The Simulacrum

Part 1

Yesterday was an abject, unmitigated mess. I was pretty sure that nobody in the know would challenge that assessment, but it had to be said that in my own, personal what-is-this-I-don't-even scale, it was only middling at best.

I mean, sure. We had a huge diplomatic incident on our hands concerning the Assembly, the revelations about the Conduit of the Grimoire and the origins of the Magi, and a public attack on School grounds conducted by Bel himself, but it wasn't that bad. I didn't get an icicle lodged in my stomach, I didn't nearly lose my right hand to a corrupted Japanese sword, no dragons tried to breathe me out of existence, and I wasn't forced to retcon reality as a whole. At worst, I was made a little woozy by a spell and then ate cookies with eldritch star-god-people-things from outside our universe. So yeah, it wasn't that bad.

…

Bloody hell. My messed-up scale for these things was showing again, wasn't it?

Shaking my head, I tried my best to ignore the topic and hunkered down in front of my PC again, redoubling my search-engine bothering effort by throwing more keywords at the browser. It was Saturday, so there was no school to worry about. Of course, there were tons of other things to do in the fallout of the recent events, but I called in the 'I'm exhausted, give me a break' card, and it allowed me to weasel myself out of this morning's emergency Draconic Council meeting.

I had more important things to consider, anyway.

"Something related to swallows, maybe?"

"Swallows?" My stray whispers prompted a curious question from the girl behind me, dressed in a casual white sweater and skinny jeans, and she leaned over my shoulder to take a better look at the screen. "What are you researching?"

I didn't even notice that the princess was in the room until now. I was pretty sure that she went downstairs with Judy a while back, but I had no idea when she came back. If anything, that just showed that while my body was no longer asleep and I wasn't as hopelessly scatterbrained as yesterday, I still wasn't back to one hundred percent either.

"Birds," I answered her previous question, and seeing that Elly's lips were just about to twist into a displeased pout, I hastily clarified, "You remember what I told you about the Emergents, right?"

"After we woke up. Sure."

Okay, pout avoided. Now, for the explanation.

"Since I made direct contact with them, I was thinking about coming up with new names for them."

"Isn't that kind of rude?"

"They don't seem to mind," I told her with a shrug and pointed at the rows of bird images on the screen. "Emergent names are like a waterfall of information at the best of times, but you can kind of boil down some of their core characteristics into simple words, and they seem to like that. Maybe it's considered affectionate?" I shook my head and quickly moved on. "Never mind that. The point is that I'm planning to give them new names, because calling them 'The Boy' and 'The Man' can get confusing after a while."

"I understand," she said, but the look in her eyes told me she just accepted the weirdness of my explanation at face value and moved on. "So? Who are you trying to name?"

"The Girl." Elly kept looking at me expectantly, so I expounded the point a little. "You've seen her once, right? Twin-tailed lass in a frilly dress who's also a planet with glowing yellow winds and rainbow-coloured orbital rings."

"Yes, I remember," she responded promptly, and I was filled with awe over her incredible adaptability, not even batting an eye at such things anymore. "She also spoke in this strange, high-pitched voice, right?"

"I conceptualize that as birdsong."

"Ah, I see that now!" She sounded genuinely impressed, then glanced at the screen. "So that's why you're looking at birds?"

"That's the long and short of it, but I'm mostly just searching for inspiration."

"It has to be a name that encompasses all that, right?" She let out a distressed hum and leaned even closer, her chin practically resting on my shoulder. "Uuu… This is a toughie."

I had to agree with her. I'd spent the better part of the night workshopping various ideas in the dark, but I only managed to come up with a few decent candidates. I could blame it on my brain still being a bit out of whack, but I had a feeling that what I was attempting to do here was bloody difficult at the best of times.

This raised the obvious question: how did I name the Emergents beforehand? I tried to recapture the thought process I had at the time, but it felt more… How should I put this…? 'Instinctive' isn't exactly the right word, but it's the closest thing I could think of. I just looked at the humanoid being made of fangs and claws and the words 'Predator Moon' just popped into my mind. The Crowned Coalescence was pretty much the same, and as for the others…

…

When did I name them? It felt like I always called them by those monikers, but I couldn't quite recall when and how it started. It was probably from one of those early times when I accidentally slipped into the not-dark not-room after losing consciousness for one reason or another. Like that time when I first heard about the Simulacrum, even though I had no idea what the word meant back then.

Anyhow, the point was that coming up with these names based on in-the-moment gut feelings was much easier than trying to do the same consciously, but since I decided to do it, I'd do it anyway, come hell or high water. I just had to find some good inspiration, and—

"Oriole!"

The princess's sudden exclamation nearly made me jump out of my seat, but I managed to rein in the impulse and remain seated.

"What?"

"Oriole," she stated again, one hand on her hip and another pointing at the bottom right of my monitor. "Think about it: it's a songbird, it's yellow, and the word kind of sounds like 'Orion'!" Seeing that I didn't get it, she raised her hands in front of her chest and started gesticulating, as if showcasing two different items. "You know? The constellation. Like 'Orion's belt'! Orion, Oriole!"

"That's… actually not bad," I admitted after some thinking, resulting in a delighted grin from my girlfriend that soon morphed into one of those ridiculously cute smug smirks when I added, "Thanks for the idea."

"You're very much welcome!" Her declaration was followed by a long moment of silence, then a startled 'Oh!' as she put her hands on her hips. "I almost forgot why I came upstairs! Your mom wants to talk to you."

She was clearly referring to Dame Morgana. It took a while, but by this point the Dunning Family Project was so entrenched that pretty much everyone started referring to the senior Knights as my mother and father, including my girlfriends. It was fine, though it did make me feel like the odd man out.

"She wants to see me?" I reflexively glanced up at the clock on the wall and let out a shallow hum. "Right. It's past ten. It's about time I show my face downstairs."

Saying so, I turned off the PC and got up from my chair. Elly didn't waste a second and immediately linked arms with me. It happened with such regularity that I started to suspect it was a Pavlovian reflex, but I didn't mind. The two of us left the room and headed down the stairs, and as we walked, my mind wandered back to the Emergents for the last time.

Putting the whole naming-business aside, I told the girls about my encounter with them first thing in the morning. Elly was a bit confused about my description of the events, while Judy was busy pulling my ear and scolding me for carelessly making contact like that, but it was just a formality, and they both listened intently to my words afterwards. I tried to faithfully convey everything, even the meta small-talk with The Man, except for one detail.

One didn't have to be a genius to figure out that I was referring to The Woman and her odd reaction to me, but I tried to downplay our exchange without being too evasive about it, as that would've only raised Judy's suspicions, bringing me back to square one. There wasn't much of an alternative though; I told her about the main-character-pretty Shamash matriarch right away in order to avoid any potential misunderstandings, but older-than-they-look Abyssal gothic vampire ladies were something she could deal with in the context of the Simulacrum's framework. If she got worked up and tried to plan her anti-harem countermeasures against a freaking Emergent of all people, I was genuinely afraid that her head would explode. Figuratively, of course.

But speaking of my lovely assistant, she walked out of the kitchen just as we reached the living room. Her hair wasn't long enough for a proper ponytail, but she still tied it up with one of her favourite hair ribbons, and she was wearing a pink apron over her casual clothes, giving her an extra-wholesome and girly atmosphere.

"You're late."

Aaand then she immediately cracked the image by being extra-deadpan. Though again, deadpan Judy was also cute, so it wasn't a big deal.

"Sorry! I got distracted by thinking about space birds!" the princess responded at once, and my other girlfriend imperceptibly tilted her head to the side.

"That's a rare sentence."

"And one that somehow still makes sense in context," I noted with just a hint of a smile and glanced around. "So? Where's Morgana?"

"She'll be with us shortly, but first…" Judy walked over to me and unceremoniously pulled me towards my trusty (if slightly battered) comfy chair. As soon as she realized her intentions, the princess played along, and the two of them not only got me seated, but even put a blanket onto my lap, and only then did my dear assistant let out a satisfied hum and turn towards the kitchen. "He's set."

