Climax

Slash!

In an instant, Medici lost his right arm. It was cleaved straight through the middle, taking the sword alongside it!

Slash!

And then his left leg.

"Damn!" Medici cursed silently as he merged into flames to escape the relentless assault of attacks.

Traumerei. He was indeed strong. His beasts were able to be taken care of. They didn't take much to kill.

But the real problem was the family head himself. He could infinitely remake his beasts. And as far as Medici was concerned, he wasn't sure if he even needed to.

His shinsu quality could cleave space. Or more appropriately, it could separate two different spaces through a two dimensional sheet.

This lead to a separation in whatever it was that lied in the space which was isolated.

Thousands of sheets of green shinsu littered the sky all around and flew everywhere to create a gigantic maze. The sheets took the shape of pins and dashed across the maze, trying to hit any unfortunate soul that was caught up inside it.

Medici looked at this with his lava coloured eyes. His hair which seemed to be on fire swayed gently in the wind as fire erupted again from his wounds.

A new arm and a new leg arose from the flames.

I guess I gotta bring in the big guns.

Medici looked on towards the loner boy who looked at him with the same monotonous expression.

He raised his flaming right arm into the air and opened the book with his left one. The pages fluttered wildly in the air as he spoke clearly, word by word.

"Last Virtue of War; Subjugation." His voice rang in the air as the shinsu around him trembled.

A large part of his spirituality, something that had begun to matter little at the level of a demigod was drained instantly as he stood in the air.

Traumerei felt a strange premonition well inside his heart. He felt something.

And he didn't like it.

Instantly, he pointed his hand and willed the shinsu to attack.

Medici gave him a smile. And just as the spell was about to reach it's completion, something occurred.

A momentary pause in time.

And then, his battlefield shattered.

Traumerei paused, or he was forced to pause.

A gigantic door appeared in the air, and alongside it, a threatening and overwhelming presence overlapped the entire region!

Vrrrroooooom!

Swoooooshhhh!

A gigantic airship travelled through the door, hoisting itself from the void beyond and appearing here without a warp drive.

"You've been having fun. Medici." The God of War heard from behind him. He smiled.

"I was about to. Until your sorry figure interrupted me." He turned back to look at a man that was just a bit shorter than him. The man wore a black gentlemanly suit and a half top hat on his head.

"Is that so? Then, perhaps I should have left you be slaughtered?"

Medici didn't answer. He, after all, would only be arguing with himself. And who argues with himself?

Yep, a schizo.

Traumerei's eyes widened as his eyes beheld the new irregular. The Silent Leviathan.

Yet, the more important part of it was a gigantic presence, something that even gave him shivers.

"What are you doing here... Urek Mazino?" He asked, his eyes turning to one of the founders of Wolhaiksong.

Urek Mazino smiled at him.

"When have I needed your permission to be anywhere?" His words carried a strange pull.

Traumerei could feel the shinsu trembling. The mere presence of this man had shifted the flow of shinsu.

Urek smiled at him.

"I know this is out of the blue, but I'm gonna need you let those guys go, okay?" He gave him a toothy grin.

Traumerei's eyes lingered on him for just a moment longer before he turned to the Red Priest.

"...Alright. I didn't come here to fight them anyways." He shook his head.

"I came here to take something else." His eyes travelled down to the Archimedes.

Just then, a feminine voice sounded in the air.

"You don't need to look down there. I'm right here." The voice said.

Traumerei looked at the source. Right beside Winston stood a beautiful woman, her golden hair flowing with the wind and draped over his shoulders like a flood of brilliance.

She stood atop a large sweetfish.

The Sweetfish!

Traumerei stared at the woman and pointed at the fish.

"Give me that fish." He commanded.

"No can do." Charlotte shook her head. "This one is my partner." She passed him a beautiful smile.

Traumerei was silent. The his eyes widened.

How is this possible? He silently exclaimed in his mind.

He didn't need anyone's permission to take a beast under him. He was the best anima in the tower. Yet here was something that no matter how hard he tried to command, he could not seize control.

Nay, that was not the case.

He could control this fish. The fish simply didn't react to any of his orders.

There was something inside it... something that transcended his own power to command all lower beings in the tower.

"What is this?"

"Surprised?" Charlotte's mocking tone reached his ears. "This fish is special, you can say. It's bonded to me. No one else can control it until they take care of that bond."

"Then I'll just have to take care of you." He said.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

A shadow towered above him.

Urek Mazino

"What is it this time? Didn't I already agree to let those two go?"

Urek smiled. "Sorry baby. It's my duty to protect all beautiful ladies in front of me!" He exclaimed while extending his arms and showcasing his muscular back.

He looked over his shoulders and winked at Charlotte.

Traumerei stated at him as if he were an idiot.

"What are you talking about??" Genuine confusion was in his voice. "You'll protect these pests at your own volition?"

"That's right." Urek matched his gave with equal strength.

Neither of them backed down.

The tension in the air reached an all time high. The shinsu itself seemed like it would suffocate everyone present.

Red eyes met green.

Neither of them was willing to submit. Urek was just strong, he would protect who he wanted to. While Traumerei could back down here. Doing so would not be becoming of his status and the power he commanded.

Yet, neither of them moved, waiting for the other party to make the first move.

Just then, a strange power suffused into the surroundings.

And words and pages floated from the unknown beyond and all around them.

"Take a rest, Traumerei." A gentle voice spoke.

Winston's smile widened inexplicably as he peered into empty space.

Traumerei also followed his visions, as did everyone else.

There in the air appeared a bright flash. And as it ended, a man walked out of it.

He wore a white suit with a trenchcoat and had white gloves on his hands. He wore glasses on his face and held a cigarette in his hand.

"This is not the place for you to fight." He said. "Neither are these people you should be picking it with."

Traumerei and everyone stared this person down.

He emitted the same overwhelming aura of power.

Everyone knew who he was.

Po Bidau Gustang, leader of the Po Bidau Family.

"What do you mean?" Traumerei asked. "Are you saying I'd lose?" His voice carried a strange edge.

"Badly." Gustang replied simply.

Medici also wanted to speak out, but he controlled himself.

Gustang stared Traumerei down.

"That divine fish that you're after. It is one of the Irregular's beasts. If you decide to take it by force, you will be antagonizing him. Seeing his potential, are you certain you'd like to do that?"

"Positive." Traumerei replied quickly.

Gustang shook his head.

"Always so hard headed."

"Hey hey. Why are you acting like I'm not here?" At that moment, Urek interrupted their talk.

He pointed at his chest and looked at them with an arrogant expression.

"These guys, they're under my protection. If any of you want a piece of them, you'll have to go through me." He smiled. "Do you have the guts?"

Gustang also turned to Traumerei and looked on with a patient smile.

Traumerei was silent for a few moments.

Then, he shook his head.

"Fine." He said. "I won't take the fish. And I'll refrain from attacking them this time."

Gustang nodded at his friend.

With a soft smile on his face, he looked at Winston and his avatars. His eyes held a knowing look as his glasses glowed in the light.

"Winston Heath." He called out. "I have heard much about you. Your recent endeavours have shook the tower more than you realize."

Winston looked at him.

"I'm perfectly knowledgeable about the consequences of my actions."

"But not quite." Gustang replied.

"The ten families and the upper ranks of the tower have been getting restless about you. You have no idea about the inner workings of the ten great families yet."

"No, I have some knowledge." Winston gave him a slight smile.

In his head, he thought of the various people he had already parasitized within the families, most of which included the Khun family, the Eurasia family and the Ari family.

Should I send some worms on these guys as well? It would be fun seeing their reaction to all the family heads pulling out monocles and donning them on their right eyes.. He lampooned inwardly.

"Is that so..." Gustang muttered.

Urek and Traumerei stayed silent for the moment. Though, Traumerei looked as if he wished to speak out, he refrained from doing so.

"Then, based on that knowledge, Mr. Winston; I would like to offer you something." He said.

Winston raised a brow.

At that moment, Traumerei floated up to their level and spoke.

"I would also like to offer you the same proposal." He said.

"And that is?" Winston had a hint of what they would say.

""A Marriage into my family."" Both of them said at the same time.

"Since I have found you here, I might as well get this over with." Traumerei narrowed his eyes.

"Marriage?" Winston said with a dumbfounded expression. Of course, he had already been expecting such a thing.

It was simply the most logical thing to do.

The power balance between the ten families was fragile. The only reason it had been surving until now was that Urek Mazino and the other irregulars that entered the tower had chosen to stay unaffiliated with any of the major powers.

And now, when a wild card like him had appeared, there were only two options.

Elimination or Subjugation.

Between the two, getting him to join through marriage was obviously the better choice.

"That's right." Traumerei said. "I want you to marry into my family. Any female that catches your fancy in my family will marry you. It doesn't matter who it is. It can be a family head or a normal resident. It can even be a princess of Jahad. You only need to choose.

"If you do, you would have authority second only to me."

"I also offer you the same. But in my case, I particularly offer you the Po Bidau Princess." Gustang smiled.

"Po Bidau Tiara. I would like you to marry her. If you do, the Po Bidau family would always be your ally. You would share the same authority in the family as a Head Librarian."

There was silence in the air.

The wind had stopped through the weight of the presence that the three behemoths shared. Absolutely no sound was present. The rankers and high rankers on the ship were shaking in fear at the people standing outside the Archimedes.

Winston took some time to think.

"Hmm. That is indeed a good offer." He scratched his chin.

"But, I refuse!"

~~~

~~~

A/N: I'm sick... again. I wrote this chapter with a fever and on my phone.

So that might explain why it feels like a fever dream trying to read it. This is one of the chaotic chapters I've written I feel.

Anyway, I do want to add some romance in the book. I don't want Winston to have a sad existence like Mr. Fool bruh. And given my personal preference of spectacled girls, I think Tiara might be a viable option.

Of course, I am still open to suggestions, if people can suggest a possible way for it to work out that is. It might change to Grama Jahad, or someone else entirely.

Anyway, throw some stones and tell me your thoughts until now.

Your comments keep me motivated.

Cheers~~