The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar remained seated in his chair, tapped his foot nervously on the floor, and knew he had to remain put, but heaviness congested his chest, and sweat beaded down his face like a downpour of rain. From Erden's ears, he could hear Avril and Gail make contact and greet each other with friendly voices. He wanted to bang his head on the luxurious table before him in shame for using his wife as bait, a horrid thing for a husband to do.

But Avril was very adamant and determined to take this task, suggesting the plan herself. Failing to calm himself, Oscar sipped from the tea in the room. Its aroma and taste could not halt his anxiety as his fingers still trembled from the horror of anything happening to Avril. Oscar stood up and paced around the sky-tier suite, his steps erratic in weight and stride.

He pondered the details of Avril's plan, which she spoke of with brimming confidence. First, she would sit and wait for Arinn to approach since they knew from Erden's stalking that he would see them in the coliseum. Now the tricky part was whether Gail would also come forth and probe Avril or skulk in the sidelines. Either way, it meant he had to stay behind or possibly be exposed by Gail. Oscar hoped Gail wouldn't come in person, but his flimsy prayers were unanswered, and Avril was in more danger.

Staring outside the sky-tier suite, Oscar spotted Avril speaking with Gail and heard everything via Erden, who cleverly hid in Avril's dress. The next part of Avril's plan was to get them to follow her to a different location or be kidnapped by them for questioning or worse. The best result would be neither happening, but that was a long shot, not in line with Gail's means.

A knock came from outside, and Oscar snapped his focus to the door and called out for the person to enter. As the doors opened, Helen Alkemar, the branch head of the Alchemist Guild, moved gracefully inside, clothed in a dress, not her alchemist blue robes. Helen waved to the attendants to leave, waited for the doors to close, and moved closer with a faint smile, masking her thoughts.

"Welcome, Lady Alkemar." Oscar bowed his head. For the sake of this plan, he needed her cooperation. "I am sorry to have called you here rather than me entering your room."

"That's alright. Where is your wife?" Helen glanced around the room, looking confused. Anyone would be after seeing how he and Avril were so close at every moment.

"That's what I wished to talk about. Our deal is still in effect for you to protect my wife and me, is it not?" Oscar sat after Helen.

"With the price of one Wildersap, yes. Our deal is still in agreement, and I've grown quite fond of her." Helen narrowed her eyes. "Did something happen to her?"

Oscar sipped some tea. By Avril's suggestion, Helen was the first person to contact about this. She had talked at length about how Helen would often give her advice and even offered to buy her a home here to become a full-time alchemist in Convecia.

"We've gotten in contact with a few individuals who may have a tie to the kidnappers who have been haunting Convecia City," Oscar said.

"Kidnappers? Is Avril safe?" Helen's presence became more imposing as a fierce Ein stirred around her.

"These people also have a connection to my past, so to find their base, Avril is acting as bait. If she is taken, I'll know her location, and you can rally some people to assault the place and help me free her. Or she will lead them away somewhere for you to arrest them." Oscar pleaded. "Please help us."

"You dare…use your wife as bait?" Helen gripped her hand, and Oscar couldn't resist. Struggling, Oscar helplessly floated in the air against his will and started to choke, something constricting his throat. There was no spell behind this, only the force of Helen's Ein overwhelming him, the power of a Marshal Exalt.

For the first time, she revealed a face of rage, a dead cold stare focusing on Oscar. Feeling the immense pressure about to choke out his life, Oscar forced out his words through his reddened face, shouting his strained voice to an audible level. "I didn't want her to do it, but she felt it was the only way. I begged her not to, but she's far more stubborn than me. So please help us."

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Helen's power was squeezing his body, and his lungs lost all the air as he made his statement. Still, he was glad, extremely happy inside to see Helen react like this, a faint raspy chuckle coming from him. It meant she did care and was certainly not someone of New Dawn unless she was an amazing actor.

Helen relaxed her hand, dropping Oscar to the floor. He gasped and heaved his lungs, taking in as much air as possible. Helen's feet tapped on the ground before him, forced his body into the couch, and towered over him despite her smaller height.

