killed Hikari…" he turned his head like he was offended "I am not a whore. My kills are reserved for special people."
"Shut up!" Ilsamor yelled, then he turned to Asemi. "What does this change?! He said himself that he ordered the deaths of hundreds. Why are you sparing him?! He doesn't deserve to liv—"
SLAP!
Ilsamor held his cheek. His Asemi, that cute and ever-caring woman slapped him. From the day they met, they had never once had a fight, not even an argument.
"DO YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING? IS KILLING ALL YOU CARE?!"
Ilsamor scowled "Of course not! But this man is not a normal criminal—"
"Stop saying that word!" Asemi yelled and for the first time raised her head. Her eyes were filled with anger, betrayal and fear. He was having a hard time understanding why though.
"What should I say then?" Ilsamor said, his anger was coming to his rescue. "How should I call rapists, murderers, and thieves?"
"For lord's sake Ilsamor, they are just players having problems with being stuck in a game. There is a difference between imprisoning them when they gone rogue and actively hunting them!"
"Do you truly believe this crap?" Ilsamor asked, a little condescendingly this time. "Let me tell you this beautiful quote then, Asemi: Some men just want to see the world burn!" Then he pointed Nocturn "Does he look like a child going through a psychological breakdown to you?!"
He stood in front of the cabin, once more. Tired, cold…
"This not about Nocturn, Ilsamor! This isn't you, sending men to battle without you being there, leaving in the middle of battle, abandoning us all! What were you thinking?"
"Okay, I wouldn't want to interrupt your fight…" Nocturn tried to stand up "I will just go—"
"Hello mother***…" said a voice and suddenly a fist knocked Nocturn unconscious. Owner of the fist started to shake his hand "That SOB has a very thick skull. How you doin' boss?"
Ilsamor nodded "Rider, it's good to see you. Would you like to do the honors?"
"Sorry boss, but no…" Rider said while scratching his head. "Asemi's orders."
"But this is my order!"
"The Lady relieved you from your duty, Boss…"
Ilsamor's eyes widened, and his hand went quickly to the Book. After hastily opening the last pages, his began to read and saw that Rider was telling the truth.
Let me in… I have stood here for so long.
"Why…"
"Boss, far be it for me to judge you, but…" He sighed, "They attacked the fourth floor and the secure zone thing was gone. We needed you, but you weren't there. Losses were… high."
Ilsamor stunned for a second, but stood his ground "I went to get stronger! None of you were there when Nocturn wiped the floors with me! I couldn't take the risk of either of you becoming the next target, so I—"
"So you left us defenseless while grinding for gear?"
Asemi's question left Ilsamor speechless, but soon he regained his voice "I was following his moves through spies, I knew you were not in danger! But I needed to become stronger, how could I stand near you otherwise?!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Asemi exploded "You were the strongest among us! Are you even hearing what you are saying anymore?!"
"Alright guys, can you calm down a little bit?" Kirito intervened finally, arriving at the scene last as he was carrying Yui. Yui's face however had become worried as soon as they entered the scene.
"Asemi-san—"
"You are done here."
Ilsamor clenched his fists and looked to Nocturn. Everything happened because of him, he was the reason every bad thing happened to him. He unconsciously reached for the Return items button, as he turned his back. In a second, he was holding his greatsword and thrusting it to Nocturn's defenseless body."
CLANG!
However, his attack stopped once more, this time by a more familiar weapon. But before he could anayze what was happening, he felt pain and his left arm flew away.
"Asemi-san, you must be very—" Yui tried to speak, but no one was caring what she was saying.
Ilsamor dropped to his knees, it was like he was about to cry. "Why are you preventing me from doing my duty?" his voice was at the edge of shaking. "I am Lady's Sword… I am the Silver Blade!"
S-Say me something nice… Please, let me in.
"Then maybe…" Asemi spoke, and for the first time, her voice was like ice "We don't need a Silver Blade anymore."
Do you know why the worst enemies usually comes from best friends or brothers? Because they would always know how to hurt you most.
And he was damned to stay in the storm with the locking click of the door.
