Chapter 150 – Offer

[2009 – October]

"Thanks for the offer but I have no need for a Vibranium weapon. It wouldn't be of much use to someone like me.", I shook my head with a smile.

As a Realm Lord, there were only a few items in existence that could increase my strength or had any real value in my eyes.

Vibranium was an interesting metal and while I wouldn't say no when being gifted a weapon made from the material, I didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble to Emma just so that she could get me an extravagant paperweight.

"I am more curious to know if you are aware of the origin of Vibranium, as I didn't see anything related to that subject in the information you gave me a few months back.", I added.

Obviously, I was talking about Wakanda. Only a rare few knew how special this comparatively small African country was since their advanced technology allowed them to hide from the rest of the world.

Still, the Hellfire Club had been founded by Selene and she was several thousand years old, so it stood to reason that she knew secrets that others were not privy to.

She had wanted to get rid of Apocalypse for hundreds of years, and I was sure that she had searched above and below for allies or at least temporary helpers to accomplish this rather impossible task.

Wakanda was the strongest nation on Earth, so it seemed only logical that Selene had thought about getting their help to advance this goal of hers, considering that their Vibranium technology was the most advanced weapon technology on Earth.

Given Selene's age and magical prowess, I wouldn't believe it even if she herself told me that she had no knowledge of this hidden nation.

Overall, Selene was sure to possess a lot of information that Emma didn't have simply because of her age and experience, but I hadn't bothered to ask her before as I preferred to not have too much contact with someone of her caliber.

As an ancient immortal sorceress, it wasn't just Selene's power that was dangerous but also her mind and temperament. Even if she could not lie in my presence, truth itself could become a dangerous weapon in hands like hers.

I hadn't been entirely confident to sense her attempts at deception before, so I had not gone to meet her again after our first meeting. Relying solely on my knowledge from my last life and my own judgement would have been foolish when being around her, especially since I hadn't been sure about being able to defeat her.

She was simply too 'old', her immense life experience had made her a schemer and manipulator of the highest level, and ignoring the threat that she posed just because she needed my and Jean's help would have been foolish and ignorant.

Now though, things were different. My own senses and instincts had wholly transformed and evolved, my mind reaching heights that mortals simply couldn't.

Facing Selene now would be a lot less dangerous as I was rather sure that my instincts were sharp enough to help me deal with her. Not to mention that I now had the power to crush her with one hand and reap her life with ease.

My powers were very much the bane of her existence, considering that she could not use her magic when around me while her immense life force was just nourishment for the Darkforce nexus fused into my soul.

This was true for most beings in existence though as only a rare few could protect their lifeforce from the dark grasp of my Darkforce.

"I do know of Wakanda, if that is what you are asking.", Emma smiled lightly as she replied.

Leaning back in her seat while elegantly folding her hands, she added.

"Selene has also been keeping an eye on that particular nation for generations. Though she isn't interested in the Vibranium, as far as I can tell."

Nodding to myself, I understood that Selene was more interested in politics and long-term schemes to place herself at an advantage than technology, while Emma sought to empower herself by increasing her influence through a broad spectrum of means.

The Hellfire Club was thus just one of Emma's chess pieces, as were the Academy, the Hellions, and Frost International. They might be the most important ones but I was sure that they were not her only pieces.

In that sense, it was clear that Selene and Emma were just two people whose interests sometimes aligned. They weren't allies, much less friends.

"I took an interest in Vibranium as did other members of the Club since the technology that could be derived with it might be crucial in the future.", she stated before continuing.

"You probably know that Vibranium is a meteoric ore, so it can be found naturally. But the chances of that happening are very small."

"Every few years someone digs up a small piece of the ore by pure luck. Most of them choose to sell it and just become rich overnight while only a few naive ones try to keep it to themselves. Those though tend to turn up dead or at least deprived of their findings."

"Relying on this unstable market supply isn't really efficient nor is it a long-term solution. The Club has thus invested a lot to build a channel with some less 'honorable' Wakandans that have access to Vibranium."

"Admittedly, they are a greedy bunch, and the amount that they can safely sell to outside parties without exposing themselves is small, but it is still a much more stable supply channel than competing for Vibranium on the open market."

Sighing lightly, a wry smile pulling up the corners of her soft lips, Emma added: "We tried to forge a legal partnership with Wakanda but it proved useless as they either did not admit to being in possession of any Vibranium or they just outright refused to sell even a single ounce of it."

"They even killed some of the intelligence operatives we sent to make contact as soon as they revealed that they knew about Wakanda's true treasures while going as far as to try to hunt down those behind them.", Emma recounted, though her tone was light and calm.

I wasn't surprised by that, as Emma wasn't a caring person when it came to anyone else but her family. Not that I was all that different in that aspect. I may be less cold but just calmer about it, but I certainly was not less ruthless.

I also understood that the people that had been sent to make contact had been people whose lives were of no value to the Club. Losing them was of no consequence as it was impossible for them to have any kind of significant intelligence.

Most likely, they didn't even know who it was that they had worked for as the Hellfire Club would never send important members with any kind of important and possibly damaging intelligence on a mission that had an unclear outcome.

Success was less important than secrecy.

After all, it was the hidden nature of the club that gave it such power and influence. Only by operating in the dark - undiscovered and traceless - could they maintain and even further their power.

If discovered, I couldn't even begin to imagine the storm of blood the Club would welcome as they certainly had made enough enemies over the centuries.

"Rather ruthless of them, but that is to be expected for a country that kept its archaic structure despite its advanced technology. Naturally, they didn't find anything but it was enough for us to understand that they would not share their Vibranium openly, which isn't that surprising.", she ended.

The Wakandans weren't idiots, so it was no surprise that they refused to share the very origin of their power. Even now, the world was slowly catching up to their technology and that was while not having access to a gigantic mountain of Vibranium at their sole disposal.

The wisdom and genius of a single country's scientists could naturally not be compared to the innovative minds of the whole world.

With communication technology advancing by leaps and bounds for the last few decades, the collective accumulation of the many countries' scientists and researchers was slowly catching up to the technology employed by Wakanda.

It was only a matter of time before their advantage would disappear, though they would obviously not try to hasten the process by selling their Vibranium.

The opening of their borders in the future was more out of self-preservation than to really share their technology, or at least that was my impression of the developments that I remembered from my past life.

"If you know about Wakanda, does that mean you know about Ulysses Klaue?", I inquired, getting closer to the reason why I had brought up this subject.

Raising her perfectly plucked pale-blonde eyebrow, Emma replied while smiling lightly and shaking her head: "I wonder if I ever reach a point where your knowledge doesn't surprise me, Elijah."

"I am sure you will, someday.", I said while smiling back.

Huffing while pursing her lips attractively, she addressed my original question: "I have been searching for Klaue since he stole the Vibranium from Wakanda but I couldn't find him. His whereabouts are erratic and he never travels through official means."

"He knows that Wakanda is looking for him and he knows their technology, so he hides himself carefully while doing his business. I tried to buy the Vibranium from him but he only sells tiny pieces and his price is even higher than what our contacts in Wakanda demand."

"I tried to lure him out of hiding before but he noticed the trap and became even more careful.", Emma sighed.

Resting my chin on my hand, I looked at her with a smile, darkness swirling in the depths of my eyes: "How about I help you find him?"