Needless to say, I was curious what this whole setup was about, but I didn't have to wait long to discover it, as Dame Morgana soon exited the kitchen. She was holding a rectangular silver tray with a small bowl and a mug on it, and when our eyes met, her lips bent into a gentle smile.

"This is the first time I've tried something like this, but I hope you accept this."

She then placed the tray onto my lap, so I could take a better look.

"Porridge and… chamomile tea?"

"Baby steps," Judy declared resolutely, and I finally put two and two together.

I picked up the spoon with a curt "Thank you," and gave it a try. Everyone in the room held their breath, and while the porridge was admittedly a little too runny and sweet for my tastes, I wasn't nearly tone-deaf enough to say that out loud.

"It's good. Was this really your first try?"

"In truth, it was the third attempt at—"

"It's the end result that counts!" the princess cut Morgana off before she could incriminate herself, and I had a feeling that getting this single bowl of comfort food probably took more combined effort than a proper lunch.

To say that Morgana was new to cooking would've been an understatement, but just as Arnwald was doing his best to serve as the father figure of our family unit, she wasn't sparing any effort either. The fact that even the Fauns were more adept at housework and cooking than her was probably also better left unsaid, but as Judy put it, there was progress. Also, insert something about how it was the thought that counted here.

I also gave the chamomile tea a try, and it was pretty good. If I had to guess, my money would've been on Judy preparing this one. Though again, it was much harder to mess up, so maybe I was overthinking thins. In any case, Dame Morgana continued to watch over me with a satisfied expression, and it was only when I finished half the bowl that I noticed something.

"The house is a bit too quiet. Where's everyone else?"

"Arnwald left in your stead to attend the emergency meeting," Morgana told me, her motherly mien instantly giving way to a more professional persona. "As for Penelope and Neige, they've spent the night in Tajana's room. I haven't seen them today."

That was curious, but before I could ask about the whereabouts of the Abyssal spymaster, we were all startled by the front door opening and the subject of my would-be inquiry effectively staggering into the living room. Talk about perfect timing.

"Good morning…"

Tajana's speech was a bit slurred, but then she forcefully straightened her back and cleared her throat in an attempt to collect herself. She was wearing a black and grey business casual ensemble with a long skirt and her two-toned hair in a messy bun, and based on the circles under her eyes, she didn't sleep much last night.

"Hello, Tajana. When did you leave?" my dear assistant asked off-the-cuff, and she only answered once she shuffled inside and dropped onto her usual spot on the couch.

"I didn't. Roland made me stay up all night," she answered casually while stretching, only to freeze up and yelp, "N-N-Not that way! We were working! We didn't do anything else this time!"

"This time?" Morgana echoed her, and the Abyssal woman shrank back under her gaze.

"You spent the night at his place?" Judy pressed her bluntly, and she vehemently shook her head.

"No! We were at the Draconian headquarters! We wouldn't be doing anything indecent there!"

"Indecent?" Morgana repeated after her again, making her turn even redder, and as much as I was all for silly shenanigans like this, I wasn't in the mood this morning.

"We're going in circles. What were you two doing?"

"It wasn't just the two of us!" she insisted, and after taking a few seconds to gather her wits, she finally sat up straight and told us, "There was an unofficial discussion about a potential conflict with the Assembly, and I was invited."

"Really?" Elly blurted out incredulously, and even though she tried to cover her mouth, it was too late.

"I'm a spymaster!" Tajana snapped and crossed her arms. "J-Just because I'm not in my element right now, you better don't underestimate me. I have years of experience with organizing intelligence reports and threat assessments."

"That wasn't what I meant! I was just surprised that…" Elly began to apologize, yet my attention was drawn elsewhere.

In the corner of my eyes, I caught some movement, and when I glanced over, I couldn't help but blink. Penny, dressed in her nightgown, was… How should I put this? She was sneaking around, but she wasn't 'actually' moving stealthily. It was more like she was miming some old cartoon where a thief or nefarious villain type was snooping around with exaggerated movements.

More importantly though, her entire body was covered with a familiar orange sheen, and it was giving off quite a bit of the colourless light of magic I was already used to seeing all the time. This particular effect was something I'd seen on the Fauns quite a lot, and so it didn't take me too long to figure out that she was using Snowy's camouflage Sigil at the moment.

It was still long enough for our eyes to inevitably meet. It made her stop in her tracks, and I didn't know what to do for a long beat. Should I call her out? But she must've been pretty confident in the invisibility effect to come out looking like that, so wouldn't that just embarrass her? That would make me look like a bully, and while it was every big brother's solemn duty to tease their little sisters, it had to be in the right context, and this didn't feel like it. I was also admittedly a bit curious about what she was doing, so I made a snap decision, and looked past her, pretending to be just casually looking around before returning to my porridge.

I still kept an eye on her in the corner of my vision, and after a long pause, she let out a relieved sigh and flashed an ear-to-ear grin.

"It works!" she exclaimed towards the stairs, and while I couldn't quite see it from where I was sitting, the faint magical glow in the vicinity told me that Snowy was probably hiding there and watching.

"… and that's why everyone wanted to hear my opinion on the matter," Tajana finished up her exchange with the princess and was looking at me with a hint of a smirk, as if the fact that Roland and the rest of the Ordo Draconis personnel present at the Dracis mansion asked for her input was some kind of great victory for her.

"So? What's the situation?" I prompted her while also keeping an eye on my elated Knightly sister prancing around in the living room, with nobody the wiser about it.

"W-Well, it's a complex and highly volatile one. We received unofficial confirmation about another arch-mage coming to Critias next week, but in my personal opinion, the Assembly itself won't make any hasty moves yet."

"Why do you think that?" Judy asked next, yet even as she did so, her eyes kept scanning the room. Did she realize Penny was playing around, or only that I noticed something, I wondered.

Either way, my redhead sister looked positively impish as she circled the couch and began waving her hands in front of Tajana's face. She remained completely unaware of it and continued to share her conjectures with us.

"Simply put, the Assembly lacks experience when it comes to dealing with other organizations in the World of Mystics. They know how to manage internal affairs, such as rebellious Schools, by sanctions and using their overwhelming numerical advantage to suppress them, but their only external competitors until now were the disorganized Draconians and the clandestine Celestials, neither of which had a proper diplomatic core."

I tried my best to keep my poker face and listen to her explanation, but it was hard to do that while Penny was giving Judy bunny-ears with her fingers.

"Wouldn't that just make it more likely that they would resort to military action?" my dear assistant posited, unaware of my sister's mischief.

"It would, if not for three factors," Tajana answered briskly and raised three fingers. "First of all, since the native School and its arch-mages support you, they don't have local forces they could use to suppress you. Secondly, you already opened official channels, including non-aggression and trade agreements with… what are they called again? The enchanters?"

"The Artificer Lodges," I interjected, and she nodded along. Meanwhile, Penny was just about to move on to Morgana, but then abruptly changed her target and approached Elly instead. Maybe for the better, because there was a beeping sound coming from the kitchen, and our on-paper mother left the room to answer the call.

Yes, we had a landline phone in the kitchen. It was an artefact from the early days of the scenario, and even though everyone had smartphones now, I never got around to disconnecting it.

More importantly, Tajana nodded along and showed two fingers.

"That's right. They are the second reason. Since they're a semi-independent society within the organization, any explicit actions against you would cause internal strife within the Assembly itself. Finally…" She curled a finger, so only her index was showing. "Milady's friend, who's now called the 'conduit'…" Her words trailed off into uncertainty, but then she reasserted herself by wagging her finger. "I'm not an expert in this matter, but I do understand that the position is held in religious reverence, and I can operate with that. Simply put, so long as she's on the island, and loyal to you, it effectively reduces the chances of overt military action to zero."

"Then what are they going to do?" Elly asked, unaware of the fact that Penny was making faces in front of her. Of course, she got no reaction, so her attention soon shifted to me. Well, crap.

