"Please don't remove your hand from the orb; I want a clear answer. It is the first and last time I will ask you this question. My decision and future actions will depend on your answer!"
Hearing Alvine's question, Linn's expression also froze. 'What does he mean by that? Could it be that he really has a way of helping me reach the legendary rank from the beginning? But if he hears my real motivations, how will he react? I'm sure he will be rabid after hearing my reasons.
But on the other hand... Sigh, I'm really starting to regret having taken out the 'orb of veritas'. I should have thought about it more...
"Well, what's happening to you, Miss Linn? Why are you suddenly silent? Tsk, I guess your intentions are not really what you wanted me to believe from the beginning. It’s...
"I don't have the slightest murderous intention towards you or your loved one!" Linn replied before Alvine revoked his decision.
"... Just because you don't intend to kill one of my loved ones or me doesn't mean that your intentions will be good towards us. I need an assurance that will guarantee that you will not change your mind after having a taste for powers that exceed those of your fellow human beings." Alvine did not let himself be persuaded so easily.
'Many people change after obtaining a disproportionate power. But my goal is to force her to sign a blood or similar pact that will prevent her from breaking the rules I would put in place. Even if it isn't eternal, if I could save more time, I'm sure I wouldn't have to worry about her in the future. Since I don't intend to remain inferior to her for a while.' He said to Himself with a slight smile.
"It won't be a problem for me." But Linn exceeded her expectations when she said these words in an affirmative tone while taking out a black scroll of parchment in her spatial storage.
At a glance, Alvine could identify that the parchment was similar to the one Randolph and Serena had used to complete their transactions.
"A primordial parchment, huh?" He murmured to himself.
"I see that Sabrina has taught you a lot of things. This parchment is a parchment that is used to conclude any agreement between two parties. As its name suggests, an agreement signed with this parchment will be inviolable, regardless of the rank or power of the contractors." She gave this explanation to erase any kind of doubt that Alvine may have about her.
'As always, I don't know yet what the weight of my actions will be. But I can no longer afford to stagnate my cultivation.' He then said to Himself while his eyes switched between Linn and a black parchment with mystical hieroglyphs in white in her hand.
"But you still haven't answered my previous question. What do you plan to do once you regain all your strength and acquire power more powerful than your comrades?"
"...As I said, I don't intend to make you my enemy or...
"Don't turn my question away. Your motivations may have indirect repercussions on us. So as long as I don't hear them from your mouth, I can't lower my guard. Do you plan to betray others as Serena did? Do you plan to support your fellow human beings at the right time? Or do you expect to stay here for the rest of your life?" Alvine stopped him before she repeated the exact words she had said before and directed her to the questions he wanted her to answer.
"Sigh, don't compare me to this crazy girl. I've never intended to betray anyone...!
Even before she finished her sentence, the orb under her hand turned black with a sinister aura.
By this simple reaction, both knew what it meant. Knowing that she had just lied, Alvine remained silent and looked at her for more explanations.
"I guess you have an explanation to give me? As I told you, this is the first and last chance I offer you. But if you lie to me once again, then you can forget any attempt at cooperation, no matter what means you use to make me change my mind!"
"But it's nonsense! Why may wanting to take over the position that belongs to me by right be considered a betrayal?!" She replied in a furious tone, looking at the orb with rage.
"..."
'No matter your powers, you will not be able to fool the veritas orb, which is a primordial artifact. But given the reaction of the orb, I suppose that Linn intends to attack one of mine. Apart from Sabrina and Sylvia, I'm not really close to the other members of the Punishers. But apart from her dissatisfaction with Sabrina, who became the leader of the Punishers, I could not see any other reasons that forced her to be hostile to them. But it's too bland a reason to motivate the intentions of someone like her.'
The more he tried to guess the reason for the orb's reaction, the more confused he became about Linn's motivations.
"This damn...
"Instead of continuing to insist on this inanimate object whose only function is to differentiate truth and lie, try to answer my question instead," Alvine proposes with suspicion.
"Sigh, very good. It's to defeat someone who has always looked at me from above."
By pronouncing these words, the orb became white again only instantly.
"Defeating a person? Don't you rather talk about killing someone?"
"No! Tsk, I am the one with the strongest concept among the Punishers. In other words, I am supposed to be the leader among the other members. But not only was I humiliated by Alvinos, who had defeated me to steal my legitimate place, but after his death, this sadist had also humiliated me by stealing my place; it's something unforgivable!"
"... What? Wait, if I understood correctly, your only motivation... is to defeat Sabrina, who defeated you in a duel to become the new leader of the Punishers?!" Alvine asked with disbelief.
"She didn't defeat me! If I had not received the curse of the fucking slut, I would have put this Sadist in her place for a long time!"
"..." Not knowing what to say, Alvine remained silent while looking at her with compassion.
