Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

Time was a crook, and Alaric was now in its crosshairs. Each Tempering Ritual promised greater strength and a longer life, but at a brutal cost: months, maybe years, lost to an unnatural slumber. The higher he climbed, the more time he'd surrender. He clenched his fists, the weight of another six-month sleep pressing against his chest.

'I don't want to sleep for another six months,' he frowned, his heart hammering away in his chest as he took a deep breath.

Despite this confession, Alaric knew this to be his dark reality, and it was only going to get worse from here.

"Money is not the only reason higher-ranked slayers are rare, is it?" Alaric sighed.

LionHeart shook his head, "And time's just another reason among many. For now, though, that's our biggest problem, so let's focus on that."

Alaric had slept for six months during his first Tempering Ritual, only to wake up for barely a month, and now he was getting ready for another ritual. 'What will this one take? A year.'

He half expected his guardian to jump in and correct him, but only silence greeted him: silence and the dull ache of her absence.

"We don't have to do anything while Alaric goes through his Tempering Ritual," Scarlett joined the discussion, hoping to lessen the burden on Alaric's shoulders.

Naturally, not everyone agreed with her. Sariah's voice had gone up a few octaves. "You can't possibly think you'll spend your time in the mountains waiting for him, girl."

"Yes, I can. While I wait, I can sharpen my assassin skills. I've trained my whole life, but for once, I find myself lacking. I might even get lucky and climb the Temper Ranks myself," Scarlett blurted out.

"Must I remind everyone here that the Sun Dungeon has appeared once again. Everyone's after the Gauntlet, and I'm not about to miss out on that hunt," Brett pitched in.

"Ha! Stupid human! You'll be hunting that thing for years before anyone lays their hands on it," Grun'am chuckled.

"And what makes you so sure about that? Times change. Information's been gathered. The continent's not the same as it was the last time the dungeon appeared, and the last person to obtain the Gauntlet is said to have broken through to the Diamond Rank. Better yet, there are reports of people claiming Four Star and even Five Star artefacts can be found in those ruins," Brett bit back with a flood of information.

Grun'am wasn't having it.

"And where are the ones who found nothing? Where are those reports?" the male demihuman countered, his brows knitted. "Humans love to bury the truth. That dungeon offers treasure, but it also offers a quick way to the Spirit World."

Alaric had heard of dungeons before, and he understood the excitement shining through Brett's eyes. Had it not been for his aether situation, he would have wanted to take a crack at the Sun dungeon, too.

The argument continued, rousing Alaric from his thoughts as Brett refused to back down, "Power doesn't come to those who sit down twiddling their thumbs without taking a risk. You must know that, seeing as you're nearly making Steel Rank yourself."

"I am over five hundred years old," Grun'am whispered dangerously, "I've been nothing but cautious and patient."

"It's a good thing you're a demihuman, then. We humans don't get that kind of time," Brett said, turning back to Alaric. "Darla couldn't wait for you to wake up because of that dungeon. She will be heading there soon with her party. I hate to say it, but I don't want to see that bastard Julius claiming the Gauntlet for himself."

"Darla was here?" Alaric's voice went up in pitch. He remembered the barrage of arrows she sent his way during his fight against the dark mage. Her help had allowed him to build a body and escape the forest. What he hadn't known was that she'd come to Melbourne.

Brett nodded, turning a shade paler.

"What was that name again? Julius?" Alaric's voice changed, commanding an uncomfortable wave of silence. Brett blinked, unconsciously wiping sweat off his brow. "You seem to hate the guy."

Brett saw the looks Finn and LionHeart gave him and swallowed quietly. "Everyone does. He's a self-centred, egotistical bastard who only cares about himself and recruiting a harem of powerful girls into his party using his family name and money as an incentive. He invited Darla to join."

"What does he have that Darla wants? I know money and a family name aren't enough to catch her attention," Alaric asked, eager to hear what reason she could have for hanging out with someone like that. The aether in the chamber shuddered in response to his emotions, putting a bead of sweat on Brett's brow.

Old Thai inched closer to his pupil, whispering, "Who's this Darla girl?"

Troy turned and whispered into his master's ear, "The beautiful girl who cost you a cauldron four days ago." The old man's eyes went so wide that his eyes could have fallen out right then and there. At the time, he'd been refining a pill when Darla stepped into his workshop, resulting in an explosion that left him bitter for days. It was his favourite cauldron.