"Not everyone agreed with my assessment," the young spymaster responded a touch sulkily and let her finger down. "However, in my professional opinion, they will opt for a more conservative approach. First, they'll attempt to bring her legitimacy into question under the guise of making sure there's no foul play involved, and then use that as an excuse to move more personnel onto the island. The process may take a long time, and it's…"

She continued on, but I couldn't pay attention to her, because I had to make sure my face wouldn't move a muscle even as my Knightly sister leaned over and stuck out her tongue at me. Seeing that I did not react, she then started rolling her eyes and pulling on the corners of her mouth to make weird faces, and… damn. I should've called her out when I had the chance. If I revealed that I could see her now, it would not only be awkward, it would look like I was the one playing a prank on her instead of the other way around. But if I didn't call her out, then there was a chance she would keep doing this, and I wouldn't be able to pay attention to the important political discussion and stuff around me, which also wasn't ideal.

What was I supposed to do in this situation…?

"Leonard!" The answer came in the form of Dame Morgana appearing in the kitchen entrance. "Arnwald is on the line. Bel of the Abyss disrupted the Draconic Council meeting. Your orders?"

"Oh, thank god," I blurted out, simultaneously standing up, handing my empty tray over to Judy, and startling Penny so much she nearly fell on her butt. It was only then that I realized my faux pas and cleared my throat. "I mean, it's a good thing that he and the others were there. Tell him I'll join them shortly."

And so, Morgana nodded, my girlfriends were apprehensive, Penny scampered away, and I couldn't help but wonder if future-me timed this on purpose. Either way, it was time to raise the curtain on the biggest play this island had ever seen, and while I would've liked to at least digest my porridge first, the show had to go on…

Part 2

I don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but I was getting pretty good at setting up a stage. It came with experience, I supposed, since I'd been doing it ever since I invented Bel. On second thought, I might've started to dabble with the craft even before that, when I was trying to corner Fred and end his sentai-shenanigans in a narratively fitting way.

But I was splitting hairs at this point. In short, while this wasn't the first time I'd done something like this, nor was it the first time I had subordinates and co-conspirators working with me, this was the first time I was actively working with future-me, and that made the complexity of the ploy increase exponentially. Still, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous; kind of like a mild form of performance anxiety.

I wasn't too anxious though. I mean, I literally couldn't mess things up, because if I did, then it would affect future-me and cause a paradox. I never thought something like that would reassure me… but it couldn't allay all of my worries, because of that whole Free Actor thing. Free Actors could, according to The Man, directly affect the scenario with their choices and even steer the whole narrative in directions not even the Emergents could predict. There were limits though, limits that I had already broken, yet because they were currently unaware of the source of the retcons, they mistook me for a Free Actor all the same. They also mistook me for a secretive Emergent as well, which… brought up a whole lot of other troubling questions about my nature and identity in the even grander scheme of things.

Anyhow, that was for later. The point I was getting at was that, as future-me had once pointed out, I was considered a Free Actor in the current scenario, and so it wasn't completely out of the question that the universe would let me cause a paradox. On top of that, my hijacking of the Narrative on a subconscious level also posed another layer of potential complications, and the fact that I still wasn't back at one hundred percent after yesterday's stunt was just the cherry on top.

Normally I would've refused to kickstart the final arc of the scenario in this condition, but future-me had already convinced me that we needed to stick to a strict schedule, and so I had no choice but to tighten my belt, steel my nerves, and jump headlong into the act, sink or swim.

But enough with the preambles. I couldn't keep the spectators waiting for too long.

I arrived at the Dracis mansion rather unceremoniously. The hallway leading into the conference hall was jam-packed with people; some of them were trying to get away from the fighting, mostly the various dignitaries and other non-combatants, while a hodge-podge mixture of Ordo Draconis squires, Draconian bodyguards, and regular security personnel were standing paralyzed, unable to decide whether to evacuate, secure the perimeter, or rush in and join the fray.

After the first shock of my sudden appearance passed, the crowd parted in front of me like the Red Sea, giving me access to the ajar doors leading into the conference room. However, before that…

"Get the civilians out of the building!" I yelled out to jolt the armed men out of their indecision, then pointed a finger down the other end of the hallway. "You aren't going to be much use here, so stand guard and keep alert!"

I punctuated my orders by donning my Leoformer. While my Polemos gear would've been more fitting the opponent, I was in the heart of the Draconic Federation, so fighting as the King of Knights was more appropriate. Back straight, I approached the doors with a determined stride and threw them open with enough force to make the hinges groan.

My entrance made everyone inside freeze up for a moment, allowing me to take a quick account of the situation. We were in realspace, obviously. The whole point of this event was to have an audience, and we couldn't do that if we just Purple Zoned the place. The council hall was the same as usual; a large rectangular chamber set up kind of like a court-room. Rows of benches on one side, facing an elevated section with a large, curved table on it, where the Speakers of the Draconic Council would sit. Then, between those two, some empty space and a wooden podium that was currently in rather bad shape, most likely as the result of a small dragon-fire blast.

Now, as for the people present, we naturally had future-me-as-Bel in the back, currently standing not too far away from Duncan. Arnwald was still at his Speaker's seat at the elevated table, his bow drawn and ready to let loose. On the other side of the room, Agrawain and Roland were shielding a few non-combatants who couldn't get out of the room yet. Other than them, I could also see Yseult and Naoren, already in their draconic forms and glaring menacingly at Bel.

They weren't the only ones. While the majority of the people on the Draconic Council weren't even side-character-grade by our unofficial classification system, they were still Draconians of high standing. That meant pure bloodlines, proper transformations, and very competitive and confrontational attitudes. What I was trying to say was that there were about twenty rather irate dragon-people in the room, and all of them looked like they wanted a piece of Bel for themselves.

My in-laws weren't among them. It was something I pre-arranged ahead of time by sending them on a diplomatic mission to the School; not because I was worried for their safety, but so that Sebastian would have no choice but to accompany them. The old incognito dragon already proved that his rationality would slip as soon as Bel was within his field of view, so it was best to take him off this board, just to be safe.

That said, Mom-in-law and Dad-in-law not being present wasn't a bad thing either; previous experience told me that having too many important people around tended to over-crowd the scene and lead to all kinds of unforeseen developments, so it was best to keep things to our unwitting actors on stage to a minimum.

"Polemos, old buddy!" Bel exclaimed with delight while simultaneously hopping out of the way of Duncan's sword.

"Staun aye, ye pumpin' bas!" the big guy roared as he continued his assault, but his blade found no purchase as Bel continued to casually bend and twist around his strikes like a willow in the wind.

Looking at it from the outside, it made me wonder whether I also looked this uncanny when I was relying on my sixth sense to avoid attacks, or if future-me was just hamming it up, but I didn't have a lot of time to consider it. After a small pirouette, Bel abruptly disappeared and did our classic 'appearing while already sitting' trick, landing on the damaged podium and nonchalantly crossing his legs.

"You're a bit late, aren't you?" he levelled the question at me, sounding jovial, but then he suddenly tilted his head to the side. "But what's with that entrance? I thought you would appear behind me and go 'Nothing personal, kid...', and then do the stabby-stabby while looking all cool and edgy!"

"Ey! Come back 'ere ye—!"

"Duncan, stand down!" I snapped at our Minotaur Knight, already in the process of trying to climb over the benches to get to Bel again, and after a long beat, he grudgingly complied.

I simultaneously sent a glance at Arnwald, and while he couldn't see my eyes behind the helmet, he still automatically let his bow down. The rest quickly followed suit, moving back and assuming defensive postures, allowing me to focus on Bel. So far, things were going according to the script, and I needed them to stay that way.

"What exactly are you doing?" I asked in a low growl while walking down the aisle between the benches, slowly approaching future-me on the podium.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he asked back in a tone that was both provocative and gleeful at the same time.

"I'm the one asking the questions here," I spoke flatly while also retrieving Teeny from the storage enchantment and immediately shifting it to its spear form. I didn't bother to do a flourish and simply but firmly tapped its butt end against the hardwood floor. "Answer me."

"Brother Leonard! We should attack together, and…!" Naoren, his long hair flaring with red light and hands raised in a martial arts stance, called out to me, but I immediately shut him down with an extended palm without looking his way.

"Please, stand back." I waited for him to stand down, and only then did I turn back to Bel to resume the script. "This isn't your modus operandi, Bel."

"Oh, please! I can use difficult words too!" future-me responded playfully and jumped off the podium. He reflexively tugged on his lapels and, after a tense beat, abruptly pointed at me, causing everyone in the room to twitch in apprehension. "Sesquipedalian antidisestablishmentarianism!" That was followed by a long beat, then a jaunty, "Your turn!"

"I'm not in the mood for your games today," I growled at him while taking a few more steps towards him, and I barely had to act to make my indignation sound genuine.

"But I am in the mood!" future-me countered and spread his arms provocatively. "Tell you what? If you're that curious…" He paused and shifted his voice into a dry, flat tone as he uttered, "Make me talk."

Uuuhh… It was a bit cringy, looking at it from the outside, but it was certainly effective on the onlookers, so I couldn't exactly complain. The road of the thespian arts was a thorny one sometimes.

"Fine. Have it your way."

I took up a stance, but by this point I walked close enough where we were in each other's phantom limb range, and I could soon hear a faint static on the communication arrays.

"{Testing, testing.}"

"{Hear you loud and clear,}" I messaged back.

"{Bit of a crowd on the left. I'll make the first move, then we relocate to the right.}"

"{Roger.}"

To the outsiders, our little exchange probably looked like one of those silent standoffs from a cowboy movie, where both of us were waiting for some kind of signal to move. Maybe a noon bell, or a stray tumbleweed. We had neither of those in the hall, so the performance started with future-me disappearing.

As per our previous exchange, I automatically swept my spear to the right, catching him just as he rematerialized. He held up both of his arms in a boxer's stance and took the swing head-on, using the momentum to leap back. I followed right after him, and after a small flourish, we began our dance.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Since we started with a repositioning exchange, I followed it up with a series of rapid thrusts, and future-me responded with multiple quick, precise parries using his palms and the edges of his hands. Each time he made contact, it resulted in flashes of magical sparks and uncanny sharp, ringing sounds. It was all for show, but then again, so was this whole fight.

Not that it meant I didn't have to take it seriously. In a way, it was more serious than most 'proper' battles I had in the past. For a start, while we rehearsed for this ahead of time, there was no way to make a fool-proof choreography for the whole fight due to the changing terrain and potential external interruptions. I also couldn't half-ass things either, since the audience here was composed of battle-hardened folks who could tell if I was pulling my punches. Because of that, every single swing and thrust had to look one hundred percent genuine.

Of course, that didn't mean that we didn't have any safety nets in place. Doing otherwise would've been just plain irresponsible.

"He's using spear energy!" one of the Eastern Draconian representatives still in the hall exclaimed, followed by a different Western Draconian council member yelling, "But that bastard's still blocking it!"

Yep. No flashy duel would be complete without the peanut gallery commenting on the techniques on display. In this case, the first commentator was off the mark by a mile though. It wasn't his fault, as it was by design.

Meanwhile, Teeny's spearpoint was engulfed in a wispy white light as I made four consecutive stabs from different angles, drawing bright trails in the air in the process. Future-me, his gloved hands surrounded by a crackling purple glow, deflected three of them and then deftly hopped out of the way of the last one, just as we practised. Both the lights and the colours were entirely theatrical, and while the average onlooker would inevitably mistake them for some kind of mystical power used to magnify the destructive power of our attacks, they served the exact opposite purpose.

Because safety was important.

But back to the dance. While I clearly had a major advantage here due to having a weapon with much longer reach (in retrospect, not giving Bel a signature weapon was a mistake, but as always, hindsight was twenty-twenty), yet the battle couldn't be too one-sided. That would not only ruin the tension but also damage Bel's credibility as an antagonist.

"{Let's do position exchange four.}"

"{Got it,}" I messaged back, then added. "{We need more space behind me.}"

"{Right. I'll taunt you while you reposition.}"

"{Roger.}"

Just because we were secretly talking to each other, it didn't mean we stopped moving, and we finished up our last exchange with future-me deftly jumping over a low swipe, followed by a back-flip and him landing on top of one of the benches.

"Oh, saucy!" he exclaimed with audible glee. "You've got much trickier since the olden days! Did you think I wouldn't notice you trying to box me in?"

"I'm not just trying." I withdrew my spear and assumed a laidback posture while slowly shifting to the left. "I've already got you cornered."

"Oh, you mean this?" he waved his hands around, much to the onlookers' confusion. "I admit, your little space-saturation trick is troublesome, but how long can you keep it up? You aren't exactly in your best condition, are you?"

"I could ask the same." I jerked my head towards his 'injured' arm. "You haven't recovered from yesterday either."

At this point I was already in position, but since we started talking, we had to conclude it properly. Mid-combat banter was another of those universal tropes, after all. Raising my weapon, I used Teeny to point at future me again.

"So let me ask again, Bel of the Abyss: why would you, already injured, attack the Draconic Federation in the open like this?"

"Ack! You hurt me with your accusations!" future-me shuddered and clutched his chest. "I didn't attack anyone! I only came to say hello, share my opinions on the quarterly budget, and burn down the…" He abruptly froze mid-motion and let his hands down. "Aaah, riiight. I'm starting to understand what you're getting at."

"Then answer my question," I growled.

"I can only repeat myself," future-me said with a provocative smirk audible in his voice as he mimed a scraping bow, only to suddenly add, "Make me!"

I simultaneously received a signal through the communication enchantment, so I lunged forward. Future me jumped over my head, and as I turned on my heel to follow his trajectory, I pulled the shaft of Teeny in front of me, just in time for his heel to strike it. The resulting small magical explosion pushed us apart, and I nearly stumbled as my left calf hit one of the benches. Bel, in the meantime, made a perfect landing in the empty space near the podium.

While I knew that nobody could see it, I still had to work hard to stop myself from grinning. This particular move was something we practised quite a bit ahead of time, but it was still tricky, so the fact that we managed to pull it off without a hitch still made me giddy. There was no time for that though, so I steeled my expression under the faceplate and lunged forth, future-me already waiting for me.

It was a rush, and I couldn't help myself from doing some extra-silly moves. In particular, I did several over-exaggerated diagonal twirls, timed so that my partner could deflect them without too much problem, and then I planted Teeny into the floor. Using the spear as leverage, kind of like a pole-vaulter, I sprung forward with both legs extended, not only doing the mother of all drop-kicks, but also doing a spin in the process. It was about as impractical as it could get, but it was sure as hell dynamic, and the kind of move that fit the concept of a high-end melee clash in a battle harem shounen narrative.

Also, let us be realistic for a moment; where else was I ever going to do something like this again?

Now, while this was a high-impact strike, it also had a different purpose, as it was one of our pre-established style-switching moves. Future-me side-stepped my assault and assumed a low stance, one hand pulled back before launching a palm strike, just as I landed. However, to get Teeny out of the floor, I already switched it to its sword form while flying mid-air, so Bel's attack fell directly on the flat of the blade propped by my other hand.

There was a loud clang, followed by a series of wicked-fast exchanges, where we stayed in knife-fighting range and the sparks of our blows lit up the whole hall. It was concluded by me pretending to lose momentum for a second, allowing Bel to prep another big palm strike, and when I blocked it, he activated the anti-dragon enchantment on his glove. It had no direct effect on me, obviously, but it had the benefit of creating a loud boom for some extra impact, and I let it stagger me back, putting some distance between us.

We were far from done though. As soon as I came to a halt, I activated the storage enchantment and retrieved Cal as well. It was time for phase two, and future-me followed suit by activating the flashy special effect enchantment woven into his outfit, enveloping his whole body in a thick, otherworldly purple aura. I responded by doing the same with my weapons, coating them with the dangerous-looking yet mostly harmless 'sword energy' before we both lunged forward again.

The following exchanges were, I admit, a bit of a blur. This was the part we rehearsed the most, so I was just following the choreography to a tee. Left, right, backstroke, and then spin. That kind of thing. It was still tense, and it still required lots of attention, but I was already mentally preparing for the third stage, and it came soon enough.