'All this for that?! Moreover, even a madman would know that the concept of space cannot be at the top among the genres of competitors it has. Personally, I believe that their powers will be more dangerous and more destructive if each of them occupies a place that suits them best. But why did you waste your time pursuing something so futile?!'
"Don't look at me as if I'm a victim! Sigh, you can't understand the humiliation I felt at that moment. The concepts are what define us as the primordials. They are a rule and a hierarchy that the goddess has established from our creation. But because of this bitch that poisons me, even the psychopathic kid dares to disdain me in his library just because I couldn't restore my image that stained itself with two defeats! I explored every side of the universe for millennia to eliminate the curse that gnawed on my powers only to take my revenge. But the more time passed, the more my powers gradually decreased. I am sure I would only be a shadow of myself even if I healed from this curse. That's why I need to reach this rank by all means to offer her the defeat she has always deserved and take care of the bitch who gave me this virus!"
After hearing these words from her, Alvine could only say one thing, Linn's imprisonment really had a negative impact on her mindset.
"...Why didn't you try to get in touch with the Leaders to achieve your goal, as Serena did?" He asked cunningly, taking advantage of Linn's rabid state to find out more information about her personality and her most hidden intentions.
"Do I need to answer such a question? Why should I ally myself with bastards who used gloomy tricks against me? Even if I had no one ally, I would rather act solo than ally myself with those who do not have the slightest honor!" She replied with more disgust than hatred.
'Given how she babbles, she can't have thought about all this quickly. Coupled with the fact that the questions are random, Sigh, the more I listen to him, the more I realize how much I have wasted my time. She seems too innocent (despite her age) for this universe. I no longer know if it was the fact of being alone for millennia that made her so or not. But now, I have been able to confirm my suspicions. The real danger comes from elsewhere!' With this conclusion, Alvine radically changed his strategies.
"O-of course, when I say I want to defeat Sabrina, it's not to harm or hurt her; I want to take my place. So you don't need to judge me for that. It's just that...
'In reality, her decision is not really important to me. I now realize how much my will had gone astray from the right path. Even if I never stop saying that I want to be independent of the protection of others, I now realize that I was lying to myself. Unconsciously, I told myself that I had Sabrina, Sylvia, and Dalvine to protect me if I faced an enemy that surpassed me; even if I did not say it with words, my actions were obvious proof. But I would make sure that I no longer have such thoughts that will erode my will.'
'There are people somewhere in this universe who are stronger than primordial beings; Dalvine is living proof of this. But I doubt that he himself is all-powerful, all the more reason not to restrict my possibilities to improve myself. There are too many spectators, with all kinds of intentions, in secret. Looking at my situation from this angle of view, Linn and the Leaders are just junk!' With this conclusion, Alvine returned to reality and realized that Linn was still speaking to justify her actions.
"Ok, okay, I understood everything; you don't need to say more." He said with a ridiculous smile.
'Yes, I was stupid to believe she could threaten me.'
"In short, you were right to say that I could break the curse that gnaws at you from the inside. But on the other hand, I cannot guarantee that by practicing double cultivation with me, you will reach the intermediate rank." He went straight to the point without detour.
"...h-have you just said that you can lift my curse with this method?!" Even if she seemed embarrassed by Alvine's method, her desire took over everything else.
But his question sounded differently in Alvine's ears. "Why are you so surprised? Didn't you say the same thing not even twenty minutes ago?"
"Ah? Um.. indeed. Normally, you are also capable of it. Since Galiel had powers similar to yours."
"... This girl, she set a trap for me with her other two questions," Alvine muttered, frowning after realizing this.
"Stop to be so suspicious; I just relied on Galiel's powers and the rumors about you." She refuted this argument.
'What is the difference between your answer and my hypothesis? Sigh, I guess she is always mentally disturbed. But it doesn't matter; thanks to this trick, she also helped me open my eyes in a certain way. So everyone is a winner, in the end, I guess.' He said to himself while leaning on the back of his wooden chair.
"Very well, since you don't know it yet, then I'll tell you what assures me of being able to revoke this curse. I have a skill that prevents me from being affected by poisons and other harmful substances. But it's not limited to that; it also protects me from curses and other skills you don't need to know more about. As for the practice of dual cultivation, apart from its basic advantages, such as increasing magical energy to help my partner reach a new level, there are other advantages that I have noticed in my other partners." By stopping to regulate his breath, he could see Linn's curiosity increase as he went along.
But he didn't hesitate anymore. A year unrelated! For the others, this duration means nothing, but for Alvine, who had a gloomy lineage, it was a hell he could not endure. 'Perhaps, in the end, the side effects that I thought I had gotten rid of now manifest themselves in this way by souring confusion and preventing me from focusing properly on my healthy cultivation.' He said to himself, getting up on the chair and approaching Linn.
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