Ignoring the two, Finn tore the silence gently. "Julius has access to information the Tower doesn't have. She joined that party to get that information. I told her she was going about it all wrong, but you know her. She's stubborn."

Alaric nodded, and the pressure in the room lessened. The meeting was turning out to be more detailed than Alaric had initially thought. If anything were clear, it was that he would not be in Melbourne for much longer. And among the things he needed to know about was the Sun Dungeon and this powerful Gauntlet Brett had his sights on. "So, what's so special about this Gauntlet?"

"Rumour has it that it was forged by the Constellation of Fire, Incendio himself. It is resistant to all flames and can imbue weapons with flames as hot as the sun. On top of that, it's said to be a Six-Star relic, which means it defies the power of Saints, making anyone who wields it capable of defeating enemies far above their station," Brett explained.

"And one more thing," Finn added, "This one's more of a myth than fact. I've heard that the Gauntlet is a piece of an ancient suit of armour. Find all pieces, and the armour evolves into a Divine armament of sorts. Of course, no one believes that since the other rumoured pieces of the armour rarely appear at the same time, making it next to impossible to gather all of them. That said, some people have tried."

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"Who would believe such nonsense?" Grun'am snorted.

"All rumours have an origin," LionHeart added, "That's one thing I learnt from the Seekers at the Tower."

The discussion continued with a little banter going in every now and then. Meanwhile, Alaric dissected this information quietly. The Gauntlet of the Sun sounded like something he would have liked to hunt down. Unfortunately, it was too dangerous for him to seek it out in this state.

'Looking at this situation from afar, I can tell everyone's basing their plans on my situation,' the boy frowned. Was it fair for him to rob them of so much time? Then again, Alaric was aware of how stubborn they all were. While he didn't want to rob them of that time, he was sure they would insist on helping him out.

He was the Guardian Emperor, after all—that fact, which he was still getting used to, complicated things.

"We would stand a better chance of taking on the Sun Dungeon if we all went together, so here is what I'm suggesting," capturing everyone's attention, Alaric started, "I will travel to the Barren Mountains and begin the ritual while Brett and Finn travel to the Tower for a second opinion."

"Second opinion on what?" Brett blurted out.

"A second opinion on whether the Gauntlet's discovery depends on who goes into the Dungeon first," Alaric responded, "What makes you think Julius will find it?"

"General Darla is with him, and I know she can find that Gauntlet," Brett answered easily.

Alaric's eyes widened for a brief moment before he smirked, "Then rest assured, she won't find it."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because if Julius is as bad as you say he is, Darla wouldn't risk him taking the Gauntlet. If anything, she'll lead him on a wild goose chase," Alaric responded.

"I'd like to share that confidence, but she's the one who teamed up with the guy," Brett grumbled.

LionHeart clapped his hands, bringing silence to the room, "I agree with Alaric's plan. We know Darla's interests align with ours, so seeking more information at the Tower will help us strategize. Any objections? We still need to decide on who goes where, but I think we can agree on this, right?"

"No objections here," Grun'am crossed his hands over his chest, "Just don't rope my sister and me into these suicide missions. We already dealt with that abnormal Tainted One for you."

When everyone had confirmed their stance on the decision made, the meeting continued. Alaric came to know of an abnormal demon that attacked Melbourne during his battle. According to Scarlett, Sariah and the demihumans, this demon had also been capable of speech, but it hadn't answered any of their questions, seemingly more interested in taunting them than giving them actual information.

Eventually, the meeting slowed down, and that's when Brett spoke up again, his voice low but urgent, "I haven't known you people long enough, but Finn says I can trust you, so I will speak freely of something that's been bothering me since we came here."

"Sounds ominous," Sariah took a sharp breath.

"It is," Brett said, "I have never seen the Emperor's Men working with a Dark Mage. They stand for law and order, which is the opposite of what Dark Magic users stand for. Everything about that alliance was wrong, and yet I haven't heard anyone here questioning it."

The room was silent for a bit before Sariah spoke up, "No one questions it because the Red Cloaks and Dark Mages are pretty much the same in these parts. Both of them are bad news. Seeing them working together is almost fitting."

Brett shook his head, "Those don't sound like the men I've come to know at the Academy."

LionHeart chuckled, "Let me remind you that the Academy divides its fighting force into thirteen squads. If they can do that, then why can't the Red Cloaks?"

"You're suggesting they send us decoys while other portions of the army carry out 'questionable' missions?" Brett answered, "That's a serious accusation."