Once we deemed that the audience was suitably engrossed, it was time to up the ante, and without warning, future-me disappeared mid-strike, only to reappear behind me. I stumbled dramatically, but only to immediately Phase away, invoking the classing 'No, I'm the one behind you!' trope, where two speedsters would try to one-up each other by repeatedly shifting behind their opponent.

After this point, we didn't need much in terms of choreography, as the third phase was rather simple: we would both disappear, then reappear at a different part of the hall, clash to create a lot of noise and sparks, then Phase to the other end of the chamber and repeat the process. Each time we increased the speed and intensity of the moves, filling the whole place with a cacophonous noise and blinding special effects that made the audience's heads spin, and then at the crescendo of the act, we reappeared in the middle, right in front of the podium where it all started, and after one final, deafening clash we both staggered back.

"Nice one, old chap!" future-me exclaimed while shaking his hands and wriggling his fingers. "Too bad your whole space-saturation gimmick only lasts for so long, eh?" He circled his shoulders and started shadow-boxing. "It was a good warm-up! Ready for round two? How about we use half of our power this time? No, wait. That might be a bit too much for a friendly spar. Forty percent?"

I let out a theatrical sigh and lowered my weapons, and future-me acted confused to match the scene.

"What are you still doing here? You could've escaped for a while now."

"You keep asking these pesky questions," Bel grumbled and crossed his arms. "You didn't use to be like this. Is that the kid's influence on your psychical brain matter stuff, I wonder?"

Instead of a retort I only let out a growl, and future-me responded with an amused chuckle.

"Oh, don't mope like that! It makes me feel like I'm the bad guy!" He spread his arms at this point and lowered his voice into a slightly less whimsical yet still not quite serious tone. "You know what? I'll be the bigger man this time, and answer your question. You want to know why I'm here, right?" I promptly nodded. "Well, Polemos, I have a better question for you, one that should answer yours as well: in what way are we similar to a guided missile?"

Acting with body language alone was hard, but I tried my best to feign confusion that way, so Bel let out another chortle.

"Only we know where we are at all times. We know this, because we know where we aren't. So tell me, old friend…" One dramatic pause later, he leaned forward and said, "Where aren't you right now?"

And with that, plus a wink, he immediately Phased away, leaving me alone with a confused crowd. Not for long though, as I turned on my heel and yelled, "Arnwald!"

"Y-Yes, My Liege?" the man with the bow looked a bit out of it, yet he still snapped to attention.

"This was a diversion! Contact everyone, now!"

"As you command!"

With him moving, the rest of the people in the hall also began to awaken from their stupor caused by our over-the-top battle, and while I could hear snippets of amazed, frightened, and even awestruck conversations, the first person who stepped up to me was more annoyed than anything.

"Was this really necessary?" Roland, looking rather exasperated by the events (or maybe just the fact that I didn't warn him about them ahead of time), spoke in a faint whisper made more intense by his glare.

"Yes, unfortunately," I responded in a similarly low voice before stashing my weapons and switching out of my armour. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll personally take care of the fallout of this one."

He let out a huff that could be best translated as 'You better,' but I let it roll off my back and followed after Arnwald. Being the director, the main actor, and the stage manager of the show was hard work, but someone had to do it…

Part 3

"You could've at least warned me ahead of time!"

The silence left in the wake of Raven Boy's impassioned yet quiet protest was a short one, and I turned in my office chair to face him. We were in my 'old office' in the Dracis mansion, a fairly small room not too far from the conference hall. Small by the building's standards, at least, and it was just as lavish, with its freshly waxed hardwood floor and fancy chandelier over our heads. It belonged to me on paper, but I rarely ever make use of it even before I got a new one inside the base, so it was mostly used by Arnwald and Roland nowadays.

Speaking of which, our Sir Griffon was also in the room, though he was currently silent and standing by the door like a statue. The same couldn't be said about Agrawain, who continued to angrily gesticulate in my general direction, so I fully turned in my swivel chair behind the desk to face him.

"Would knowing that I wasn't entirely sure about the timing of things make you feel better about it?"

"No! That makes it worse!" Raven Boy snapped as he put his hand on his forehead, then swiped his hair back and looked me in the eye. "Who is that guy, anyway?"

"Bel of the Abyss?" I jested, but he clearly wasn't in the mood. "He's trustworthy, just a bit unpredictable."

"And that's a problem," Roland chimed in from the back, and Agrawain was in full agreement.

"Exactly. Where did you even find that guy? He was doing your whole teleporting or switching or whatever you want to call it, and talked just like you? Can you just make people with those powers now?"

While he wasn't entirely incorrect, considering future-me was inhabiting a homunculus body, it wasn't the time to discuss that.

"Don't stress over the small details. The important thing is that everything's proceeding according to plan."

"Riiight…" Agrawain groused, sounding more than just a bit skeptical of my claim, and he crossed his arms with a huff. "This whole conspiracy of yours is going to bite you in the ass one of these days. You know that, right?"

"Not if we wrap it up first, it won't," I argued back, but then we both fell silent when there was a knock on the door. I quickly picked up a random document lying on the desk and cleared my throat. "Come in."

"It's me, Leonard," Arnwald announced as he walked in, so since there was no reason to put up any airs, I put the paper back down and gestured for him to speak. "The Draconic Council is ready to continue the meeting."

"Already? That was quick." I stood up and buttoned up my shirt. I was going to stand in front of them soon enough, so I needed to look presentable. "Any other news?"

"Reports are still coming in, but from what we know so far, Bel of the Abyss's Axis of Evil initiated at least three separate surgical strikes during the chaos."

"Casualties?" I asked off-handedly. Blink and you miss it, but Sir Eagle's face twisted into a grimace for a moment, though not because of my attitude.

"None among our own forces. However, one of our allies suffered grave injuries."

"Oh. That's tragic." I finished tidying up, so I added a curt "Let's go," as I left the office, flanked by three Knights on three sides.

That wasn't too odd, but I didn't expect our group to almost double right away.

"Brother Leonard." Naoren greeted me with a shallow nod, standing in the hallway from earlier. The one that led to the conference hall, and he wasn't alone.

"Aam still pished. He was reit thaur, an' Ah cooldnae burst heem thes time either. T'is infuriatin'," Duncan griped in a hushed voice, much to the mild amusement of the woman standing next to him.

"Oh, don't mope, you big muscle-head," Lady Yseult said while patting his shoulder in an overly familiar manner. "Nobody else could touch Bel either, so they aren't going to make fun of you."

She was dressed in a different blue and black dress from before. That one probably got ripped by her transformation, or something. More importantly, her words made the Feilong patriarch furrow his brows at me.

"Are you all right, Brother Leonard?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked back by reflex, and it only made his expression grow even more complicated.

"That battle was rather… intense. I hope you haven't over-exerted yourself."

His comment piqued everyone else's interest (or rather, the interest of those who weren't already in on the scheme), and after some consideration, I shook my head.

"No. Neither of us was using our full powers, so this was little more than a skirmish."

"Now that you mention it," Yseult chimed in, looking considerably more professional than when she was talking with Duncan just now. "You've realized that Bel of the Abyss was up to something from the very beginning, haven't you?"

"That's right. I didn't expect that he would use himself as a diversion, so I was playing it safe and didn't go all out."

"Hauld yer horses! 'at was ye nae gonnae aw it?" Duncan interjected with a stupefied expression on his face. "Diz 'at pure techt ye ne'er fooght serioosly when sparring?"

"No, of course not," I answered off the cuff, making the big guy stare at me with slack-jawed confoundment. "Have you?"

Instead of answering, Duncan averted his eyes and muttered something about training more, allowing Yseult to pick up the thread of the conversation.

"I share his sentiment. Your clash with Bel of the Abyss was intense, to say the least."

"Yes!" Naoren cut in without warning, sounding altogether too excited. "The technique used during your last exchanges was especially fascinating! Could you… perhaps be persuaded to demonstrate it once more? In private?"