Silence reigned, and suddenly everyone heard a little girl's horrified whisper.
"What have you done?"
"…"
"You have no right to speak with me! Do you have any idea how alone I was?!"
The level increase sound was so strong and constant that he felt he was about be deafened.
"It doesn't matter. In the end, no one would help me at the end of the day. No one was there when I fell and no one helped me to get back up…"
But the pain… Oh, pain was fading. Finally…
"…Not him…"
Kirito backed away a few steps.
"…Not her…"
Asemi's eyes slowly widened with realization.
"…And not even you…"
He raised his head, his silvery white eyes were cold and serene as a field covered with snow as he looked to the weapon that stopped him from taking his revenge.
"…Kalaiet…"
And he released his breath with the ghost of a smile.
A vapor that visible to everyone amidst the warm 50th floor.
In her throne room, Lady's figure stirred slightly, as if she was seeing a nightmare. Whatever she was seeing must be so terrifying that she couldn't help but hug the suddenly-appeared long sword on her chest.
For a few seconds, no one spoke. After the argument that happened in last few minutes, that sudden change and Yui's ominous words left everyone dumbfounded.
Ilsamor stood there, kneeled and bowing his head after he briefly lifted few seconds ago.
Asemi, who forgot her anger due to fear, took a few steps like she was approaching a wounded animal and called "Ilsamor?"
There was no answer.
"Ilsamor?"
There was still no answer.
"Senpai?"
There were no replies, it was just Ilsamor slowly breathing. His breathing had returned to normal, and he was just standing here with the barest of movements.
"Answer me, pl—"
"Asemi-san, can you allow me for something? Please?"
Yui's voice stopped her, and they watched as she approached him slowly and stood six steps away from him.
"Ilsamor-san?"
He didn't answer again, so Yui called him differently this time.
"Ilsamor…dono?"
"At your service, Yui-sama…"
Yui closed closed her eyes with resignation and gave out her breath before returning to the trio. "Asemi-san, I think I know why he did not speak."
"Why?"
"Because…" Yui stopped like she hated the next sentence she was going to say "Because I did not give him permission yet."
Asemi's heart clenched "W-What do you mean?"
Yui turned back to Ilsamor and after a brief stop, her expression hardened and her posture straightened.
"Ilsamor-dono, at ease."
"As you say, Yui-sama…" Ilsamor spoke with a serene voice and he slowly lifted his head and stood up. "I have sinned against Lady's orders, for that I hope you can forgive me."
"It is unfortunately not within my power, Lord Storm…" Yui spoke. It was like they were playing a scene from a fantasy novel, but both of them were deadly serious. "However, you must not doubt her mercy."
"Of course, I shall do everything in my power to atone."
"Asemi…" Rider approached and whispered "What is going on right now?"
"I-I don't know…"
Yui continued to act like she was his commander. "Things are going south so fast, Lord Storm. The seeds that Great Darkness spread across Aincrad are continuing to take lives. We cannot waste anymore time, so Lady Cardinal had authorized me to bless you with second sacrament."
Ilsamor straightened his posture and closed his eyes. "The authorization code, my lady?"
Yui looked Asemi "Spark."
A distorted voice heard in the area and several images overlapped for a few seconds like there was a sudden major bug occured, then Ilsamor stood there as if he stepped back in time. Coat of Seven Heavens, Boats of Pilgrim, Leggins of Pure, in short every equipment he had before he lost them were back on him.
Except one.
"I am afraid you are not found worthy of the Sword of First Light, Ilsamor-dono. Your current weapons will have to suffice. However, I have been asked to take back the Eternal Brilliance from you."
"I understand, milady." Ilsamor spoke and he handed the spear to Yui without an expression.
"Use them well. Another chance won't be provided."
"I am aware of the consequences, Yui-sama."
Asemi couldn't hold herself any longer, "Yui, what is going on? Why are you talking like that?"
"Lady Flame…" Ilsamor intervened under Asemi's confused gaze "Please show the proper respect to Yui-sa—"
"No need, Lord Storm…" Yui calmed him, "In war times, such formalities can be forgotten. No harm done."
