Chapter 15: The lie
Shit! Everything was going so damn smoothly! With a grade 5 magic sword pointed at my neck, my brain had kicked into overdrive. I slowly built up suspicion against that group by lowering her vigilance against me and even led her all the way inside the vault. Heck, I broke into a vault that I already knew the password of! I underestimated how violent this woman was.
I mean think of it, isn't this where you are supposed to go "Oh no! this city is in danger, we must do something, kyaa~"??
"Huh? Why would I ever do that? I don't care about this city... Well, in your position, I would give a valid reason for my actions within the next 10 seconds."
Did I say that out loud?! Damn it!!!
She commented! She is putting up a tough act. Her tone made me think she wants to confirm if I care about this city.
What should I do now? My original plan was to give out my 'lie' after stopping those dimwitted anarchists and messing up this place's administration. But what to do now?!… First, I'll test the waters. "What if I tell you, this has got to do with the fate of the world?"
"Weird, I actually thought you were smart."
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! SHE PUSHED THE SWORD IN!! I could feel the heat of the tip of the burning sword slowly making its way through my skin while it pierced into my neck. "An organization working on a global scale set the anarchists wild. I am working against them." I said.
"Keep going."
She didn't stop. Slowly, very slowly, she kept pushing her sword in my neck, as if it were a countdown.
"Those guys will cause mayhem wherever they go! They are planning to upturn the entire world." Her pace quickened. This was not a mistake from my end, but more of a prelude to the main act.
"Your actions, Ivan. What are you planning and what does it have to do with me?" she whispered, her voice as cold as ice.
"I was initially against getting with you, but we kept crossing paths. I thought I should enlist your help, their aim... It will affect all of us... everyone..." I turned to look at her; the sword went even deeper into my neck. No blood flowed out since the heat of her magic melted the flesh around the wound and continually closed it shut before tearing it open again.
With the sincerest expression on my face, my gaze met her deadpan eyes, "They... are trying to eradicate magic..."
She could tell I wasn't lying. Her hand lost strength, and the sword pulled back. Her eyes wavered. She believed every word. Sensing my sincerity.
I stood up and closed in on her. "You should have felt it by now, right? I was a captive, a research experiment. A successful specimen. They achieved it with me; I have no magic in my body."
This was my lie.
A madman with the method and motivation to remove magic. That is what I am to this world.
I needed allies. The allies that will come to me to save the world, to save magic. Believing themselves to be the heroes of justice, will help me reach my goals.
And when they finally overcome all the difficulties that lay in their path.
I will stab them in the back.
Nea Alba, there might've been some hiccups here and there, but your reaction assures me you will become my possession. I will be your best friend, your greatest ally... and your worst enemy.
The sound of footsteps brought the shaking Nea back to her senses. It seems they noticed their guy didn't come back. He was probably here to confirm the goods and had people awaiting him outside. Adding some urgency into my voice, I spoke to Nea. "Can we please just leave now? I don't wanna risk fighting around all this gunpowder."
Nea glared at me, and without saying a word, wrapped us in dark magic. A grade 3 spell to hide in the dark. We crossed the people coming in and left the path.
**
Thanks to Nea's dark magic, we also avoided the dozens of cops that were going into the sewer hole. Can't say the same for the guys we left behind, though. This was one vault with a lot of explosives, but even if those dimwits don't get their hands on it, my plan won't be affected.
It was evening already, but the sky was still as dark as ever. We walked back to the hotel. After a long bout of silence, Nea turned to me.
"How are you here?"
"You mean how did I escape? The facility they kept me in blew up, I escaped then, been 9 years... I lived while committing minor crimes and investigating them. I only found out about their goals recently..."
Something feels off about how tempered she is with all this, but as long as it goes well, I don't mind it.
"To think it was an absence of magic... I never thought a person like that would exist..."
We reached the front of the hotel. I needed her to split up now, give her time to think, and get some things done. "It's best that we go back for now."
"I still don't trust you, but I highly doubt you are lying, or I would've known."
I nodded at her words.
"Tomorrow... Meet me on the first floor again tomorrow morning. You said you want to enlist my help, right? I'll decide on it then."
"I understand."
Nea turned around and walked back to the hotel. I stood out for a short while and then went in myself.
Sorry Nea, but you won't be getting any chance to give me an answer.
**
[Night. Hotel.
West. Kifestein]
A shadowy figure lept down from the 6th floor of the hotel.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone