"Everywhere but the Eastern District."
As soon as Zach uttered these words, and it settled on Marcus's ears, time came to a stop.
It came with a foreboding feeling of danger that only Marcus could discern.
[Edge Of Death: Threat identified! Agard has been chosen as a breeding ground for summoning beings from another dimension. It consists of a series of complex Laws born from Devilish Formation Arrays, with negative emotions as its fuel, such as anger, hatred, wickedness, hunger, and death. It follows a form to build a connection.
Under these Devilish Formation Arrays, every life afflicted greatly by the suffering would suffice to be sacrificial tokens used to summon several Devilish Mantic Mutants.
The advent of this would mean the destruction of Agard, subsequently, your demise.
Here are your options:
*. Cooperate with Ulha Academy students and work together to eliminate this threat. Recognition and rewards from the Royal Council will be allocated in proportion to contributions.
*. Cooperate with Ulha Academy students, but only with the condition that their families get involved. Bringing forces from the Imperial Army and Duchies. Rewards and recognitions will be allocated in proportion to contributions.
*. Provide minimal assistance while you secretly attempt to resolve this yourself.
*. Refuse their help and ask them not to cause a scene in your territory.
*. Men are dogs, and dogs are keen. Tail the dog while it chases after this scent for its master. The scent is of trouble, but do so at your own risk. For the master and his dogs are hunters.
*. Pack your things and abandon Agard.
You have 99 seconds to decide.]
Marcus began reading this information presented to him by the edge of death.
As he read, his heart thumped harder with fear and partly from realization.
Could this be the reason why my territory deteriorated over the years?
He wondered.
And how couldn't he? The way his territory degraded was too fast, as if its string of prosperity was being pulled on by someone.
This wasn't just a result of greedy, and corrupt nobles.
If Agard's suffering was truly orchestrated by a cult, then that would explain why some things were the way they were.
For example, how the people of Agard have been discriminated against and alienated by the residents of other states.
How negative rumors about them had spread far and wide, to the point where they were treated less than slaves where they went to in Ulha.
Though it sounded way too grand… too much of an effort to be carried out by a cult.
But cultists are far more diligent and resilient than most.
Despite its ridiculousness, Marcus leaned towards this idea.
This must have been done to force them back to Agard. So that the negative energy needed to fuel the devilish formation arrays wouldn't run out, right?
His eyes scanned that section of the information again.
Yes, they were all sacrificial tokens to be used as offerings, inviting devilish mutants. To be sacrificed usually means death.
How strong is a Mantic Devilish Mutant, how does it compare to a Delirious?
Marcus had no idea. Either, this was still a powerful mutant that he didn't want to make the mistake of underestimating.
Even better, he didn't want to see it.
Moving on to his options.
At first glance, the first and second options were the same thing.
To Marcus, apart from verbal admission or conditional agreement, these students will most likely seek assistance from their backers.
An activity of this scale is not something that they can complete on their own. Even he didn't want to face this alone.
No, they might not know how deep this goes. All they know about is the Devilish Intent. Arrogance is bound to overcome some intellects and that could cause me failure.
Marcus's eyes fell on Eddy for a second, before returning to his options.
Because of Eddy, Marcus quickly eliminated the first option.
It carried more uncertainties when compared to the second.
But he hasn't made his decision yet.
The third option is minimal assistance. Which could mean that he allows them to carry out their duty with his permission, but refuses to provide support.
In other words, his only contribution would be his permission. But that would only be on the surface.
He would have to secretly solve this problem on his own.
Does it have to be a secret, what would happen if I got exposed?
No idea…
The only way to find out was for him to choose an option.
As for the fourth option, Marcus quickly disregarded it.
Not permitting them would only cause more friction politically.
This was an assignment given to them by the Royal Council, even if he refused them, they would still carry on as though he didn't matter.
What power did he have to truly stop them?
The option was just as redundant as the sixth, so he dismissed the two of them.
As for the fifth option, Marcus was confused.
Utterly confused.
The words were staged like a riddle that made sense, however, their meanings and implications eluded him.
Who or what was the do, and the master?
None of it made sense to him.
But because this was the first of its kind he'd seen on the edge of death's options, he didn't want to dismiss it completely, at the same time, it wasn't a good enough reason to choose it.
If I have to choose, my most logical options are two and three.
Marcus sighed, taking advantage of the last few seconds to weigh between the two.
I have two redos… but I don't want to make the mistake and die twice. That will put me in a dire spot. The more I think about it, two is the most reasonable.
In the end, that was the choice he made.
Time suddenly resumed.
The students were all looking at Marcus to discern his reactions and stance.
Brown and Joshua were already nervous. They also didn't think that the cult's reach had dug this deep.
However, all they saw him do was frown deeper. His fingers had also stopped drumming the arm of the chair.
"If you already have this much information and suspicions, then you must have started thinking of solutions, right?" Marcus finally said.
"Yes, we came to meet you today, hoping that you can give us your full support," Zach replied.
"I would be a villain if I didn't give my support. This is my territory to govern after all"
Zach's smile widened when he heard this.
"However, I feel that the scale of this is bigger than just me and you guys. If you want my support, then it will be a conditional one."
Their smiles froze.
"Please, let us know the condition."
"Everyone participating in this test would have to request assistance from their backers. We need more men, more ground. To be honest, I also have an idea of what these cultists are doing. If you want my sincerity, this is what I ask of you." Marcus revealed.