"This really isn't the right time for that. Maybe later," I told him before he could get any more worked up and used a thumb to point at the doors of the conference hall. "We should head inside. Everyone's already waiting for us."

"Oh. You're right, Brother Leonard." The bespectacled patriarch cleared his throat and readjusted his glasses. "Let's discuss this topic again in the future."

"Sure."

On that note, we started moving again, and the whole conference hall fell dead silent as soon as we entered. The place was cleaned up in record time, and even the singed and partially broken podium in the middle was replaced in the short time since the Bel incident. It made me wonder whether we just had spare podiums lying around in some storeroom in the mansion, just in case, but my thoughts were soon drawn to the familiar faces in the crowd.

First off, Dad-in-law was already sitting at the center of the table on the elevated platform and he greeted me with a grin. Since he'd just returned from his public 'diplomatic mission', he was dressed in a full business suit that, despite being custom-tailored, somehow still looked one size too small on his big frame. While we rarely used them, as no Draconian needed voice amplification to be loud, every seat had a microphone assigned to it.

"Son! I can't believe I missed you kicking Bel of the Abyss's ass!"

"Clan Head Abram, please don't be so loud," Naoren chided him before I could and pointed at the speakers in the corner of the hall. "The meeting is about to start."

Abram stifled a chortle and was looking at me proudly, so whoever told him about the previous events probably played things up to make me look better. I didn't have the time or opportunity to correct him, because as soon as I sat down, my gaze landed on a couple of 'guests' sitting in the first row of benches.

First off, we had Lord Barnabas. Since Dad-in-law was over at the School to discuss our contingency plans in regards to the Assembly, it made sense that hearing the news of a disturbance in the Draconic Council, the arch-mage would come back with him acting in a diplomatic capacity. What I didn't expect is that the usually reclusive Meister Gowan, the chief artificer of the School, would accompany him, and when our eyes met, the friendly enchanted flashed an awkward smile in my direction.

They weren't the most important, or unexpected, guests though. That honour belonged to the Abyssal envoys sitting on the other side of the aisle, a bit isolated from the rest. I couldn't see Corbeau, but Tracas was there, along with the same placeholder man that Fidèle Shamash used as her host during our first meeting in the restaurant. I wondered if she was piggybacking on him again, but not for long, as my attention was soon grabbed by Dad-in-law standing up and forcefully clearing his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he began, putting his usual lack of indoor voice to good use. "Let us open today's second emergency meeting at once! Any objections?" I had no idea why he asked that, because there were clearly none. After waiting for a few seconds, he gestured towards the left. "In that case, let's start with a summary of the recent events. Mister Prefect, if you will?"

It was only at this point that I noticed that Jaakobah was in the hall, mingling with the security detail, and when prompted, he briskly walked over to the new podium. He was in a military dress uniform instead of his Celestial outfit, a white and grey ensemble that let him blend in with the Ordo Draconis personnel. He was facing us, so to make sure everyone could see him properly, the screens mounted high on the wall behind the Speakers' Table were turned on, showing his dour mug in ultra-wide high-definition detail. As soon as he stepped up, he put his hands behind his back and raised his voice.

"Thank you, Right Honorable Speaker." He paused long enough to give me a separate nod, then inhaled deeply and began. "At ten-thirty, several simultaneous disturbances took place within the jurisdiction of Timaeus. While Bel of the Abyss was here, a group of assailants, currently designated as 'The Axis of Evil', attempted to isolate Deus and her Justicar within a Restricted Space. In the same time frame, a different contingent infiltrated the Critias School of Conjuration, attempting to gain access to the Portalport under construction within the facility, while a third group assaulted the compound housing our…" He paused and glanced at Tracas. "Abyssal guests."

The Ashur Noble let out an indignant huff, while Jaakobah remained stone-faced and continued his briefing.

"The attack on Her Grace was repelled by ten-fifty-five by a combined effort of the Praetorian Guards and Kage Clan agents stationed in the vicinity. No casualties. The aggressors retreated and we lost track of them by eleven-ten; current preliminary investigation suggests they were exfiltrated by Bel of the Abyss."

"What about the group at the School?" Naoren interjected, subtly glancing at Barnabas and Gowan.

"The saboteurs were found and cornered before they could inflict any serious damage in materiel or personnel. The lack of collateral damage brings their motives into question, but the security staff at the School unfortunately couldn't apprehend them. Once again, Bel of the Abyss must have intervened. As for the last flashpoint…" Jaakobah glanced at the Abyssals once again. "A combined Ordo Draconis and Praetorian Guard detachment arrived at the scene by eleven-sixteen. By then, the conflict was over and the aggressors retreated on their own. As for their whereabouts…"

"Bel of the Abyss helped them escape," Yseult guessed, and the man on the podium nodded.

"Their target?" Naoren chimed in next, but before Jaakobah could respond, the dapper man in the front row let out a scoff.

"It was me! Of course it was me!" Tracas exclaimed, and the surrounding disapproving glances only made him more indignant. He stood up, only to stagger for a second. The man sitting next to him reached out to support him, but he threw off his hand and gritted his teeth, then raised his voice for a second time. "May I speak in an official capacity?"

The other Speakers at the table were stumped for a moment, and all eyes were focused on me eventually. Probably because I was the one who originally vouched for the man and advocated for providing humanitarian aid for his side. Future-me told me something like this might happen (read: he knew for sure Tracas would do this, but wanted to keep me in the dark about it), so I wasn't too surprised. I gestured for him to come forth, and he soon replaced Jaakobah on the podium.

It took him a few long seconds to collect his thoughts, but then he leaned against the wooden pulpit and began earnestly.

"Esteemed Draconic Council! I believe it is blindingly obvious that the attack you suffered today, and all of its surrounding incidents, was but a series of misdirections. It's clear that the False Emperor and his so-called Herald orchestrated these events with the express purpose of assassinating me!" All of a sudden, he grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, making buttons fly all over the place and revealing a small mummy's worth of blood-soaked bandages underneath. "Look at this! Look at the lengths the False Emperor and his lackeys are willing to go to ensure that House Ashur won't rise again! Do you understand now why it's pivotal to ensure my succession?"

That last question was obviously aimed at me, but I was preoccupied with the sight of the man's bandaged torso. Yikes. I mean, I knew future-me didn't like the guy; after all, he wanted to assassinate Ollie, and even though I only talked with the kid once, that already put Tracas on my shit list as well, but I didn't expect it would escalate this hard, this quick.

In the meantime, seeing that I wasn't reacting to his prompt, the Ashur noble addressed the rest of the people present.

"Esteemed Speakers, Councilmen, and Magi! Today's events clearly showed that Bel of the Abyss is our common enemy we can ignore no longer! His schemes know no bounds and he fears no reprisal, daring to strike at us in broad daylight! He has to be stopped and shown that we don't fear him! I implore you; stand with House Ashur today!"

"I understand, Mister Ashur," Naoren responded first, sounding just a bit impatient. "We're already in support of your noble house, but the Draconic Federation is already a separate dilemma at the present, so we can't directly—"

"Hold on," I interjected, making Naoren raise a critical brow at me. I ignored it and pointed at the injured man on the podium. "He's not wrong. I wished to make sure that the Draconic Federation and its alliances stood on firm ground before committing to getting involved with Bel and the Abyss, but his threat can no longer be ignored. As he had clearly shown us today, he could strike at us anytime, anywhere, and if he did so once, he'll do so again. I'm afraid I can no longer delay the inevitable."

"Does that mean…?" Tracas spoke up, sounding hopeful yet calculating at the same time, and I nodded.

"Yes. Today, I vow to no longer hold back, and to take care of House Ashur's succession crisis. Personally."

"Brother Leonard!" Naoren hissed at me, covering his microphone with a hand. "This isn't the right time to make promises like that!"

"I agree," Yseult backed him up from the other side of the table. "We need to deal with the Assembly first."

