Embrace The Ether 42 Violent Burs

"Come, follow me outside, I can guarantee your safety but only if you stick close," she claimed, "Do remember, though. Those soldiers atop the tower don't really know what's happening, so if word gets out that you're one of the enemies who shot at them, I'm not entirely sure what would happen. Well, I can promise you won't be harmed, but you'd best be on your best behavior, just in case."

Droh nodded, showing his understanding. "Hey Deus, does this sound like a good idea to you?"

"Hah," Deus thought for a moment, finally coming to a decision after considering his options. "I don't think we have much of a choice, that is if we want to stay alive and safe. Evelien… ma'am… please, lead the way."

Upon hearing this, Evelien grinned. "It would be my pleasure, now come along and don't stray too far. Reinout, keep them safe and don't let them slack behind."

"Hmph," Reinout puffed out with a heavy exhale.

They followed her through the winding tunnels. Their group continued to feel uneasy as they went on, Deus and Droh were practically walking on eggsh.e.l.ls and they knew it. Rufus had a calmer expression as he had fully come to terms with his situation. All he had to do was loyally answer all of their questions and provide the crows with his contacts, and he'd be safe.

After walking for what seemed to be many minutes, they finally arrived at what was a sprawling opening, a current of wind seemed to carry itself throughout as the interiors bellowed and growled. They had arrived within the center of the tower, which had surprisingly been entirely hollow.

Below them, there was a large pit that sunk much further into the desert earth. The sand had been excavated and moved into giant crates as numerous powerful and well-trained soldiers walked the perimeter, ensuring safety and privacy for what sat beneath this tower.

Deus knew better than to ask, and even if he did ask he doubted he'd receive a proper response. 'They're hiding something tremendous down there, aren't they? Whatever it is, it was enough to bring Orion's attention to it and risk falling out with their host city.'

"Come along, we're almost there," Evelien said, waving them over toward her as a lift slowly lowered itself from above. It was strapped with many heavy wires that climbed to the top of the tower, which held this single lift.

The simplest term for this contraption would be 'elevator', but it was far too archaic, as it swayed and wobbled as they climbed into it.

"Is this entirely safe?" Droh asked with a nervously shaken voice. In response, Reinout only chortled out as he slapped the Faun heavily on the back as if teasing.

"We're safe, don't you worry. Even if the wires snap, myself and Reinout easily possess the strength to catch you all and prevent injury. Just relax while we ascend, we'll only be here for a minute or so." Evelien explained, finding Droh's expression much calmer once she did.

Truthfully, Deus still couldn't relax while they ascended. It wasn't the cables or the lift that caused his heart to sink, it was what he'd find once they arrived at the top.

Evelien was very eager to show them, which was only more disheartening. He understood immediately that both Reinout and Evelien held a relatively weak opinion of him and Droh, only cooperating with them because of the orders they've received.

'What could they possibly want to show me? A fight between their leader and Roland, perhaps?' The idea of such a fight caused him to shiver internally. 'According to what Droh's told me, that monster Roland should be quite the ravenous beast… I'm curious—if not a little worried—to find out who is going to stand in his way.'

Deus had briefly come face to face with Roland, being able to gaze upon his infamy and glory. The aura he radiated had been enough for him to cough up whatever little food he had in his stomach.

Comparably, neither Reinout nor Evelien caused him to feel that same sense of overwhelmingness.

That didn't mean they were weak, though. It simply meant that Roland had been much stronger. After all, the difference between a thousand pounds versus ten-thousand pounds was vast, but no one could say either was light. They were both heavy, it was simply that the latter was much more so, to the point of being ridiculous.

The lift finally tugged and rocked as it slowly locked into place. Many soldiers from the tower quickly approached them as they pulled the lift closer, restraining the cables behind a locking mechanism meant to keep the large lift from swaying violently.

"Alright, everyone off," Evelien ordered as she was the first to dismount from the lift platform. Rufus quickly followed second. With each person, the lift slowly rocked, as if a pressure had been removed from the strained wires.

Reinout and Deus were the last to dismount, the two kept close to each other as they both knew that the young man would be the prime target for the anger and dissatisfaction of the other troops. After all, it had been Deus who had openly shot at them, even injuring and killing several of them. Droh, on the other hand, had kept his distance and merely shot in their general direction.

Rufus hadn't even partaken in the battle and had merely piloted the ship. The animosity against him was lax and wasn't worth worrying over.

'Heh, it seems they've already noticed me… I can feel quite a few glares behind me…' Deus murmured to himself, the pressure from the soldiers around him caused him to awkwardly quiver. He knew these soldiers wouldn't openly oppose him with Reinout and Evelien here, but that didn't stop them from finding his appearance disgusting.

"Worried, little lad?" Reinout asked as he lowered his head, letting out a whisper next to Deus. "You best behave, or I'll have no choice but to accidentally turn a blind eye to everyone for a moment… you'd hate to be stranded here without a lifeline, right?"

Deus shrugged at Reinout's threats, having already come to expect them. Thankfully without Deus purposely acting against him, Reinout could do nothing beyond empty threats. 'I should thank whoever their master is… seems he or she possesses adequate command over them.'

If the master of the crows' strength had been any less, Deus would've been more worried, but now, after learning a bit more about his situation, he felt he could safely a.s.sume that his survival was of importance. Because of this, neither Reinout nor Evelien could openly allow anything to happen to him. That was an absolute rule, one only possible by the truly powerful, like Roland.

'Seems I absolutely can't underestimate this shadow manipulator… nor can I offend them.'

Droh had a gleeful expression on his face as he ran over to the edge of the tower, letting the violent winds burst past his ears and hair. It seemed he enjoyed this, and even savored the moment of calmness.

Only, his mood had changed instantly upon glancing downward. To his shock, what he saw was beyond his expectations.

Evelien walked up beside him as she chortled, "Ah, it seems the master has already progressed to the final stage. We're all in luck, we get to witness the fall of a clan firsthand."

As she spoke, a violent gust of wind kicked up, throwing metal and sand into the air without a care. Deus dashed to Droh's side as his attention dropped onto what was happening below. Even the other soldiers from atop the tower dropped what they were doing and ran over to the edge.

Deus was shocked to discover something, 'Hold on… that's… Thaddeus. It really is him, isn't it? Rufus said that this Thaddeus absolutely wasn't the same as the original, so perhaps this is an impersonator?'

A voice boomed out from below, causing Droh's ears to once more flatten atop his little head.

"You dare challenge me? Do you dare think of killing me? I shall show you the true meaning of pain and suffering, you pathetic fool!" At that moment, the form of Rol'an erupted into black flames, as if his very flesh no longer mattered.

A powerful undulation rocked the tower, causing even the thick metal to creak, leaving numerous slashes and scars.

"What the h.e.l.l sort of power is that?!" Deus shouted out, facing Evelien as he awaited some sort of explanation. In response, she could only tilt her head to the side as she let out a soft chuckle.

"This power is archaic, but it absolutely possesses some form of Mir… fascinating… it seems that Rol'an will be a bit more dangerous than we expected, but I don't doubt that master can handle things from here."

Evelien turned to face Reinout, "In any case, send word to the capital… request sire Roch's appearance, just in case. Also, alert the remaining crows throughout the region—Orion has moved against Direfell and has such been sentenced to death. Eliminate them, remove their filthy influence and bring back the peace that our master favors."