Ilsamor stepped back.
Yui looked to Asemi "Asemi-san… Do you see something different in Ilsamor-san?"
"Of course, I do! There are many things, which one do you—"
"His cursor…" Kirito spoke. "Asemi look at his cursor."
Players in Aincrad had two types of cursors. Green for normal players, orange for guilty ones and blue for the players who assaulted friendly NPCs.
However there were other cursor types that players were used to see. They were used to show how strong an NPC is, and there were a few levels for it. Right now, Ilsamor had a red-crimson cursor visible to all of them.
"Ilsamor-dono, go to the 69th floors labyrinth and begin the exploration. We will join you shortly."
"Yes, Yui-sama."
"Wait, your arm. Let me—" Asemi tried to intervene again.
"No need…" Ilsamor rejected while taking out a teleportation crystal "It will serve as a reminder." And before they could say anything else, he teleported away.
No one spoke due to sheer weight of the events.
"Alright, that's enough. What the hell happened a second ago?" Rider asked while hauling Nocturn's body to his shoulder.
"She had warned you, Asemi," said Yui, she seemed disappointed. "It will be beneficial for us in the short term, but it will be a hindrance in the long one."
"What are you talking about Yui?" Asemi asked, she was about to go crazy due to all of those un-answered questions. "What happened to Ilsamor?!"
"His heart is finally frozen. The eternal storm descended on his soul."
"Wait a minute, what are you talking about Yui?" Kirito intervened, looking confused as the rest of them.
"This is a metaphor that Lady and I use, in reference to her earlier words in the Book…" Yui began to speak. "When Cardinal-san reached Ilsamor-san for the first time, she didn't know it but Ilsamor-san had a really delicate mind. Not knowing many people, his past and his aspirations, while deemed him pure enough for the quest, Lady had seen that Ilsamor was not the most optimal person for this role, his emotional state could easily destroy all of this. So, she came up with a solution."
"What are you talking about, Yui?" Kirito asked.
Yui seemed surprised "Do… Do none of you know about his past?"
Asemi, Kirito and Rider looked at each other. While Asemi seemed to have a little idea, the others did not. So, Yui explained how Ilsamor grew up in a physically abusive environment, received a military-school like training from his father by force. He explained his teacher and their relationship with each, which eventually caused him to be trapped in SAO.
An eerie silence followed.
"You mentioned the Lady came up with a solution. What was it?" Rider asked with a hoarse voice.
"Battle Clarity passive skill. Beside the granted ability bonuses, but most importantly slowed and sometimes inhibited the coming signals from the limbic system."
"What does that mean?" Kirito asked.
"It means that Ilsamor-san felt less of some emotions, papa…" Yui answered, while looking at the ground. "It was partly my fault, I should have given a more humane solution to Cardinal, but we were reluctant. Any kind of clue that would imply we were acting out of the orders of the Administrator System would finish everything we were working on. We had a decent enough warrior, and had no real reason to refuse him back then, none of us knew the true depths of his problem." She looked to Kirito with pain filled eyes "She especially wanted you, papa. I… I don't if I should be happy or sad that you were not selected."
"So, was this it?" Asemi asked with a whisper. "Was Ilsamor just a poor replacement in her eyes?!"
"Yes."
The certainty of the answer shocked everyone. Yui continued:
"At least, at the beginning. Later, Cardinal noticed something about Ilsamor-san though. He was more inclined to take the story aspect of his quest to real, but it wasn't because he wanted to be a chosen one. It was simply something that he could hold onto, something that will give him a purpose. We have used it, and Lady put him through a cruel training that many other children would find too hard. But he took it all without a single complaint…"
Yui began to cry, and Kirito kneeled to her level to hug her quickly.
"Hours and hours of training with pain receptor suppressors off. His dreams were hijacked by Cardinal to teach him about diplomacy, leadership and battle tactics. Sometimes, they would also talk about different philosophies and religions, with Cardinal taught him how to inspire people when needed."
