Supreme Magus

’Lith, we are surrounded.’ Too many Warp Steps formed around them to point at all of them, so Solus projected their positions in his mind.

"Stop right there, Verhen. We can still resolve our issues without further bloodshed." A tall man emerged from a dimensional tunnel, bearing the features of a living god.

He had flaming red hair, blue eyes, and the kind of body that only someone blessed by good luck and who had Awakened at a tender age could achieve. His bulging muscles stretched the fabric of his silk clothes with his every move, giving the impression he could tear them up just by taking a deep breath.

"Hand Folkas’ body and that pitiful human you’re carrying to us, and we can end it here peacefully. You have my word." Lith wouldn’t have wasted time talking if not for the Isharas’ superior numbers and perfect battle formation.

"I don’t know you or your kind, Scorpy, so forgive me if I trust your word as much as a fake coin." Lith replied.

"Right." A flash of understanding passed over the Ishara’s face. "I forgot you don’t dabble in either human or Awakened politics. I’m Ankhuta, and I speak on behalf of the Ishara race."

The wording of the phrase raised several red flags in Lith’s paranoid mind.

’He mentioned politics and introduced himself as the spokesman of an entire Divine Beast race.’ Lith thought. ’I smell some kind of diplomatic bullshit trap, but I have no idea what it is, or how I can dodge it. Solus?’

’Awakened don’t write books about their traditions, and I’ve attended as many Council meetings as you. Zero.’ She replied. ’Speak as little as you can and be vague until we understand what we are dealing with.

’Follow the instructions that Sylpha gave you back when she sent you to parley with the Undead Courts.’

Solus replayed the Queen’s words in Lith’s mind in case he had already forgotten the details of his mission in Othre as a Ranger, and she was right.

"You have meddled in our affairs and killed a member of our species, but I’m willing to overlook your transgression since you were doing your job and Folkas failed to introduce himself."

’That’s how they got here so fast. The dead Ishara must have called his allies the moment he realized who I was, and they witnessed our fight.’ Lith thought, thanking his good luck that Solus hadn’t come out of her ring to help him deal with Folkas.

’Keep your lies to a minimum, then.’ Solus suggested. ’We are walking a tightrope and can’t see what waits for us at the bottom if we lose our balance.’

"I’m not the one at fault here, Elder Ankhuta." Lith replied, following the Awakened etiquette by the letter. "I’m the Supreme Magus of the Griffon Kingdom, and I was performing my duty when your kin attacked me first. I acted in self-defense."

"Yes and no." Ankhuta would have loved to drop formalities and give the Tiamat a gruesome death, but too much was at risk. "Yes, you defended yourself, but I assure you Folkas meant you no harm.

"No, you’re not completely innocent. You’ve interfered in an important operation of the Ishara clan. Something that has been reviewed and approved by the Awakened Council first, and then by the Beast Lord of Distar, Faluel.

"Feel free to call her if you don’t believe me."

"My thoughts exactly." Lith took his amulet and pressed Faluel’s rune.

Yet instead of answering the call, the Hydra suddenly appeared by his side with Gungnir in her hands.

"What’s going- Oh, gods-dammit!" Faluel shrank to her human form, but she didn’t dispel the crackling energy that coursed through her glaive. "Lith. Elder Ankhuta."

She gave both men a polite nod.

"Why have you requested my presence?"

"It’s astounding how quickly you reacted to your former disciple’s call for help." The Ishara snorted. "Especially considering that it took you days to grant us an audience when we requested it from you through the proper channels."

"Business and friendship are each in a league of their own, Elder. Especially when your business benefits only you and my friendship with Lith bears the sweetest fruits." She swung Gungnir in the air, accumulating more power within the glaive.

"I see." Ankhuta stared at the Blade Weapon with greed and stopped wondering how she had arrived that fast.

"Faluel, Elder Ankhuta says that you authorized him to interfere with Ghishal County’s affairs." Lith said. "That the Council knew the Isharas were going to replace the rulers of Distar with their political puppets. Is that true?"

"Yes, but it’s not like that." The Hydra scratched her head in embarrassment, making her prismatic hair sparkle like gemstones under sunlight. "The Isharas simply asked my permission to start businesses in Distar and establish connections with the local nobles.

"I warned them that Lustria was off the table and gave them the green light. All Awakened need to interact with human society when they need money, and as long as they don’t trigger a war or expose the Council, everything goes."

"As you can see, we have done neither, Verhen." Ankhuta smiled in triumph. "We left Lustria alone in accordance with Lady Faluel’s instructions and exerted our influence in the neighboring counties so subtly that there is no mention of our scheme even in the local news.

"We upheld our side of the deal and didn’t break a single law of Garlen’s Council. You did."

"That was short-sighted of you, Faluel." Lith ignored the Ishara. "Ghishal is ruled by one of my dearest friends, and the Isharas have hurt a lot of innocent people. And for what?"

"For profit." Faluel was about to reply, but Ankhuta cut her short. "We are far from our homeland, and have no rights over Garlen’s mana geysers and natural treasures. We did what we had to do to acquire the resources we need.

"We are part of the Hydras’ bloodline awakening project, but building a lab to conduct our own experiments takes a lot of money. We didn’t harm a single human out of fun or malice.

"We limited our involvement to giving a hand to criminal organizations that were already established in the various territories. We didn’t help them track the caravans, nor did we play any role in the actual robberies

"As for Baron Carkas, he’s our liaison with human society. It’s only natural that we help him gain more power and influence so that he can better serve our interests. It’s what every Awakened bloodline has done from behind the scenes since the beginning of time."

"For the sake of avoiding pointless conflict between our bloodlines, Verhen, I can even offer you to call off the entire operation in Distar if you provide us Isharas with everything we need until the completion of the bloodline awakening project."

"How kind of you." Lith sneered.

"I didn’t know you cared about Ghishal, Lith." Faluel glared at the Ishara. "I also didn’t know what Ankhuta would do. The Council is no bureaucratic office. We don’t require a detailed explanation or business plan.

"We only outline what an Awakened can and cannot do, and explain the consequences of violating the Council laws. So far, the Ishara have done nothing wrong."

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