Alaric raised an eyebrow at Tolzna's words, eyeing the Chained God with a hint of mischief. "Quite sly, aren't you? Throwing the question back to me?" His tone carried a trace of mock displeasure.
"I meant no such thing." Tolzna hastened to explain, his voice still deferential. "This matter concerns you, Your Excellency, so naturally, only you can decide if I should answer."
Alaric looked at him, a smile tugging at his lips, and nodded. "Very well, I permit you to give her an answer."
"As you wish." Tolzna said, bowing his head. He then turned to Lady Sia. "His Excellency Lucifer is my savior. He cleansed me of the corruption afflicting me and shielded me from the persecution of the Mother Tree of Desire. It is only right that I serve him."
Though the corruption hasn't been fully purged yet… Tolzna added silently to himself. He knew the art of speaking well, choosing words that flattered without overstepping.
Lady Sia's eyes widened in shock. She had long wondered how Tolzna had broken free from the Mother Tree of Desire's control and corruption. Now, the answer was clear.
This also confirmed one thing for her... the man before her was no ordinary Sequence 2.
He was likely teasing her with that earlier claim.
It wasn't just that she doubted a Sequence 2 could purge an Outer Deity's corruption. It was Tolzna's demeanor. Angel-level beings rarely retained much humanity. Gratitude for a savior was expected, but this level of reverence? Unthinkable. From what she knew of Tolzna, he wasn't the type to act this way.
Then, a thought struck her. She recalled Lucifer's initial introduction.
He had said he was part of the "Joker Club."
The term didn't exist in this world, but its meaning was clear enough from the words alone.
With a wry smile, Lady Sia looked at Alaric. "I hope my reaction just now was entertaining enough for you, Your Excellency."
Alaric let out a chuckle, his voice tinged with amusement. "You're quite interesting! I like interesting people. I hope you'll keep being this interesting."
Lady Sia lowered her head, saying nothing. She was now certain he had been toying with her.
"No wonder this took so long to wrap up... you were busy teasing the poor girl!" a new voice cut in.
Lady Sia instinctively went on alert, looking toward the voice's source, only to freeze in surprise.
Who is this?
She didn't recognize Medici. To her, he was just one of the God of Death's less prominent descendants. The Red Angel had perished long before her rise to power, and she hadn't bothered to learn much about a fallen King of Angels beyond his reputation.
"Not quite teasing. I was merely stating facts." Alaric said, tilting his head to glance at Medici. After confirming the man bore no injuries, he added, "Looks like your mission went smoothly."
"Of course." Medici retorted, rolling his eyes. "The Royal Family Faction had no angels besides Sia, and you lent me the Conqueror's characteristics. What could've gone wrong?"
While Tolzna was subduing Sia and Azik was reclaiming Haiter, the Red Angel had been busy dealing with the rest of the Royal Family Faction.
"Just showing some concern." Alaric said, pausing for effect before smiling. "After all, accidents happen. Didn't you fail to anticipate being cooked in a hot pot when you went hunting Sauron and Einhorn back then?"
"Are you going to keep bringing up that old nonsense?" Medici gritted his teeth. Though he'd resolved to let go of his grudge with Adam, being cooked in a hot pot remained a stain on his pride, one he didn't appreciate being reminded of.
"I'll stop when you've truly moved on." Alaric replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, as the saying goes, old words work as long as they're useful."
"Tch! You should've been a Hunter. Maybe you'd be the Red Priest by tomorrow." Medici shot back, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"No thanks. I consider myself a sane person, not interested in diving into the madness of the Hunter and Demoness pathways or playing games with lunatics." Alaric said, shaking his head earnestly. "I'll leave that glorious task to you."
Medici's face darkened, his jaw clenching in frustration... not just at Alaric but at figures like Tudor and the Primordial Demoness.
He didn't believe the Hunter and Demoness pathways were inherently mad. He was perfectly normal, after all. It was those deranged individuals who'd tarnished the pathways' reputation.
Listening to their barbed exchange, Lady Sia began to piece together Medici's identity. Her knowledge of history was solid enough to make an educated guess.
This left her both surprised and puzzled. How did Azik, of all people, manage to rally such powerful allies?
It defied all mystical logic!
While Lady Sia grappled with her confusion, Alaric wrapped up his banter with Medici. His gaze returned to her, and after a moment's thought, he said, "You don't have to pledge loyalty to Azik, but I need you to assist him with certain tasks."
Lady Sia breathed a sigh of relief at the first part, only to hesitate at the second. After a brief internal struggle, she nodded. "Very well."
Alaric continued, his eyes fixed on her. "I won't offer you any reward... at least not until you've atoned for your sins. You must pay the price for your past actions."
Lady Sia's heart tightened, but she quickly relaxed. For her, survival was enough. She hadn't expected any rewards anyway. While she didn't fear death, who would choose it if they could live?
Then, a thought occurred to her. She hesitated before looking at Alaric and asking, "Your Excellency, if I must atone for my sins, what about Lord Azik? He… he committed grave sins in the past as well, didn't he?"
She admitted that under her leadership, the Numinous Episcopate had done many wrongs. But the Death Consul had been the God of Death's agent during the Pale Calamity!
"His sins were not of his own will." Alaric said, smiling faintly as he looked at her. "Besides, who said he isn't atoning? Why do you think he's reforming the Numinous Episcopate?"
It clicked for Lady Sia. She had wondered why this great existence was aiding the Death Consul. Now it made sense... Azik was being forced to atone as well!
Of course, she wasn't foolish. She could tell from Alaric's words that, atonement or not, Azik held a higher place in this man's regard.
Truly worthy of the Death Consul… Lady Sia felt a pang of dejection, yet it seemed only natural.
Among the God of Death's many heirs back then, none had ever outshone Azik. Even she had to admit his brilliance.
***
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that right now I'm working on a really good and promising fate fanfic. If you're interested in reading it, feel free to give it a try:
[Fate/Max Level Returner]
Synopsis:
What if you took your max-level account and replayed the entire story from the beginning?
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