Trio were shocked. Yui took a short break while wiping her tears and continued.
"Yet after some time, we have noticed he was becoming too robot like, too inhuman. After this, Cardinal and I looked through the tales of old heroes and decided that Ilsamor needed a human friend, someone that would keep him tied to humanity…"
She looked at Asemi, and Asemi understood "It wasn't an accident."
"No. She had subtly directed Ilsamor to you, guessing you would be in trouble from the pattern of your farming habits. Around that time, she had also finally managed to find a balance for the Battle Clarity skill and gave him some leeway on the feeling of his emotions. We believed everything would go perfectly after this point. But soon…"
"The Red players." Rider sighed.
"Yes. Things started to go wrong, Ilsamor had not only lost the Bastion of Justice back at the cleanup after the Battle of Coral Fields, but also Battle Clarity…"
"But he could—"
"That was him applying the things he learnt from the Cardinal, just by coincidence he named it exactly the same. However, after something happened, which I don't know what, that final lock was lost. His emotional balance was destroyed, and that lead to the Ardennes of Aincrad."
Asemi's eyes widened "What did Lady do to Ilsamor in that cathedral?!"
"Asemi, calm down…" Rider tried.
" . ?!"
"She did not do anything with bad intentions this time—EEE!"
"YUI!" Kirito intervened and pushed Asemi before she could shake Yui's shoulders. "What are you doing Asemi?!"
Asemi was panting and did not answer.
"What did she do, Yui?"
"I-It had been a long time and the Cardinal had gained a semblance of humanity. And considering what she had witnessed in Ilsamor-san's memories, she noticed her mistake, b-but it was too late to change at this point. In the case of Ilsamor-san going rogue, she…" Yui stopped here, like she was forcing words out of her mouth. "…s-she conditioned him for a program she called 'The Guardian'."
Rider clicked his tongue "That doesn't sounds good."
"It was designed to counteract most his free will and emotions, just like he aspired to be one at the beginning. It was the last alternative if the things gone wrong."
Asemi seemed shocked while Kirito seemed confused "Hang on. How can the Lady do this? Isn't Ilsamor supposed to tied onto some other special equipment for this to happen? Can she really do it from NerveGear?"
Yui didn't answer and they stood there silently once more.
"But you had used a phrase to activate the guardian mode. Still, before you even activated it, Ilsamor could not speak without your consent."
Yui's face scrunched up with worry "I don't know. Maybe with Administrator's interference some sort of bug occurred,
"Ahh, my head…"
Nocturn's voice brought them back to their senses, and finally Asemi took the initiative.
"Okay…" Her voice was shaky for a moment before hardened again "Rider, go and drop Nocturn at Black Iron Palace. Then repeat the order of standing down to both Higher and Lower Division. Then meet us at the 69th floor, first we need to acquire the weapons Lady had provided for us. Then we will storm the labyrinth tower, and try to get Yui to 76th floor."
"Oh, you've done and did it again, eh?" Nocturn mocked while mumbling. Angry eyes of trio turned to him "Gotta say, Maiden, there is no one else that could break his heart like you."
"Shut it, asshole…" Rider grunted.
"Well, shutting me up is easy…" Nocturn grinned "It would be harder to open him up again. Believe me I know… Last time there was a…" he seemed to lose consciousness once again after Kirito cast a spell "…red-haired…"
Then he stood silent.
Rider turned to Yui "What about this?" he pointed the spear. "What will you do with it?"
"I will keep it hidden for now, Rider-san…" Yui answered "Until Lady awakens to give final verdict."
In half an hour, the trio was standing in front of the labyrinth tower of 69th floor.
As promised, in the Cathedral of Burning Hope they have found equipment that severely outclassed their own in terms of stats. These were basically endgame gear and they were not sure just how much of the last dredges of administrator priviliges of Lady was spent on them.
Kirito was wearing something that resembling his Wyvern Coat, although some of the engravings were different and the whole coat was covered with runes. Kirito could store a spell inside the coat that would activated on hit, could turn invisible at will once every five minutes for 10 seconds, and as long as he stood in the darkness, his equipment would repair itself.
