Bro, I’m not an Undead!

A low breeze escaped from the man’s mouth. It brushed against his mask as he finally raised his head from its initial hanging position while remaining seated on the chair.

His hazel eyes focused, gazing at the man with slicked back hair opposite him, hiding his expectant emotion behind a cold exterior while his fierce yellow eyes demanding the results.

Fulina and two others had been standing beside Actuass throughout the entire endeavor, in case their new allies decided to change their minds and make a move on the man they respected and revered.

Thankfully, it hadn’t come to that.

Fulina knew full well how desperate the Evenfall were for their victory, so much so that collaborating with the Green Neolists wasn’t a problem for them.

It was unlikely that they would be backstabbing them… at least before they had been granted what they wanted.

This wasn’t a collaboration based on the power of friendship after all.

Seeing that Actuass had woken up from his dive, Fulina finally relaxed.

The charismatic and dependable air of Actuass was so comforting to every member of the Green Neolists, that they felt like he was the only true Deity in Aigas.

“It’s done. My vessel is on the way with the Champion as we agreed,” Actuass said. “Though I must say, I’m not very appreciative of the fact that you left out some details about this particular Champion that could have jeopardised the operation.”

The man with black hair narrowed his eyes and scoffed.

“I left nothing out. The Paladin Champions are like every other living creature. They evolve. They get stronger. It’s not strange for them to gain new abilities over time. Is it?” the man asked.

“Is that so…?” Actuass said in a low tone, locking his arms while his long robes were illuminated by the light in a mysterious gradient of black and orange.

“I would wager that this is enough goodwill for us to work with, is it not? This will undoubtedly rattle the Purity far more than the last incident. You’ll be seeing more of these… ‘heroes’ and we’ll cull a few more.”

“That was the objective from the start.”

“Indeed it was,” said Actuass. ” By the way, I’ve been hearing of a new development that you have been orchestrating. Is it to keep the Royal fools on their toes? I doubt they can pin it on you though.”

“Well, you could put it that way. We need sufficient cover for what happens next. I don’t plan on holding off the ritual until we have pile of Champion corpses. Proceeding with this one before the others arrive is not a problem. As an experiment, it might serve us well.”

“Also, depending on whether or not the Royal family declines or accepts the Sif’s proposal, we might just have just gained an additional distraction,” the black hair man said a hint of pride in his voice. “What of your plans? You spoke of a grand endeavour that you had enacted with all your members across the nation a few days ago?”

A soft hmph, was heard from the confines of Actuass’ green and white mask.

Fulina and the other two by Actuass’ side visibly shuddered when they were reminded of this.

“All in good time,” said Actuass.

***

The striding of three horses lifted up the dust and bore heavily on the ground which was used to it this at this point.

This was evidenced by the somewhat thick, bald trail leading through knee-high grass that pointed to the mountains and lakes beyond.

There were barely any trees to be seen around, only bushes and shrubs that seemed to thirst for the burning light of the old golden fat man in the sky being seen, swaying as if to express their joy.

For such a hot region, momentary breezes with such a cooling effect were not that uncommon as they were the reason non-locals could stomach making long journeys through this brutal place.

This did not stop a certain Discount Human from constantly drinking from the many water skins he had brought to alleviate the heat though.

He remained glued to Stylla as they rode, the redhead not bearing much of a reaction to it, much to the other two’s surprise, as sometimes it seemed like she was being fondled in broad daylight.

The journey had been quite a long one, but after a few more minutes, a tall crack in space emerged in the four’s vision, standing in the thick of tall grasses.

This Cluster was akin to a crooked diagonal slash on the fabric of reality, a white hue oozing from it with a bright luminance that made everyone squint their eyes from time to time.

The four disembarked from their horses and stood before it, getting washed by the ominous yet refreshing air that the Cluster spewed.

“You know, I’m a bit doubtful that you’ve never entered a Cluster, Festos,” Stylla suddenly said while gazing at the Cluster before them.

“Well I just haven’t. I like to be prepared before getting into dangerous situations,” Skullius responded.

“Really? If that’s the case, then can I convince you to take down at least one of the conditions you asked?”

“Nope.”

“You really don’t want us to help you in any way, shape or form in the Cluster? Even if you’re about to die.”

“Yes.”

“Sir Mage, if I may…” one of the other party members said. He was a thin man with sunken blue eyes and curly black hair that settled in bangs over his forehead. “If we agree to that and you actually die, we’d be in big trouble! We’ll be known as the fools that failed to protect a Mage!”

“He’s right,” said the other man. He was much shorter, with broad arms and a thick body that held toned muscles. Rough amber hair made into a crew cut was seeded on his head, with large green eyes making their presence known on his face.

“What’s the point of a party if we can’t help each other when in danger?”

Stylla turned to Skullius with a ‘they make great points’ look on her face, her arms crossed on her chest.

“Look. I am very capable of protecting myself so you don’t have to worry. It’s only a white Cluster anyway. What could possibl-, we’ll be fine,” Skullius said.

Naturally, no one was convinced at all, except Stylla who had been given more than enough reassurance by her uncle in terms of Skullius’ abilities.

At least when dealing with the current threat.

“I can’t work with you if don’t agree to this. I might as well leave if that’s the case.”

“When you can’t ride a horse?” pointed out Stylla with a smirk.

“… I can walk…”

Stylla sighed in exasperation.

What was this? Pride? She had met a few Mages in her life and while they were some really proud and entitled bastards among them, they didn’t claim to not want any help in a Cluster.

“Fine, then. We won’t lend a hand. No need to get all fussy about it. I also have no problem with letting you deal with the Cluster General and taking its dead core. As long as no one else has a problem with it.”

The other two shrugged as they didn’t have a problem with conceding the dead core. But fighting a Cluster General alone though, especially when you only had a white core. That was just…

“Alright. Let’s head in then,” Stylla said as she went into the Cluster first, the others following.

Skullius could finally sigh in relief. His conditions were noted and accepted.

Now it was time to kill.