That is likely not far off the mark, Viraa said, more at ease.
I randomly remembered that I could use All-Sight to keep an eye on him. I'd be able to see what he does in the dark. Thinking of the klevonians from earlier, I used All-Sight to see Procrustes and instantly regretted it. I couldn't even describe all the things I saw – the atrocities he was doing to those klevonians.... It was a dark room. I couldn't see everything, but I saw the blood-stained floors and walls. The torture devices. The severed limbs and disfigured bodies.
I suddenly sped to the nearest window and vomited, surprising everyone.
Za'Fia rushed over and asked what was wrong while Avarice stayed calm but alert.
I shared the memory of what I'd just witnessed with them, causing Za'Fia's expression to turn grim.
"Well then. That's a bit medieval. That Procrustes fella has quite the imagination..." he said, sounding morbidly impressed.
"Procrustes? What do you all know about him?" Pierce watched us closely.
When I turned around and met his eye, I knew that he could see that I knew where he was and what he was doing. He calmly looked at Za'Fia and Avarice and saw that they knew too.
"Piercy-boy, her eyes do not match her spirit energy," the witch pointed out.
When Pierce noticed my red-pink eyes, his eyes narrowed.
"Those eyes..." his eyes glowed purple with mechanical circuiting as he activated his biolenses, then grumbled, "All-Sight. That power...what is it?"
I turned to face him, wiping my mouth with my sleeve, and my red-pink eyes bore onto him.
"Let's just say you shouldn't have let me meet you...," I grinned.
Lisa, wait a sec... Za'Fia started to say, but it was too late.
"...Now I can see what you're up to at any time. No matter where you are. Just like I saw what you're having Procrustes do right now."
Peirce went still and frowned silently. His sinister aura resurfaced as he glared at me with controlled anger.
The room suddenly grew colder as the witch stated, "Nosy children ought to be punished."
But Pierce raised a hand and spoke without changing his expression.
"Don't engage, Beara. Too many people are likely keeping an eye on her movements right now." He stood so that he could look down at me. "So I presume this means you won't be accepting my offer of an alliance."
"No, I won't be," I stated flatly, which visibly irritated him.
"Hm. Not that I'm doing anything...illegal, but like everyone else, I prefer my private life to remain just that. Your ability to watch us poses a problem."
"Now that she can watch you and your guards, you'll have to remove yourselves from your operations. Entrust someone else to oversee them even," Avarice summed up. "Quite the inconvenience."
"I'm not sure what you're referring to," Pierce stated coyly.
"I have the memory of what Procrustes has done. I could share it with Raina. Then the Spiritan Commanders could start investigating you," I said, fully intending to do so once I saw her again. I wished I'd have thought to establish a connection with her beforehand.
"Why would they concern themselves with such matters?" Pierce asked with a fake quizzical expression. "As far as they're concerned, several klevonians invaded my domain, my subordinates apprehended them, and they were punished according to my laws."
He is correct, Lisa. That information does not incriminate him at all. He has the right to kill those who threaten the lives within his domain. Attempting to assassinate a Crest Head is, after all, a grave offence.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"But I will say this," Pierce continued, "if you're not going to be an ally, then I will consider you my enemy."
"Fine by me. You'll slip up someday, and I'll see it and put a stop to whatever it is you're doing here."
Pierce's eyebrow twitched slightly, but he slightly nodded to the witch.
"They're leaving," he stated.
As we left the room, Pierce called out to me. I didn't stop moving as we headed out the door.
"For someone so weak and...perishable, you really shouldn't go around making enemies. A klevonian's life can be such a fleeting existence," his voice echoed with a fading chuckle.
After we were in the sky, Avarice was the first to speak.
"I'm impressed; seems you've made a formidable enemy."
"He'll probably try to assassinate you, Lisa," Za'Fia said as he curly hair flowed wildly behind her. "Or send someone to do it. The Gargoyle Crest isn't exactly our enemies, but they aren't fond of us either. They might become a problem."
"Perhaps, but Crete seems to like his privacy and not draw too much attention by accepting particular contracts," Avarice inputted. "The new Crest Head has too many eyes on her, so I doubt he'll involve himself with any threats on Alissia's life. Pierce, however, puts much effort into hiding his dealings and has his sights on her because he now knows that she can spy on him."
Avarice was positioned to my left and looked over at me.
"He'll want you taken care of sooner than later, but will have to wait until everyone is no longer watching you. He'll wait for the perfect opportunity and adapt as he tries to gain new information about you. Someone like him will likely want to learn your weaknesses and use them against you. But first, he may let some time pass so that you become paranoid. In the meantime, he'll keep from being directly involved in anything you could use against him."
"You really shouldn't have let him know you can watch him. Would've been easy to catch him then," Za'Fia told me.
"Yeah, I see that now. I wasn't thinking. How'd someone like that become Crest Head anyhow?" I asked rhetorically.
As you know, being good or likable is not a prerequisite to becoming Crest Head, Viraa said lightheartedly. The previous Crest Head of the Aqrabuamelu Crest was sentenced to expungement after orchestrating an assassination attempt on me. They wanted to weaken me so they could transport me to Soulstrom. It is the only place in the Astral System besides the sun that would immediately destroy even a pneumarian. Pierce took over as Crest Head after his predecessor was punished. Many of the crest members left afterwards, believing that Pierce framed his predecessor to obtain his position.
"And now he wants me out of the way too...," I sighed, frustrated with myself for not keeping my mouth shut. "Well, I have my team who I trust. Whatever he decides to do, whenever he decides to, we'll be ready for him."
"Considering how bad any of us fared against one pneumarian, how are we supposed to deal with an entire crest, even with the whole crew?" Za'Fia asked, admittedly being more realistic than I was.
"I don't know yet..."
"Your future as Crest Head grows more and more intriguing," Avarice satirically stated as we neared the next biome.
"Glad you find it amusing," I grumbled. "You'll be helping me when he comes. Consider it your parole."
"We shall see..." Avarice remarked ominously.
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