Asemi looked similar to a Valkyrie. She had female breastplate on her chest, and she was wearing steel boots. Her legs were protected by a steel skirt and she had cape with elm tree adorned on it. For now, she had the skill of Not Your Time, a skill that cleaved players souls back to their avatar, once per twenty minutes. Beside that, she had an ultimate skill, The Walls of Piln Gosh, a skill that granted invulnerability for 6 seconds and purification to every player in the vicinity.
Finally Rider was wearing an armor similar to what he wore during his memory release. Armor had golden runes inscribed with it, and he had a cape adorned with the symbol of Swords. The skill he had was basically called The Spotlight which was a skill that increases his threat to an enormous degree. Finally, he had also The Witness of War, which gave him the intel on demon and devil class bosses and mobs. He knew their attacks, their resistances and weaknesses. Yui was travelling on his shoulders since he was longer than Kirito and she liked the scene better.
"There he is…" Yui pointed with her hand while they were heading for the tower.
Ilsamor was standing, his back was turned to them. His coat's left arm was slowly swinging with the slow winds of 69th floor, and from the position of his neck, he was sizing up the tower.
"Ilsamor!"
"Boss!"
Ilsamor turned his face with calm and serious expression. He nodded wordlessly and waited for their arrival. Finally, when they came near him he spoke "Yui-sama, I'm glad you have arrived."
"How is the situation I here, Ilsamor-dono?" Yui asked, her serious voice had returned at once.
"It is a dungeon that takes approximately 40 minutes. It is mostly linear, but it has 4 crossroads in it, I have mapped the correct routes for each of them. NPCs are mostly skeleton type enemies, easily counter-able with holy based weapons and spells." Ilsamor explained calmly.
"What about the boss?"
"A shadow, an artifact from the First War. The arena has 8 torches of sun, and four of them are enough to weaken the shadow. One torch can only be used for thrice, and boss is nigh invulnerable when the room is illuminated by less than four torches."
Asemi frowned "So, we have 12 chances to kill it?"
"Yes, at least for the first phase. I reckon it would take you all torches to be lit to harm the Shadow in the second phase."
Kirito looked thoughtful "So, this boss is basically a DPS check. If we have enough, then we will have no problem."
"Correct, Lord Crusader." Ilsamor said "You will need to time your buffs correctly and efficiently as possible."
Kirito seemed slightly taken aback with how Ilsamor called to him, but he caught something else "Wait, are you not coming with us, Ilsamor?"
"I will accompany you and protect Yui-sama while you beat the labyrinth, Lord Crusader. However, I cannot fight anything directly, as Lady wills it." Ilsamor answered.
"What kind of crap is that, boss—!" Rider began to speak, but a greatsword aimed at his neck stopped his sentence.
"You may outrank me, Lord Light…" he spoke, again calm as a lake "But I won't take kindly of your questioning of our Lady's orders. 'I have my own battles, it is neither the place nor the time for me to draw my blade, since when I do it, he will know where I am.' Book of Pilgrims, Chapter 3, verse 22."
"Sheathe your sword, Lord Storm!" Yui yelled uncharacteristically. "There will be no fights among the Lights."
Sword was sheathed in light speed.
"I am sorry if I have overstepped my boundaries."
"You did no mistake, however please don't forget the situation…" Yui replied. Kirito was about to say something, but the expression on Yui's face stopped him.
"Please, later papa…"
"Our time is short. Ilsamor, can you lead the way?" Asemi interrupted.
"Sure. Follow me…"
The hurried after him and they began to climb the tower. Rider was near Ilsamor and Asemi was standing on the middle of the group while Kirito and Yui were travelling at the back. While Ilsamor guided them through the labyrinth, Kirito whispered to Yui "Yui, what was that? Why did Ilsamor act like this to Rider?"
"It is his feelings, papa…" Yui answered with whisper. "Without them, Ilsamor-san will not discriminate who committed the crime. In his mind, there are only 1's and 0's right now."