"I'm confident that you can do that without my personal involvement," I responded without bothering to keep my voice down. "We have not only the support of Lord Endymonion but also our good friends at the Artificers' Lodge." I punctuated that by inclining my head towards Gowan. "I don't believe that our ties are so superficial that a single incident could fray them, and once the Assembly fully acknowledges the justifications and results of my recent actions, I'm certain that everything will be resolved at once. On the other hand…" I paused meaningfully and swept my gaze across the room. "Bel of the Abyss not only openly disturbed the session of the Draconic Council, showing clear contempt for our organization, but he also directly threatened Deus's safety once again. It's a provocation we cannot ignore."

Naoren and Yseult both tried to retort me, but they were beaten to the punch by a hearty laugh.

"That's the spirit, son! A man should never go back on his promise, and it's high time we showed the world we're not to be trifled with!"

"While I agree with Clan Head Abram in principle, this situation is…" the Feilong patriarch tried again, but seeing the general agreement among the rest of the council members on the benches, he soon gave up. "Let us put this proposal to the vote first."

"That's precisely what I was planning to say," I told him a touch cheekily.

Once again, everything proceeded just as planned, and once the votes came in, my path towards the Abyss (and our big finale) was clearer than ever.

Part 4

The emergency conference of the Draconic Council and co. concluded after a few short hours, but it didn't mean the day was over, and another meeting was already taking place in my office. The one in the underground base, I mean, and while I called it a meeting, it was more of a…

"You must reconsider!" Arnwald insisted, standing next to me with his arms crossed and his eyes thundering.

"Listen to him, Brother Leonard," Naoren backed him up on my other side, one looking not one iota less intense.

They weren't the only ones in the room with me; far from it. We had Mountain Girl and Yseult standing a bit behind the Feilong Patriarch, all of the male Knights were clustered around Sir Eagle, Lord Barnabas and Gowan followed us here too, along with Sahi (though I was pretty sure she was only here for the show), and then there was the entire Praetorian guard, with Jaakobah and the twins (for some reason) at the forefront. Smack dab in the middle of all that, I was sitting at my desk and trying my best to act nonchalant in the crossfire of glaring, pleading, and confounded gazes. It was almost like an intervention.

"The Draconic Council already voted and gave me free rein," I pointed out while absently shuffling the documents on my table, and it made Naoren pinch the bridge of his nose with this thumb and forefinger.

"True, but only because emotions were running high, and I don't think anyone considered that when you said you would personally offer help to the Ashurs of the Abyss, you meant it in the literal sense of the word."

"I'm not going to go back on my words," I stated emphatically and stopped fidgeting with the papers. "It's something only I can do, anyway."

"Is that truly the case, or are you driven by hubris?" Yseult levelled an unexpected question at me, and everyone's gazes focused on her at once. "Don't look at me like that! You're all thinking the same thing!"

Her words were followed by a long beat of stunned silence, but nobody argued back. Instead, Arnwald cleared his throat to get my attention, and as soon as I looked him in the eye, he started pleading with me.

"My Liege… No, Leonard. I understand your frustration. Bel of the Abyss made a fool of us all, but you can't let your anger goad you into making a rash decision like this."

"I'm not angry though," I pointed out as I linked my fingers on the table. "And it's not exactly a rash decision either. The Abyssals nobles requested this a while ago, so I had lots of time to think it through."

"Och, c'moan, Leonard!" Duncan chimed in from behind him, looking more irritated than anything. "Juist drap th' act 'n' admit ye 'greed fur ye wur pissed 'n' wanted tae git even wi' that fuckin' bampot!"

He wanted to say more, but he was silenced by Roland tapping on his shoulder.

"Duncan, we're in public company. Watch the language."

"Leid mah bahookie! Why aren't ye saying anythin' tae him 'stead o' fash me?" the big guy growled back, but Roland only glanced at me with a world-weary expression and shook his head.

"Leave it, Duncan," Agrawain added in a quiet voice. "You know Leonard. He won't admit anything, and he's stubborn as a mule."

"Brothers? Could you please stay quiet?" Arnwald hissed at the men behind him. "You're not helping us convince him like this."

While that was unfolding, Naoren continued to fidget with his glasses, and since the Knights weren't talking to me at the moment, he used the opportunity to interject.

"Brother Leonard, I implore you, at least take some bodyguards with you."

"Rinne agrees!" Mountain Girl spoke up next, looking positively eager. "Rinne will follow in Leonard-dono's shadow!"

The Feilong patriarch's expression clouded for a moment, only to turn startled when I responded with a firm, "No, you won't."

"But… But Rinne is sworn to protect Leonard-dono!"

"True, but it's irrelevant," I told her flatly, then pointed a palm at her before she could argue. "The Abyss is dangerous, and I'll have my hands full with Bel. I can't guarantee your safety."

"Isn't that the bodyguard's job?" Yseult asked provocatively, followed by another question of a similar tone. "Also, if it's so dangerous, wouldn't that make going in alone all the more foolish?"

"No, because I have lots of cards up my sleeve to take care of myself, so I'm safer alone."

My argument didn't exactly convince them, but before they could formulate a new argument, it was Jaakobah's turn to speak up.

"I presume that means the Praetorian Guard will also stay behind."

"Yes," I confirmed with a nod. "You'll do more good looking after Deus."

There was a small grimace on the edge of the man's lips, but after meeting his eyes for a few seconds, he quickly capitulated.

"If those are the Lord Archon's orders, then we shall obey."

He followed that with a salute, mirrored by the rest of the Celestials in the room, including the kids.

"'Ey! Dinnae juist fold lik' that!" Duncan barked out, but the Praetorian Guards didn't react.

In the meantime, seeing that he lost a big chunk of potential backers for his arguments, Arnwald looked around the room and zeroed in on the Magi in the corner.

"Lord arch-mage? Could you please try to reason with him?" he implored, but the dark-skinned Magi shook his head.

"I wish I could, but it appears that Leonard isn't willing to listen to interpersonal pleas, and I lack the authority to make any official demands." He glanced at the stout artificer by his side. Gowan was holding a fancy pocket watch in his hand, and after checking it twice, he wordlessly nodded at Barnabas. "Fortunately, Lord Endymonion is already in the way, and hopefully he can—"

As per the rule of comedic timing dictated, it was exactly this moment when the door of my office was swung open so hard it nearly hit Sahi in the nose.

"Leo! What were you thin… king?" the class rep exclaimed as she burst into the room, full of indignation, only to immediately deflate the moment she realized there were something like twenty people in here. "Ah! My apologies! I didn't know that…" Her awkwardness only lasted for a few seconds though, and as soon as our eyes met, the flames in her glare were rekindled and she uttered a curt, "Please excuse me," before marching up to my desk.

"Hi, Ammy. Did you come over with your grandfather?"

"Don't 'Hi, Ammy' me!" she hissed at me and firmly put her hands on the desk, nearly knocking over a pile of unsigned documents. "Yesterday was bad enough, then we had a group of Abyssals showing up in the School out of nowhere, and just when I thought it was finally over, I heard that you promised to go into the Abyss after Bel! All alone! What were you thinking?!"

"Technically, I'm going in there to rescue a kid from prison, not to catch Bel, but—"

"Don't try to change the subject!" For emphasis, she tapped on the desk with her palms again, and this time she did knock those papers over. "I know you. You were just caught up in the heat of the moment and now you're trying to retroactively make it sound like what you did was rational, when in truth, you just want to get back at Bel of the Abyss."

"Hah! 'Xactly whit ah said!" Duncan commented on the side, but it only earned him a squinting glare from Arnwald.

"Listen, Leo," Ammy continued, and for further emphasis, she even tweaked her glasses a bit. That meant she raised one of her hands, allowing me to pick up and rearrange the papers she just knocked over, and my display of nonchalance only made her glasses-tweakery even more insistent. "You know this is a bad idea. We all know it. Don't do it."

"Sorry, class rep, but I already promised. In public," I pointed out, any by this point she was gripping the frame of her glasses so hard, I was afraid she was going to break them.

"You do realize that Judy's going to kill you, right?"

"Don't be overdramatic. She'll understand."

My level-headed answer only made her madder, but then Sir Minotaur chimed in again.

"Penny-gurl is aff tae be mighty miffed wi' ye tae, ye ken?"

