NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33 (Debts Repaid) Part Two
Trying to suppress his scowl at the mention of his granddaughter, Elric slightly gripped his fingers, knowing he had to maintain himself, at least for this moment. His face showed only a dull smile. It was hard to conduct this talk with a straight face, but he owed it to that girl. After all, he nearly killed her over his own misunderstanding. The least he could do at this point was endure this much besides this was just the beginning.
[Elric] “Your... kind thoughts are greatly appreciated, but unneeded. Though it seems you were already planning on doing so, as I found one of your people snooping around her shop. I can only thank you for the foresight of the younger generation.”
Sighing, the Roaring Flame Guild leader didn’t continue down his previous line of poking, instead returning to the original deal. He produced a card coated in inscriptions and writing, encrusted with gold and a small mana stone in the center, which was inlaid with a spell. He spoke up, moving past the previous topic completely.
“Well, of course, we’re old friends, aren’t we? Now, back to what you were saying—payment, yes? For the weapons, I assume you’ve already been paid, but here, as a tip for your, and for another request I have for you. However, the nature of the request is confidential, so you’ll need to accept before I can tell you more about it.”
Elric couldn’t fully suppress his surprise, but he already had a good idea of what this was about. And well, he supposed it was a little dishonest, but since he was going through so much trouble as to ruin his relationship with the Roaring Flame Guild just for that black-haired girl, he might as well make it work for his plans anyway.
Raising his hand, he didn’t allow the man to speak any more. Instead, he moved his hand toward the table, allowing the staff he had sto— ahem, reclaimed from Iris, to clatter onto the exquisite boardroom table. The staff rolled along the finish carving deep scratches into its surface, but before it could do any more damage, the staff was grabbed by a clenched fist.
The man in front of him wore a large scowl across his once-arrogant face, now glaring at Elric as if trying to burn through him with his gaze. Of course, Elric knew why this reaction had happened, he knew this better than anyone that giving this weapon, in this place, like this, right after the death of the one who was supposed to own it, could only mean one thing, he was sending a message, that he had killed him, a message he had to send to protect his granddaughter. which is why he simply turned his back and began to walk away. He wanted to send a message: not to mess with those he cherished. If they knew who had actually killed his cousin, they’d certainly seek vengeance. But if it was Elric, who killed him, would they really be able to justify attacking the black haired girl? Or would they try to attack his granddaughter as a way to get back at him, no Elric knew the man in front of him, even if he wasn’t a good man, the one thing he had was pride. Something his cousin lacked.
Feeling the heat intensified as the man processed what had happened.
[ Roaring Flame Guild ] “You bastard you think just because you have the NWA’s so backing you can do whatever you want? I’ll rip that grin off your face unless you tell me this is a bad joke?”
Flames burned around his fist as smoke filled the room sending the building's alarms blaring into action a second later water began to pour down from the ceiling but it did nothing to put out the rage fueled by desperate anger.
Elric half-wondered if it was really worth going this far for the black-haired girl, but he didn’t care to entertain those thoughts as he spoke. Sighing a woman in a maid dress appeared from the air behind him. Her arm stretched out a white energy preventing the flames and smoke from coming any closer the masked head bent down whispering next to his ear
“Maker, he’s gotten stronger, we might be able to win, but I'll probably be broken from the fight, also I’ll have no way to limit my attacks so as too not damage the building, unless you’re fine with endangering the lives of those outside”
The old man stroked his chin, whispering back “Ah, we haven’t gotten that far yet, I can always put you back together again besides..” his words trailed off before he authoritatively shouted at the flaming man
[Elrich ]“I know what you were going to say, and I don’t want to hear it. You’re after the old highway system, aren’t you? You joined in along with the mid-ranking guilds to scavenge the coming war? You wanted to invite me to your little legion of vultures? Well just consider this a tip of my own, me returning that weapon I wasted making for that thug, so stop this, do you really want to fight me here?! Do you really think I didn’t expect you to fight me here!” A furious cry met his words
[ Roaring Flame Guild ] “You’re bluffing! You bastard”
A flaming fist sailed through the air sending shock waves through the air as it smashed the barrier, but rather than the fire spreading out again the flames focused on a single point. Slamming into the doll's hand with a crash losing its momentum in the process.
The old man walked between the two still locked in a stalemate. he took the money laid out on the table. He spoke softly like the chaos going on had no effect on him.
[Elric]“I told you, this is the end of our deal, keep your dogs on a short leash around the highway system, if not, I won’t stop at just this”
He walked out of the room, the doll shutting the door neatly behind him. Golden strings wrapped around her and began to fix her maid uniform, the Flame Emperor’s heat still boiling behind the door. As they walked, they could hear a heavy sound followed by a low mutter of curses which slipped away. his broad smile turned to exhaustion. Several well-armed men watched him walk out of the lobby, accompanied by the striking doll. They seemed frozen at the sight of her, before the sound of the fire alarms blaring in the leader's room shocked them out of their daze. The group quickly ran toward the office. Once glanced back seeming to want to detain Elric for a moment before joining the rest of his group. perhaps he even would have if Elric was anyone else. As Elric finally exited the building he took a deep breath. The cool night air filled his lungs, easing the tension in his body only slightly. Behind him, Sophia unclenched her fist revealing a long fracture that ran down her arm, which was slowly healing. She gave a small bow, before she began to blur into nothingness. With a sigh, he watched her leave speaking more to himself than anything.
[Elric] “ This is all I can do for you girl, though you won’t know. I hope it makes up for my arrogance, ha .”
Looking at his phone, he sighed once more. This world was really going to crap, wasn’t it? With that, the car pulled back onto the road, speeding away towards the military checkpoint around the old highway system. . . . .
“Impulsive as always aren’t you Elric, you really went so far. . .”
Watching the car speed of through the blurred image of a crystal ball, the strange women smoke, under her robes, her smiled thinly concealed
“Well. . I should really pay that coffee shop a visit”