15. Nirvana [1]
Let's take it back a bit to the conversation that led him to this place:
"Hello. I must be on with Blank." A female voice echoed in his head.
"I have something to tell you about Berry."
Berry?
'What exactly about Berry?' he asked skeptically.
"Have you ever heard of the Nuxeon cult before?" she asked.
'How exactly does this person know about the Nuxeons? Furthermore, she keeps answering my questions with questions. This is really suspicious. I can't let my guard down, since I don't even know how she was able to find me and communicate with me telepathically.'
'More or less, why are you asking?'
"I wanted to be sure if you have any affiliation with them or not," she replied calmly.
I don't, do you?'
"No, no. I don't do cults." She paused.
"There's a lot for us to discuss. This war will soon take a drastic turn for the worst, and only those who are well prepared will survive it," she exclaimed abruptly. "But before I tell you anything else, you have to come to a secret location—just you, without any summons or backup."
'This seems like a trap. I have a lot to gain from this meeting, so what will she gain?'
'This is already looking like a trap. I gain information, and what will you gain from this?'
"I need a deadly ally. As far as I know, you might be more dangerous than Berry." She paused. "And now you are tracking my current location without giving out even a hint of bloodlust."
'She's smart. I'll give her that. An ally? Either way, she doesn't seem to be lying.'
'Ok, I accept your offer.'
"Good! Go to neutral zone: S3. I'll pick you up from there. Just make a scissors sign with your fingers so I know it's you."
Her voice vanished.
'She would have given me a map if she could pinpoint my actual location. It looks like there are some limitations to her ability. I can't even find her location—I was just going in circles.'
He found Aria and Duran.
['I have something important to attend to... so I'm leaving the domain in your hands.']
"Ok. Where are you heading to exactly?" Duran asked skeptically.
"Yeah, I can't help but wonder what's more important than the incoming war," Aria added.
'It's on a need-to-know basis. I'm trusting you will handle it properly.'
He vanished into blue flames.
Upon getting to the entrance of the neutral zone, he felt someone—or something—staring intensely at him.
'It's probably the lady that contacted me.'
He looked toward the signboard and saw a girl with dark blue hair wearing sunglasses and a face cap.
The moment their eyes met, she instinctively dodged behind the signboard.
'Weird.'
He made the scissors sign with his fingers.
"Blank-dono," she said softly, waving from behind the signboard.
"Lady Nirvana. Keep your voice down. The other summoners might hear you," a well-put-together lady in a casual outfit exclaimed boldly.
He walked toward them.
'So who's the master and the summon here?'
"hckkk... scary," Nirvana exclaimed as she hid behind the lady.
"I am Beta, Lady Nirvana's summon. Please, let's move to a more confidential location—there are too many eyes here," Beta said.
They soon left the neutral zone.
'I didn't expect you to bring a summon along when you strictly told me to come alone. This had better not be a trap.'
His spirit energy flared.
"Thing is, Blank-dono..." she interlocked her fingers unsurely. "I have a bit of trouble speaking with strangers, so Beta is here to support me. Emotionally, that is." She exclaimed lightly. "I promise this isn't a setup."
Beta bent her head.
"Please forgive my lady's incompetence."
'No, no. There's no problem at all. I just wanted to be sure.'
'This girl is bad news. I can already feel she is close to my level in combat prowess, and her summon feels similar to a god. But one thing I'm sure of is that they are not lying. She could prove to be a useful ally.'
"Now that that's all settled," Beta took a deep breath, "let's head to the secret location."
She snapped her fingers, and a portal burst forth.
"Lord Blank, please head in first. If it was a trap, I'm sure it won't be able to contain you."
'Sure.'
He stepped into the portal.
A white polished room appeared, with golden marbles on the ceiling, designed like a royal chamber.
They arrived immediately after him.
"Blank-dono, please have a seat."
Nirvana directed him toward a seat close to a round table.
'What's this? Merlin and the round table of knights.'
"Are you going to keep staring? Let's begin, shall we?" Her voice echoed faintly.
'Carry on.'
Nirvana took a seat.
The air around her became more serious.
"The Nuxeons contacted me immediately after the leaderboard was published. I was about to leave the neutral zone when I came across it."
Her expression darkened.
"Not a summon. Not a human. If anything, it didn't feel alive—it felt hollow. Beneath the bone-like mask, it felt like I was staring into oblivion itself."
She paused.
"It stretched forth its hand and asked me to join the Nuxeon cult... I refused, of course. But it told me that this war will soon be painted in red, and that only summoners who are affiliates with them will be spared from 'The Reckoning'."
'So you mean to say they are recruiting summoners?'
"Most likely. And they are going after the powerhouses," Beta replied.
"That's why I asked if you were affiliated with them. I chose to contact you first because among the top 5 you are the only one that no one knows anything about. Ranks 4 and 5 were out of the question—they are only concerned about taking my ranking spot."
She paused.
"That brings me to Berry. The only summoner I'm a hundred percent sure is affiliated with the Nuxeons."
Her tone darkened.
"He is a mad man who plans to use this war for a grand summoning ritual."