"I think she might be angrier about Leonard not taking her along to fight Bel," Agrawain noted absently, and the big guy shrugged.

"'T'is the same difference."

"Okay, we really need to get this misunderstanding resolved," I raised my voice, making everyone perk up. "I'm not going to the Abyss to pick a fight with Bel. I probably won't even meet him, and even if I do, getting the Ashur kid out of custody will take priority."

"In spite of your insistence, you have yet to decisively explain why it is required for you to attend to this matter personally," a new voice interjected, drawing our attention to the doorway, where Lord Grandpa, wearing his usual robe-over-khaki-business-suit ensemble casually walked in like he owned the place. "Please pardon the intrusion, but since the door was left open, I have unwittingly overheard the tail end of your conversation."

"Right!" Ammy capitalized on the momentum and planted her hands on the desk once more, almost knocking over the stack I just finished arranging again. "Do you have to be the one to do this?"

"Yes," I answered with a poker face, but then the old arch-mage reached her side and they proceeded to continue their offensive in tandem.

"Is that true?" he asked, one brow raised high. "Is there truly no one else who could perform this deed?" When I didn't reply right away, Lord Grandpa inclined his head and launched into a sudden non-sequitur. "When we first met, on that fateful day, you were but a peculiar, indecipherable young man acting in strange and unpredictable ways I could scarcely comprehend. You would boldly stand your ground against authority and carry the consequences of your actions on your shoulders without hesitation. Yet, in just a few short months, times have changed. You are no longer a sole man, but a leader of men, and with that, comes greater responsibility."

"Listen to grandfather," Ammy insisted with uncharacteristic vehemence. "You're the leader of the Ordo Draconis, the Third Speaker, not to mention the Archon of Elysium! No one's expecting you to do this personally, on your lonesome!"

"Except for the Abyssal envoys, evidently," Yseult muttered in the back, prompting a couple of annoyed grimaces around the room.

As for me, I was a bit irked by the fact that I got the same argument I used on Tracas during our first meeting at the restaurant thrown back at me like this, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

"You're not listening…"

I tried to interject, but Lord Grandpa beat me to the punch.

"I have held administrative and executive power within the Assembly for longer than you have been alive," he started, already sounding a bit preachy, but then he suddenly pivoted and continued with, "I am certain that you are convinced that you are well within your rights to pursue this course of action, yet I must remind you that Critias is under my jurisdiction, and we are at the precipice of a crucial junction. With the return of the Conduit of the Grimoire…" He stopped for a moment to put a hand on the class rep's back, momentarily startling her. "… as well as the stability of the World of Mystics. Lord Marzanna, along with an investigative task force, may arrive in Timaeus as early as next week, unforeseen circumstances notwithstanding. Under these circumstances, I am obliged to object to your plans with the full weight and authority of my office."

"R-Right! You have to look at the big picture!" Ammy added on, though this time she sounded a bit awkward. Probably because Lord Grandpa was still patting her back in public.

I waited to see if they had anything else to say, then exhaled a long breath and locked gazes with the arch-mage.

"Can I take this as an official protest from the Critias School of Conjuration?"

"Indeed. With everything that implies," he said in a level voice, meeting my stare tit for tat.

Tensions were rising… for a split second, when I uttered, "Doesn't matter," in my deadpannest of voices.

"Leonard!"/"Brother Leonard!"/"Leo!" Arnwald, Naoren, and Ammy cried out in unison, but I immediately raised a finger and didn't let them gather any steam.

"Stop. I meant that." I waited for them to get over the first shock before I let my hand down. "Listen, everyone. I understand you, but this is non-negotiable. It has to be done, and I'm the only one who can do it."

"Are you?" Yseult tried to provoke me, and I faced her head-on.

"Yes. Or is there anyone else in this room who can go into the Abyss, break someone out of prison, and get out of the Abyss?" I didn't wait for them to even try to argue and pointed at myself. "You've seen what I can do. You've also seen that Bel is getting bolder over time, and more unpredictable. We need to push back, and we need the Abyssal nobles to keep his forces in check."

"But what if something happens to you?" Ammy pushed back. "It would lead to all-out war!"

"Class rep. We are at war already." I let that sink in, then eased the mood a bit with, "Seriously though; you know more about what I can do than pretty much anyone else in this room. You should be the least worried here."

"That's not how it works."

Her grumble didn't have her previous bite, so I was getting ready to focus on her grandfather again, when…

"Get out of the way! I need to talk with him!" Another newcomer squeezed into the already overcrowded office, and the Praetorian Guards moved at once to accommodate her. "Ah! There you are!"

Ignoring the duo standing right in front of the desk, Angie… No, wait. Her eyes were a bright amber-yellow, so that was Deus. Anyway, she was in her casual clothes, and she looked a bit sweaty, so I figured she rushed over here in a hurry.

"Are you also here to dissuade me?" I asked, half serious, but she looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about.

"Dissuade you about what? Listen, Polemos, that doesn't matter! We have a big problem!"

"… I'm listening."

She crossed her arms and let out an infuriated grunt, much to the onlookers' mild surprise, then exclaimed, "Those bastards stole the girl's bow!"

"… By 'those bastards', I imagine you mean the Axis of Evil."

"Yes, them!" She let out another huff, then added, "As much as I loathe Bel, I have to admit, at least he's self-aware. But that's not important! They stole her bow! Our bow!"

"How?" I looked over at Jaakobah and added, meaningfully, "I was told there was no fighting in the neighbourhood."

Before the Prefect could respond, Deus let the cat out of the bag by openly telling me, "It's because the girl took it off while taking a shower with the boy, and then those bas—" All of a sudden, there was a soft flash of magical light that made the class rep twitch, and Angie's eyes switched back to blue. "Grandpa! That's private!" she moaned, but then another flash later her eyes went back to yellow. "Fine, the details aren't important. She didn't have it on her at the time, and then by the time everything was over, it was gone. Of course, the girl didn't want to tell you about it, because you're 'busy' today." She rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of 'When is he not busy…?', but then quickly returned to the previous line of thought. "Anyhow, this cannot stand! That bow wasn't just an antique with sentimental value, but our main weapon of choice! That accursed Bel and his minions are taunting us! We can't let this continue any longer! We must do something!"

"Well, I'm planning to go to the Abyss to cause some chaos."

"Is that why everyone's gathered here?" Deus looked around the room and let out a decidedly unladylike chortle. "Haha! Good! Give that bastard a dose of his own medicine!" Her body language abruptly shifted, along with her eye colour, and she folded her arms again. "But… isn't that dangerous?" A moment later, she was back to Deus mode, and let out another chuckle. "Heh. Look at her, worrying about you! We're talking about Polemos here! I'm almost feeling sorry for those wretches in the Abyss; they won't even know what hit them!" Another switch later, Angie gave up on thinking and shrugged. "If you say so, Grandpa. I gotta go, I left Josh in the lounge. Let's meet there once you're done, okay?"

She didn't even wait for me to answer, and like a whirlwind, she left as quickly as she appeared, leaving everyone a bit stumped.

"You've heard her…" I started, then quickly corrected it to, "Them. There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm still not convinced," Arnwald griped, and the rest also seemed to share his sentiment.

"Just trust me, okay?" I pleaded, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "I understand your worries, but as I said, only I can do this, and the longer I wait, the more dangerous Bel will become. Not to mention, we have all of you on the island." I paused while slowly sweeping my gaze across the room. "I'll be gone only for a short while, and so I'm confident you're going to keep everything under control."

"I still have a bad feeling about this," Ammy whispered, purposefully loud enough to make sure I could hear her, so I flashed a wide smile to reassure both her and the rest.

"Don't say that. I'm sure everything's going to work out just fine."

I said that, but then I had to forcefully still my face so that I wouldn't cringe. Did that could as jinxing, I wondered.

…

But then again, if everything went according to plan, things wouldn't be working out just fine, at least from an outside perspective. If so, then wouldn't a jinx like that be entirely appropriate for the situation at hand? Have we really reached the point where tempting fate like that would be useful? Judy will have a field day with this, won't she? That, or an aneurysm.