"…So, you met with the Evernight Goddess, and she decided to have the Church of Evernight fully support your transformation efforts and help Azik suppress the potential revival of Salinger within him?"
At the Numinous Episcopate's base, Medici, who had been handling affairs, paused upon hearing Alaric's brief recap of his evening's gains. His expression turned peculiar.
"Yep." Alaric nodded with a sly smile, looking at Medici meaningfully. "The Evernight Goddess is a clever one, after all."
The smarter someone was, the less likely they were to defy the tides of fate. Likewise, the smarter they were, the more they understood the importance of keeping Alaric placated.
A hotheaded deity might have tried to blow up the world instead.
"Tch!" Medici clicked his tongue, catching the gist of it. His expression grew complex as he glanced at Alaric. "Working for you means endless tasks!"
"Not my fault I'm too capable." Alaric said, spreading his hands with mock righteousness. He grinned at Medici. "Besides, having the whole world as allies is better than having them as enemies, right?"
"Tch, it's not like I haven't fought them before." Medici muttered, his feelings mixed.
In a way, Alaric was an exceptionally competent boss. He'd declared his intent for transformation, and while he dumped the work on Medici, he was the one who summoned the Sun God, secured allies like the Earth Mother, and played a key role in subduing the Numinous Episcopate.
One could say Alaric had single-handedly resolved half the obstacles to transforming this world.
The downside? Medici, his loyal worker, was swamped. He'd just finished organizing the vampires... those dimwitted subordinates... only to dive into reforming the Numinous Episcopate's members. And now, with that barely underway, the Church of Evernight was sending people over.
"I'll drop dead at my desk one day!" Medici growled, his teeth practically grinding. Even as the Red Angel, he'd never been this busy.
"The able bear the burden! If the transformation succeeds, you'll smoothly ascend to Red Priest, won't you?" Alaric quickly soothed his fuming tool... er, employee... before adding, "Besides, the Church of Evernight has Arianna as their point person. Just coordinate with her and let her handle the work. With the Evernight Goddess backing her, they won't dare disobey. And if they do… well, whether you're personally overseeing things won't matter much."
Medici shot Alaric a look, then scoffed. "Sounds like you don't trust Evernight."
"No surprise there. I don't fully trust the Sun God either!" Alaric said, spreading his hands candidly. "I like them... they're good people. But precisely because they're good, we can never fully trust each other."
He paused, glancing at Medici with a smile. "Red, do you fully trust me?"
Medici met his gaze, his ruby-red eyes sharpening for a moment. With a derisive chuckle, he said, "A mature person wouldn't so blatantly tear away that veil of pretense, little monster. You've still got a lot to learn in that department."
"I just don't get why humans insist on deceiving and guarding against each other while refusing to face it openly… Though, I suppose I can understand embarrassment." Alaric said with a laugh. He pulled an apple from somewhere and deftly began peeling it, his movements swift, producing a single unbroken strip of skin in mere seconds. Looking up at Medici, he asked, "So, do you trust me, Red?"
"If you truly felt embarrassment, you wouldn't keep asking." Medici said, glancing at him before casually extending a hand.
"What?" Alaric asked, puzzled.
Medici eyed the apple in his hand.
"You can't peel your own?" Alaric asked, genuinely confused.
"Need I remind you that apple came from the fruit bowl by my desk?" Medici retorted.
"Fine, fine!" Alaric grumbled, slicing the apple in half with a quick flick of his knife and tossing one half to Medici before taking a bite of his own.
Medici caught the half, munching on it with loud crunches. After finishing, he tossed the core into a trash bin and said, "I trust that unless someone backs you into a corner, you won't destroy this world again."
Alaric glanced at him, then smiled. He tossed his own apple core into the bin, wiped his hands with a tissue, and stood. "Alright, I'm off to share the good news with Azik. Catch you later!"
…
When Alaric found Azik, he was compiling a new Sacred Text, a crucial step in reshaping the image of the Artificial Death.
"…So, the Evernight Goddess will help me suppress Father's revival within me?" Azik's expression betrayed his shock. He clearly hadn't expected Lucifer to achieve such a result from a single meeting with the Evernight Goddess.
"Good news, right?" Alaric flashed a very Lucifer-like grin, then looked at Azik. "So, what are your plans for the Uniqueness?"
Azik fell silent. He hadn't considered this question before. Until today, in his mind, accommodating the Uniqueness was tantamount to suicide.
But now, the situation had changed.
What should he do? Remain a fragile but safe Death Consul, or embrace the Uniqueness and strive for that supreme position?
Azik had thought this would be a difficult choice, but when faced with it, he realized he'd already made up his mind long ago.
Closing his eyes, memories of his time as the Death Consul flashed through his mind. Back then, he had often questioned the authenticity of tales about the Night Emperor and others, wondering why, as fellow mythical creatures, they could possess bonds of family, friendship, and love.
The Death Consul of old believed it was their strength that allowed them such luxuries.
Now, Azik had those cherished emotions he once envied, but he understood a deeper truth: in this cruel world, without sufficient power, even those precious bonds could be lost.
Just as his soul, torn apart by the God of Death, had forced him into cycles of reincarnation... gaining, only to lose, time and again.
***
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