"What an idiotic couple the two of you are. When will this happen?" Helen asked.

"I will inform you about what happens. Just have some of your forces by the fountain in the market district. If she is taken somewhere else, I will let you know. And please don't tell anyone else." Oscar said while rubbing his neck.

"You don't want to report it to City Lord? Not even Hector?" Helen said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know from your reaction that you are trustworthy. I can't say the same about Hector and the City Lord. Hector told me to leave and seemed resigned to the kidnappings while the City Lord kept it all under wraps." Oscar faced Helen. "I can't trust them, not yet. But I can trust you."

Looking at Oscar, the old branch head lowered her head and seemed to be deep in thought. She nodded and said, "I can't see any fault in you, only the self-blame for putting your wife in this situation. Very well. Here." Oscar grabbed a token of the branch head, meaning he had some authority using her name. "If you can help purge this city of the filth that has infested it, then you can use my name. Abuse it, and I will kill you."

"Thank you, Lady Alkemar." Filled with gratitude, Oscar knelt before her. He secured the full aid of the branch head. Now he only needed to see the outcome of Avril's choice.

…….

"So, Asher, where are you from?" Gail asked, treating Avril as if they were old friends.

"I'm from down south in the Everest Continent. My husband and I are traveling to return and see my parents." Avril looked at Gail and then at Arinn. "Are you one of Arinn's wives?"

"No, heavens no. I wouldn't want to be a fourth wheel in that relationship. I'm simply part of the same group." Gail placed her hand on Avril's shoulder. "Your husband is quite late."

"He sometimes gets so immersed in his own work that he can't pull away. I suspect he's still hammering away at an anvil." Avril used the same sort of spiel she had heard many times from her fellow alchemists when they spoke about fabricators. Gail's hand stayed on her shoulder, and Avril fought the urge to slap it away, disgust building up inside.

"I see. I would never know. I'm not married." Gail said, lifting her hand away from Avril's shoulder, much to her relief. Oddly, even though Oscar mentioned he had taken an arm away, Gail appeared to have two hands. A well-made fake?

"Seriously? You don't have anyone you're interested in?" Avril exclaimed. "You're so pretty, though? I bet there are so many people trying to pursue you."

"Ahahaha. I don't know why, but no one wants to talk to me. Maybe they're scared." It sounded normal, but it sounded more horrifying to Avril, who learned of Gail's true nature from Oscar. Gail didn't stop and continued, "As for someone. Well, there was one fellow in the past." Gail hummed and grabbed her arm above the elbow.

"Who?" Avril pretended to be interested.

"Just a strange man with such a piercing stare and surprisingly strong. I haven't seen him in a long while, but I would bet an arm to see him again." Gail said, still gripping her own arm. "I wonder what I'd do if I did see him. Too bad he's far gone."

Avril stopped herself from shaking. This woman was truly unhinged. With good timing, Erden tapped her leg, signaling that Oscar had gained Helen's support. Avril excused herself and entered a private bathroom, her heart racing through her chest as if it would burst out soon. The plan was in effect. She couldn't falter here. Alone in the bathroom, inside the coliseum where everything was said to be safe. There should be no better timing than now.

'Is she coming?' Avril washed her face at the basin, allowing the cold water to rinse off her faint sweat. She was startled by Gail's smiling figure and almost shouted before a blow to the chin closed her mouth. Cold handcuffs locked around her wrists and forced her Ein to withdraw.

"You?" Avril paled at the sight of the cuffs before a slight prick on her neck made her lose control of her body.

"Arinn told me you were pregnant, but my hand only felt a single pulse. I'll have plenty of questions to ask you later, but for now, let's go somewhere else." Gail lifted Avril off the ground.

Avril tried to force herself to stay awake, but whatever Gail had given her was too strong. Unable to resist, she closed her eyes and fell into darkness, her last thought about Oscar and Erden. She believed they would find her.

 

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