The Other Two
The news that he was been visited by those bozos (as he liked to call them) caused Eugene to frown lightly.
The other two was the 'polite' term he used for the two other Rune-masters in Salmon city. According to him, they were two idiots who lacked proper education and were only rune-masters to enrich their pockets.
In his sight, they had no respect whatsoever for what rune-mastering truly was.
A point he believed was reiterated by the fact that the only thing they taught their 'Apprentices' was how much faster they needed to run so as to bring them more Gold and earn more favor.
And the idiots fell for the pathetic scams as though they wanted to prove who among them all was more gullible.
However to be fair, it should be mentioned that despite his disagreement with what the Other Two stood for, he was never actively attempting to correct it.
To each his own.
Swanson sighed and stood from his cultivating spot after which he followed Orn to the room in which he had once taught Hal and served him the horrible Astral cleansing tea.
The Other Two were standing there, their faces both held derisive sneers as they watched Swanson walk into the room and acknowledge them.
"Gentlemen" He said in a flat tone, that this two had actively taken the decision to visit him, combined with their sneers did not make Swanson feel comfortable.
"Swanson" The two nodded lightly, their sneer ever present.
Eugene eye's narrowed slightly at the obvious lack of respect but quickly kept his face expressionless.
Since when did he begin to care about how this two view him.
"What brings you here?" He asked in a natural voice.
"Grave matters Swanson. Grave matters indeed" Said Baret, the more vocal of the duo
"Grave matters?" Swanson inquired
"Yes, quite grave. The death of the Holgers is such a tragedy that we are all burdened by the sorrow. The catastrophe was after all quite recent" Baret sighed deeply.
Now there was an obvious crease in the middle of Swanson's brow. A crease he was quick to smoothen as Baret's Eagle eyed (and Eagle faced) partner, Ian, looked at him closely.
That the conversation was beginning with the death of the Holgers could not possibly make Eugene's day.
And sure enough...
"So Swanson, do you mind telling us who did it"
...it did not.
Swanson blinked, and in a perfectly innocent face -A transition he had learned to be able to do thanks to certain terrible experiences- he asked
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm- we- are talking about your part in the death of the Holgers"
"And what makes you think I had a part in it" Swanson continued in a natural tone.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because a rune-master was obviously involved as can be inferred from the dome of Astral energy that surrounded the Estate. Ian and I were together during the Attack, the only Rune-master strong enough and unaccounted for is you" Baret said with a smirk that showed confidence in his words.
"I could have been in my..." Swanson began but his words were cut short by Ian who spoke for the first time during the meeting in a grating voice
"You were not in your store. We searched with Astral perception"
Swanson's lips curved "An invasion of my privacy"
"Even so, it does not change that you were absent from your Store that day" Baret said with a victorious grin.
"Where were you?" Ian asked quietly.
Swanson could have told them to leave the moment they first questioned his innocence but he had let them stay and even engaged in a quick banter with them, which essentially now put him in a tight spot.
There could be no better admission of guilt at the moment than to turn these two away. Granted, the two were obviously not strong enough to make him feel threatened, however an amassment of Pleabian forces would not bode well for him.
He was after all mostly alone in this city, the only help he had was Orn. Or so everyone thought...
The truth was that Swanson could request assistance from a certain powerful source situated outside of this wretched city. He just preferred not to contact them, this was the whole point of him residing in this city after all.
Now, the situation was slightly different, should he or his benefactor be in danger he would not hesitate to request for such long distance help.
As the duo watched Swanson, they were not as relaxed as they seemed, while they were fairly confident he was guilty. they were also aware that any attack against him at that time was as equal to declaring war against the Mayor himself and that was suicidal.
That being said, there are other ways to get at him and dig into a weak spot...
"I was with my apprentice" Swanson said in a truthful tone, it was after all true
"I was teaching him about how to use Runes outside of my store, For safety reasons" This was a blatant lie, however Swanson said it in such a neutral voice that even he was surprised.
The duo stared at him for a while and then sneered...
"You seem to care about this 'apprentice' of yours a lot" The way Baret said this caused Eugene's eyes to narrow to slits but it was the silent Ian that continued with a grin
"I believe he'll be joining the competition right? It seems almost a Tailor-made event to test our Apprentices against each other."
At this point, Swanson nearly bursted into laughter. This fools had no idea who they were dealing with.
While they (Swanson and Hal) had combined the strengths of their Astral senses to aid each other so that they would not tire each out early, the dome had not being a product of an Array.
It had been composed mostly of pure Astral Energy that for reasons he (Swanson) could not fathom, Hal had been able to store in his body without a backlash.
When Hal had released the Astral Energy with a wink in his direction, one word instantly came to Swanson's mind; Monster.
And it was to this monster that this two bozos were planning to 'feed' their 'Apprentices' to, this could not be heading in a better direction.
Barely able to fight the urge to laugh, Swanson smiled lightly "I don't know if he's interested in the competition, but if he is, then please take it easy on him"
"So you admit to playing a part in the destruction of one of the most prestigious of the Pleabian families" Baret's smile turned victorious, but Eugene's expression remained the same.
"Innocent till proven guilty"
...
Some where in Salmon city
The Crimson eyed master all Plebeians now seemed to serve under sat at a table, apparently reviewing a letter and the one seated beside them was surprisingly familiar.
She was a Female with brown hair, a face barely above average and her long legs crossed as she gripped the Arms of her chair tightly.
Her once brown eyes now held a hint of crimson as well and her face no longer held a happy smile. She was Lillian Payne.
Lillian had cultivated constantly in a bid to finally attain the level of cultivation she needed for revenge. Up until the point Rad had been killed, she had been satisfied with her Late stage Cosmic Pearl Realm cultivation.
Alas, things were different now...
Through diligent cultivation since Rad's death she achieved...nothing.
Well that's not entirely true, she achieved a small increase but it would take months, maybe even a year or two to achieve a breakthrough to the Cosmic Armament realm.
She could not go after Hal on her own as the two ladies with him were more than up to the task of taking care of her. Neither could she go after the one who truly deserved the blame for Rad's death -Gregory himself- because he was at the Peak stage of cosmic armament Realm.
"How long do I have to wait?" She asked in an impatient tone, She after all now had the strength to take care of Hal Payne even with his bitches by his side. At least that was her estimation.
The master turned towards her, eyed her with crimson eyes and then sighed "This is why your son got killed. He inherited your most unflattering quality"
Lillian frowned but remained quiet. Getting on the bad-side of the one person through which she had hope for revenge was idiotic at best.
The master continued...
"From what you've told me and I have inferred, it's clear that there was no real reason for Rad to take certain steps but he did it anyway. Not to speak ill of the dead, but your son was an idiot.
"I on the other hand am not"
Lillian gripped the arms of the chair even tighter till the wood began to splinter from the strain. But the 'Master' was not done.
"If I had known how impatient you would be, I would not have lent an helping hand. *sigh* There are certain events that must take place before the Great families and by extension, Gregory Payne, are taken care of. So you will have to be patient.
"But, I am nothing if not flexible, So... You can go after Hal Payne after the Competition, although I still don't know why you want to waste your talents on a small fry like your stepson, but to each his own"
The Master chuckled but despite the 'Flexibility' in his decision, Lillian's grip on the chair's arms only grew tighter. The name of that bastard brought back so many memories.
"Now if you excuse me, I need to inform my subjects that they can now do whatever the heck they want"
And with that, the master was gone. Leaving Lillian to fantasize about how exactly she wanted Hal to die.