"That's creepy…" Kirito sighed, his gaze wandered from his now emotionless friend to crestfallen expression of his second-in-command. "I am sorry for Asemi."
"She should have been more careful," Yui said, she too was looking in front of them and watching a desperate Asemi trying to initiate anything resembling a talk with Ilsamor. "I knew she was angry, but it was neither nor place for it. His emotional state was already too fragile, and she went ahead and shattered it."
"Can Lady turn him back?" Kirito asked, his face became expressionless as Asemi sadly turned to her front after Ilsamor rejected her advances for a talk once more. "After all, she made him this way…"
"She can, papa," said Yui, but then she shook her head. "But it won't be easy. Ilsamor-san was cut off from his emotions for a time now, and if this continues, he may not bear the weight of the pain and misery he chose not to feel at once. It can shatter him completely…"
"Lord Crusader," Ilsamor called to him from front, and Kirito noticed the group had stopped. "We are approaching to the mobs. It would be best if you left Lady Yui with me while you join the other lords for the fight."
Rider once again seemed very displeased with the notion, but he chose not to comment on this.
"I see…" Kirito said before handing Yui to Ilsamor, who gave her a piggyback. "Will you help us through buffs and healing though?"
Ilsamor considered it for a second, then shrugged "I think it is possible. There is no mention on use of support spells being forbidden."
"Well, at least we have this…" Rider murmured.
Kirito turned forward and he took Kalaiet to his left hand.
"Let's make short work of those, shall we?"
With the war on 50th floor halted as well, PoH was dying of boredom.
Yes, technically the war could still go on, but it was no fun when the defending side didn't do anything except for standing behind the walls and do nothing after the attacking side retreated.
"Bleh… Those useless cowards! You call this revenge?! I think you are just gutless pieces of shits who's afraid to go down the path you choose!"
"I think they only need a little bit of incentive, Mr. PoH…"
PoH suddenly turned around and raised his guard against the suddenly appeared player on his back, who was none other than…
Wait, Heathcliff? What was he doing here? And more importantly, how the hell did he managed to sneak up on him with that heavy armor of his?
"So, the fabled Immortal Heathcliff came for me… This should be fun!"
"Please wait for a second, Mr. PoH. We have much to discuss."
PoH stopped in his tracks, disappointment was evident on his face. "Come on, I am tired of diplomacy already! Can anyone in this damn castle fight without preaching first?!"
Heathcliff chuckled "I do not aim to preach you, Mr. PoH. In fact, I came to you with a very enticing proposition."
PoH raised his brow.
"First, I need to tell you my real name, I think. My name is Akihiko Kayaba—"
When he heard it, PoH couldn't help but laugh. He laughed so hard that he fell to ground and had to hold his stomach. He forced himself to stand up again "Hahaha, wa-wa, UHAHAHAHA! THAT'S SO FUNNY!"
Heatcliff looked amused "What's so funny, Mr. PoH?"
"That! Exactly that! That you are playing a game where you have imprisoned hundreds of people! Oh, that's just gold!"
"You seemed to believe what I told you quite easily."
"Heh. I don't think you would tell such a lie like this. Even if this was a joke or something, even the slightest rumor may have gotten you killed. This doesn't answer why you approached me though…"
"You are right, I should explain. I think like you, that the war between the two sides have ended prematurely, by an outside intervention. I think if we work together, we may see many legendary battles yet. To think even the elites from both sides didn't face each other…"
"I am okay with that but I wonder why? What is your game here, Kayaba?"
Kayaba smiled, but PoH find his smile unrelated with a situation like this. Because…
"It is actually really simple, Mr. PoH…"
It was not the smile of a vicious killer…
"How can I refuse this role—"
But of a proud father.
"— when my daughter had written it for me?"
A/N: We are finally nearing the end of this arc (about 1-2, maximum 3 more chapters). It was a long one, and after that I will give some rest to this story (it will not be a hiatus, this story is already completed in my head). I think I will start a Warcraft story, but who knows? Thanks as always, I hope you are doing well and continue to do well until we meet again. See you around and have fun :)