A few minutes later, Daneel's feeling of pride and triumph from winning the fight before was wiped away by the reptilian's deadpan response which had been given after both of them once again sat down inside the cottage.
"We loved each other, then she went and [email protected]#@ing died."
Wow. So romantic.
Once again, Daneel's expectations had been dashed by this reptilian, and by now, he was starting to get very irritated.
Locking eyes with the man, Daneel said in a strong voice, "Look, you damn lizard. I am 'this' close from losing my sh#t and getting the hell out of your sect. I was going to leave before, but I won that damn fight by putting my life at risk! I respect the honor the bond formed between fighters and mages in battle. I won't let you sully it! Either you tell me your damn story, or that's it! Your Sect can rot in hell!"
By the end, Daneel was practically screaming.
Thankfully, the reptilian sighed in exasperation and said, "All right, fine! A promise is a promise. But I can't tell it myself. Wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Saying so, the reptilian got up and left before Daneel could say anything in reply.
What did he mean, he couldn't tell it himself?
Daneel was truly curious by now. So, he just waited.
Besides, this was what he had wanted. That fight had accomplished two things: 1, he now knew about the approximate power level of the top assassins in the sect, or at least that of those who were retired. The bottom line was, using his inheritance, he might be able to defend for a bit, but in a prolonged fight with no environmental variables like those flowers from before, he was toast.
2, the groundwork for building a bond with the reptilian had been laid.
Time was of the essence. Daneel knew that while the seconds ticked by with him spending time in the Sect, the Axelorians must be planning and moving closer and closer to the Hidden Kill Sect to conquer them.
Thankfully, the reptilian didn't take too long.
A few minutes later, he returned with a slim human who seemed to be chewing on something in his mouth.
This man was wearing casual clothes, and if Daneel didn't know better, he would have assumed that this was just common passerby on the road.
"So you're the one that beat Jaggrv? Impressive! I guess the Sect Leader didn't choose wrongly. We have high hopes on you, and I really hope you fulfill them."
"That depends on whether the promise I was made is kept.", answered Daneel, with an impatient expression on his face.
Conjuring a bare chair out of mid-air, the man sat down and asked, "Why are you so interested, anyway?"
[Warrior level complexity magic detected.]
What the hell?
Hearing the notification, Daneel was truly surprised.
Another Warrior level mage? And he was definitely an assassin too!
At this point, he just couldn't understand how Axelor hoped to conquer the Hidden Kill Sect in the first place if they had so many Warrior level assassins.
Also, these two looked perfectly healthy. Why had they retired?
Holding many questions like these in his head, Daneel first rejoiced that he now had the opportunity to talk to two top assassins instead of one before saying, "I don't need to explain to you. I'm someone who follows my heart. I was interested in the flowers and this lizard's story, so I risked my life for it. Now, cough up."
Chuckling, the slim man replied, "Please don't say 'lizard' elsewhere on the Mountain. Us older folk have gotten used to such comments, but the younger ones might end up attacking. Not that they will do any harm to you, but we prefer that our younglings stay alive. Anyway, let me introduce myself. I'm Stefan, a friend, and peer of Jaggrv's. He doesn't like to talk about his grief, so let me. But first, let me say that I was very surprised to hear that you managed to dodge his attacks for that long. I can't wait to hear you cough up your end of the bargain. Jaggrv, go water some plants."
Saying so, Stefan watched as the reptilian got up and left the college.
While he was doing so, Daneel noticed the emotion of extreme sadness that was reflected in his eyes.
As he heard Stefan talking, he focused his attention back on him.
"As you are someone from the Big 4, you must have heard of their member called the 'Eternal Bloom'?"
Of course, Daneel had no choice but to nod, even though he was hearing the name for the first time.
"Then I don't need to explain much! You must know more about them than I do. All I know is that they are the most mysterious organization in all the Big 4, and that even their location is a mystery to those who are not cleared to know such information. I have no idea why they remain closed off to the world, but it is said that they entertain no visitors. If someone is selected by them to enter, they don't leave until they reach a certain level. Pssh, why am I telling all this to you? Anyway, all this started when my friend here got a contract to kill someone inside the Eternal Blossom Sect."
Stefan was clearly someone talkative, and Daneel really felt glad about that, as he had just obtained knowledge about another member of the Big 4.
Goddess's Sanctum and Eternal Blossom.
2 down, 2 to go, he thought, while Stefan continued.
"It was one of the strangest contracts we ever received, as we normally never deal with the Big 4 except in rare cases. The Sect Leader was going to say no, but it turned out that the one who gave the contract had offered something that the Sect dearly wanted. I don't know what it was, and neither do I know the identity of the person who gave the contract. These records were sealed, and this topic is only talked about in hushed tones inside this sect unless someone wants to attract the ire of the Sect Leader."
It was here that Stefan paused and sighed with sadness, before looking out at his friend who was carefully tending for the plants outside.
With another sigh, he continued.
"Then, Jaggrv was the most talented assassin in the Sect. He had just broken through to become an Exalted Human, and the contract stated that this level was perfect as the Eternal Blossom Sect had just started a round of screening for individuals below that level to take up the post of acting as sparring partners. They promised to deliver endless resources and techniques in return, so it was a dream for any Exalted Human who was stuck. Jaggrv made the decision to go in a heartbeat, although it was quite clear that there was a possibility that he might never return. The contractor had designed a plan and an exit route, but no one knew if they were reliable. Besides, it was also written that it might take years to complete the assignment. I told him he had a bright future ahead. I told him not to go. But he did. And everything changed."
Saying this, Stefan stood up and walked to the window that was there on one side of the cottage.
"He was gone for 5 years. 5. When he came back, he had become the youngest Warrior out Sect had ever seen. But there was a problem. He reported that the mission had failed. And he told the Sect that he couldn't go into the details due to oaths he had sworn there."
Here, Stefan turned around and looked straight into Daneel's eyes before continuing.
"I know the story, though. He succeeded in the assassination. But he did not want to admit it. His mission was to kill her. And he ended up doing that-by loving her."
Hearing this, Daneel's eyes opened wide.
"Yes, he fell in love with his target. But this love ended up killing her, as it was forbidden. It was ironic. All he wanted to do was save her, and he would have done that if he hadn't entered her life. Yet, he ended up fulfilling his mission. It destroyed him, and sent him into such a rage that he recklessly took many, many contracts after coming back. These flowers, all of them, are the only things that remain of her. He still trains with the hope of going back and taking revenge, but he knows it isn't possible. So, that's his story. Now, what's yours?"
Daneel was deep in thought by the end of the narration.
He couldn't imagine how much love this reptilian must have had for that woman to still remember and pine for her by taking care of these flowers even though decades had passed.
Love like that was…rare.
Precious.
And it had to be admired.
Looking up at Stefan, Daneel made a decision.
No matter what, he needed these two on his side. If he managed that, he would only need one more vote to win when the time came for the bylaw to be invoked.
So, he prepared to gamble.
"Call your friend in."
As Daneel said this, Stefan nodded and went out to call Jaggrv.
After both of them sat down, Daneel took a deep breath and said something that made both of them look at him with shock and disbelief.
"I went through your 'crash course', and I learned something from it. I used it to win. Now, you two need to tell me what it is."