18 XVIII. Violet

Nilo had a hunch something was wrong from the beginning. Standing helpless, on the sidelines from the outside, did not sit right with him. Before the reception from Eeira cut off, he was already half-way through with his silent intrusion plan.

It was said, by a couple of young misfits who were raised in this town, that the manor once belonged to a baron who lived there before the empire — quite the striking tale with how old this town was — they mentioned how a hollow point, in the back of the manor, allowed them to sneak into the bottom scullery for the servants, but not after going through the inner depths of the cave. Like the tower, the rest of the manor was stuck to the cave's inner walls, as if it was a part of it. Reaching that hollow point meant going through those unknown depths. Even then, there was no telling if that hollow point would fit a grown man — the tale they spoke of was when they were mere children — Lejin might have even fixed it or barricaded it. But this was the only hidden entrance Nilo knew of, and one that the guards most likely did not know of.

He slipped quietly out of the crowds, and into the depths. They were not as tight and small as he expected, but the road, if you could call it one, was rock-strewn and almost slippery on each edge of a rock. One misstep in his footing and he could bid his life farewell. He couldn't comprehend how the people that recounted their time as children were able to creep around this place without harm or notice. Perhaps it was different, perhaps it was not, it didn't matter either way. What mattered was what lied ahead.

Even as he struggled with the road, Nilo's thoughts were elsewhere. It was in these tense moments that he would spiral down a tower of endless overthinking and worry. More often than not, would he think about the worst possibilities. A tiring process, yes, but to him, it was important. He needed to be a realist as much as he was an optimist. Be that as it may, fate had other plans in store for him. The time of thoughts had long reached its conclusion.

As he trudged further deep into the cave, the lights emitted from the town, that paved the path ahead, faded away, leaving darkness to creep its way back. Nilo didn't hate the darkness, by all means, not the murk, however, that was the very matter that unsettled him. Out of nowhere did this murky mist manifest, despite not being outside. Nevertheless, it was still bright around, enough for him to catch sight of his own breath coming in and out of his mouth — like the winter nights in the desert. There was no scent accompanying it, so it surely mustn't have been smoke.

— No, hold that thought—

A scent… It was no average whiff, at least one that could be found buried deep within a cave. This fragrance… this aroma… It was quite pleasant, soft, and almost romantic, enough to perplex a normal person to hypnosis. Nilo tried to resist the urge as best he could. Controlling, holding back his breathing, and watching his own footing was no easy task — add that to the fact that he lacked proper vision.

But his demise wouldn't come up from a slip-up or an unintentional step, it would come from beneath, from the chaos that stood silent. Just as he started to warm up to his surroundings, a rope — no, a rather sophisticated and advanced rope-like material, almost looked like a large mechanical centipede — wrapped itself on his leg, pulling him down to the ground. Nilo tried to hold on to an edge, but the surface was round, his fall was imminent. However, he felt nothing. He fell, yet he felt nothing. He was on the ground, yet he couldn't call it the ground. The floor beneath him was soft, which shielded him from the fall's impact.

Nilo quickly rose to his feet to find a large bed of flowers lying on the ground, emanating a mesmerizing picture. It all clicked. The romantic fragrance from earlier. Why he felt nothing upon falling. As he realized all that, he remembered the strong type of hypnosis these flowers could potentially inflict, and so he quickly covered his mouth and nose, hoping to have not yet caught this poisonous aroma.

'Relax! It's not going to kill you,' A woman appeared from the corners of darkness surrounding the flower bed. Her voice was so soothing and mature, almost seductive if interpreted that way.

Nilo did not trust a word she said. He could sense an odd aura surrounding her, a familiar, yet dangerous, one. There was no mistaking it. She was the one who pulled him down to the ground. Her weird blade, which mirrored the rope's design from earlier, was evidence of that.

'I certainly did not expect "the" technorunner to make his appearance here,' she said. It was odd how she knew about his identity, perhaps from Lejin, that was if she was with him, 'I honestly thought you'd leave your friend to wander in on her own.'

It was then that it hit him, she was talking about Eeira.

'If you touch just a—'

'I told you… Relax! She's fine, nothing too serious. You'll have to excuse my brother for pulling up his strange antics.'

That brother being Lejin without a doubt. The thought of this woman being Lejin's sister brought a chill down Nilo's spine. She did not seem to be as ridiculously mad as he was, however, that did not erase the threat she emits.

Nilo thought of an alternative method to avoid fighting.

'You know… we're doing this for the mayor, so, you of all people, should back off.'

'Oh, you mean Lejin… Lejin's the one the mayor's got by a leash, not me,' she snickered, 'I'm not one for the rules if I'm being honest.'

Nilo gripped his holster tightly.

The woman sighed, 'Why are you being so hostile? I didn't do anything to you.'

'Yeah, pulling down here wasn't anything at all, right…'

'If you insist…,' she breathed in and out, 'How about we make a bargain? Our interests align after all. You're after the mansion, correct?'

'So you know…'

Of course, the woman knew about his and the others plans, she knew about Eeira sneaking, she knew about his presence here, what did she not know? This conversation was pointless. Even if he bothered to listen to her, his answer was still going to be the same. He had his fair share of "bargains" and every single one of them always ended in disclosure. What was more was that she sided with Lejin (even if she said she didn't), the one who almost got him killed back in the Outlands. If she was more dangerous than Lejin, then there was no good behind her.

'You're still not convinced, aren't you?'

'Convinced of what? You haven't said anything.'

'Right! So you're willing to listen, I presume?'

Listening to her was going to be in his favor, it would give him time to think of a way to escape or a method of confrontation.

He was going to listen, for the sake of Eeira.

***

When Eeira awakened, she found herself seated on a chair. Instead of a dimly lit cell in a dungeon around her like she expected, it was a humble room illuminated with warm lights similar to the ones all over the manor. In the center lied a bulky desk, suitable for a leader's office. The room was decorated nicely with Victorian ornaments. Only three giant windows were situated at the end of the room.

There were no exits besides the one that lied behind Eeira.

As her consciousness finally slipped back to reality, she began to scan her surroundings keenly. One thing was for sure, she wasn't alone. Aside from the multiple guards at every corner, there were two other girls (one of whom was Amelia) like herself seated on chairs beside her. It wasn't odd that Lejin would pull a stunt like this and have them transported to another place without their will. What was odd, however, was the fact neither she nor the girls were tied or chained to the chairs. They were all completely free as if they were guests instead of prisoners. But even then, they knew better to not move.

'Apologies for the rough reception, ladies!' The man of the hour was seated at the desk in the center, with a wide smile on his face, 'Usually, we'd handle situations like these in an elegant manner, but consider the circumstances, we needed to proceed further with caution.'

This was the first time for Eeira to see Lejin up close, the last time she was him was when he was chasing after Nilo, and even then it wasn't a good look. All this time, she wondered what kind of a menacing man he was, but she did not feel threatened by him for some reason. Perhaps it was the effect of encountering the stitchreaper, she wondered.

'I'm sure you all know why you are here. I mean, of course, you know why you came here by your own will so that'd be ridiculous if you didn't—'

Lejin went on with his ramble, but something else caught Eeira's attention. It was there, the stone she would recognize as a diamond from a mile away, the elastinum. Lejin had it encased like a brand new trophy on his desk. If anything, it was basically screaming for someone to steal it.

Even after narrowing down the target, Eeira still had no idea how she was going to retrieve the stone and run away among all these guards. She was at the heart of the manor. The determination she had earlier was almost gone, she was starting to get cold feet — as anyone would in a situation like this.

— If only the stars aligned...

***

Back at the cave's depths, Nilo was still adamant about taking the strange woman's words with a grain of salt.

He wasn't paying attention to what she was saying, nor was he thinking of a method to escape, rather he was caught in a strange thought, the strange occurrence of having met this woman before, which was impossible. Yet, he still believed that the woman looked familiar. He had been to many places so it wasn't entirely bizarre. But someone as dangerous as she would have surely left an impression on him before. It was very unlikely that she was Lejin's sister, their contrast was clear.

Knowing that wasn't useful now, however. Her malignant presence still resumed. She leisurely roamed her flower bed. Nilo felt the lethal aura filling the place crawl up to his skin.

'You're still intent on fighting, huh,' she sighed, 'It's certainly a shame… I thought my offer would at least knock some sense into your brain. You really need to be aware of what's good for you, being too cautious can sometimes lead to unfortunate results.'

It was then that Nilo felt a nail strike his head. That was absolutely the effect of the mysterious flower bed. Even with covering his mouth, he couldn't escape its clutch. He was already done for the moment he fell into the depths.

And just like that, Nilo slipped away from reality.

***

Thirty minutes had passed. Eeira still had no plan — it was one thing she shared with Nilo at that moment. Lejin had already finished his speech about choosing the right girl, about how grand his achievements were, and, of course, about the man, he'll take his revenge from. If there was anything Lejin excelled at more than everyone, it was needlessly rambling about nonsensical matters.

After finishing his speech, he moved on with the process of this entire night. He started explaining what he wanted in a girl. One of the girls tried to present herself, but he denied her request. Even though it was an audition, Lejin believed the girls wouldn't need to do anything. He had run many tests before them and he knows quite well that one could cheat their way and pull a facade. So his method was to simply watch the girls, carefully examine them, memorize their faces, and reach through to their minds. It was a bizarre thought that someone like Lejin would understand the core of the psyche, but it wasn't totally odd. There was a reason why he was able to raise such a great army and be feared with that mind of his.