"Whose side are you on, boy?" Old Thai grunted, "You saw what they did, and yet you defend them."

"I have fought side-by-side with Red Cloaks against demons," Brett turned to the old alchemist, "Forgive me if I'm having a little trouble believing those same people are capable of such crimes."

Alaric laughed gently, "If you think about it well enough, you'll realise the Red Cloaks could just as easily deny working with the Dark Mage. They had different agendas. Avaros wanted to kill me while the Red Cloaks wanted to capture me. They even had an elaborate story about wanting to thank a 'village hero' for his good deeds. Add the fact that Yusa helped me in my battle against the Dark Mage, and they can just as easily say they did nothing wrong.

Now, I won't deny how much fear they caused. The fact that I had their guardians restrain them and that they tortured one of our own is enough to brand them as enemies, but that's what we saw. We saw crimes, but with the right wording, they did nothing wrong. This whole thing could easily be turned into a rescue operation gone wrong on a report, and I'm guessing if you do some digging, you'll find plenty more accounts of their 'heroic' actions in service to the Empire."

Brett blinked, his mind churning. They were all valid points. Alaric had laid it out roughly for him to investigate. "You've thought it out!"

"I've had the time," Alaric shrugged.

"Is it okay with you if I get a full account of everything you saw and heard the Red Cloaks say?" Brett's investigative training kicked in. Gather evidence.

"Depends on what you're going to use that information for," LionHeart cut in, "If the famous investigative Squad Four is thinking of launching an investigation on an organisation that serves the Emperor, then forget it."

"I'm not that stupid," the boy responded. "Even I don't trust everyone inside Squad Four. There is, however, someone there who has always been suspicious of the Emperor's Army."

"Can he be trusted?"

"Going with my gut, I'd say he can. But just to be careful, I'll keep sensitive details anonymous," Brett responded.

Finn had known the reason behind Brett's journey to Melbourne, but now he was confused about his end goals. "What do you hope to gain by doing this? It's not like you can take down the Emperor's Army."

"No, I can't, but I can reduce the damage they cause with enough information to warrant a full audit," Brett answered.

"That's quite naive of you," Sariah chuckled.

"It's progress," Alaric cut in. He found it barbaric to shut down Brett's initiative simply because it was naive. Nothing would ever change that way, and it took every ounce of his self-control to keep a straight face. The air in the room grew colder, but Alaric didn't snap. He carried on normally, "Do what you think is best, Brett. When you get to the Tower, ask them for a device to help you keep in touch. Explain the situation to Elder Gregory and tell him I sent you. That way, when you're in trouble, help won't be far."

"Why are you encouraging him?" Old Thai pitched in, "That kind of investigation is suicide."

"Brett has already decided on a course of action," Alaric answered with a shrug, "All I'm offering is extra protection." To Brett, he added, "Don't do anything that might risk your life. If you feel even the slightest bit of danger beyond your station, you fall back."

Brett nodded, "We have similar rules in Squad Four. Don't worry, though. I value my life too much to throw it away over some crooked soldiers."

There was no further argument on that front, and the rest of the meeting blurred into the background with Alaric nodding to things he agreed on, discussing those that needed to be unpacked, and chuckling at the occasional friendly banter.

Eventually, when pressing issues such as the decision of Alaric staying in hiding, goals moving forward, the details surrounding their departure from Melbourne and the like had been discussed, the meeting sizzled down to some friendly conversation.

Old Thai stood up to excuse himself early, leaving Troy behind to get to know his friends better. Brett had just had his fun teasing Troy for turning red whenever he'd been in Darla's presence when LionHeart cleared his throat.

"Now then, on to the most important matter."

Alaric felt his heart sink. What else could be left after everything they'd just discussed? "What do you mean?"

"Alaric, the City of Melbourne is getting ready to celebrate their Founding Festival and they would like you to attend as the Guest of Honour."

"Guest of Honour?" Alaric raised his eyebrows. "What for?"

"Well, the event is the Celebration of the Founding of the City of Melbourne. Founding Ceremonies are only held after the establishment of a domain, and that wouldn't have happened without your help," LionHeart explained.

Alaric nodded, "Oh… Okay. When's the party?"

"Tonight. It's one of those events that has a slow start. There will be a speech in an hour and a half, though, so we have to get you ready quickly. Come with me," LionHeart beckoned for Alaric to follow. The boy pulled Finn into a hug and shook everyone's hand before leaving to follow his protector.

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