He circled around the office, mumbling to himself with whatever thoughts he had holed up in that brain of his.

'Now…,' he swiftly turned to the girls, 'I am a man of principles. And I consider myself to be quite kind… When I picked my first right-hand woman, years back, she was but a mere scrawny child who didn't know her right from left. But what did I do? I provided her with shelter, a home, and proper education. I practically brought her up myself — would you call this generous or not?' The girls thought he awaited an answer but that was only rhetorical, 'I call this extremely magnanimous, a truly elegant act. Yet, with all the education I gave her, I forgot to teach her one important factor, the one thing every guild soldier must absolutely learn and abide by. It's the very core of our code… loyalty. The ever-so-damned loyalty, a behavior that's been swept under the rug in this generation. You, children, know nothing about what loyalty is, about what family is… but… I suppose I cannot exactly blame you. We live in an era of war, of imperialization. Every single one of you, and I mean, everyone in this desert of land had been torn apart from their families, and loved ones — including myself — so the only code we abide by is to survive. "Screw loyalty!" Is that what you're thinking right now? What good will it do if it takes your life away? But I will tell you once more,' he stared down on one of the girls and held her from the back of her neck, 'There's nothing more important than the feeling of loyalty and trust.'

Not Eeira nor the other girl were able to feel his gaze, but the girl facing him definitely did. It was enough to send a chill down to her spine. Lejin was a man of many faces, that was why he was dangerous. One would never know if he was simply an idiot, a masterful guild leader, or just a killer with bloodlust. The shift in the atmosphere was too great.

— Just who is this guy?

'Take her back home,' Lejin pointed at the girl, and she was shocked, 'I do not want you to fear me, I want you to respect me. So if my gaze is enough to send you running home, then the work here is not for you. Believe me, I am saving your life this way, and you will thank me one day. If you are after the riches, then there are other ways than facing death in the eye. Fear not, I'll put in some good words about you,' a smug smile was drawn on his face, 'You seem to be capable in other matters.'

Dumbfounded, the girl was escorted outside of the room, leaving only Eeira and the other girl left. It was quite odd how the guards didn't use brute force or how the girl didn't put up a fight, but it was expected coming from someone like Lejin — he wasn't a run-of-the-mill criminal after all.

Lejin eyes the two girls with surprise, 'You think my gaze is frightening?'

Eeira and the other girl shook their heads immediately. She wasn't particularly afraid of that old geezer but she felt the need to be cautioned.

'That's quite the relief,' Lejin laughed, 'My gaze stands at nothing when it comes to Ghirahim or dear old Nyarla.'

The girls looked at Lejin with confusion.

'Don't tell me you haven't heard of the tale of Ghirahim, the Accursed Observer,' he sighed, 'He, who sits waiting for the oldest book, perceives the process of the oldest game. For the crawling chaos and he are tied to settle the debt for the forgotten dream. Or so the old tale says. Forgive an old plant like me recalling bedtime stories, they're just ever-so amusing. On the surface, they mean nothing but dig deeper, and you'll get more than what you bargained for.' He moved back to his desk, 'And that's what I want you to be, ladies. To defy expectations. To know how to deceive—'

This lecture had begun to take its toll on Eeira, her attention shifted back to the elastinum. It was the sole reason why she was there.

Before Lejin could continue, the office doors were swung open, followed by a figure approaching the room. It was a woman, a rather young one (but not as young as Eeira), dressed in an awfully rough, yet elegant, attire, she could be easily mistaken for being Lejin's subordinate, but she was far from. That woman was none other than Violet, Lejin's younger sister, who was also known to be quite fiercer than him at times.

'You're inside here playing the don, while this entire town is about to crumble?' She slammed both her hands on the desk and faced Lejin with anger. Her voice had a calming tone, even with her anger.

'What are you talking about—'

'Calamity's Dream! It's already in ruin.'

Eeira had no idea what that was. But for some reason, hearing that name was enough to almost terrify her.

'Y-You can't be serious… We have—'

'I've already sent a formidable hunter. So you just take your men and evacuate this damned town. I'll clean up the mess like I always, dear old brother,' she grabbed the glass box which contained the elastinum, 'I'll be taking this!'

'Wait—'

'If you want to live, you better listen,' she told her older brother with a threatening tone, 'And I'll be taking the girl as well, she'll be quite useful.'

The woman was pointing at Eeira, which certainly surprised her. Before she can speak up, the woman had already made the decision and approached her.

'Trust me,' she whispered, 'You want to take down the stitchreaper, right?'

— How did she—

'I'll take you to Nilo. He's waiting…'

And so, the woman took Eeira, who was still confused, in her arms and stormed out the room in a hurry.