Chapter 182: Decision

’What the hell is this... How did things become like this...’

Larkson, who always seemed serious, fidgeted with his fingers under the table between him and the kid with blood-red eyes.

It had already been a few minutes, and none of them spoke a word.

Awkward silence filled the atmosphere, as only the sound of the cool evening breeze and occasional flickering of the candle flames on the desk could be heard.

He did not dare make a sound as the child in front of him could even incapacitate a powerful demonic worshipper.

Larkson only watched as the boy in front of him took occasional sips of grape juice from his wine glass.

At this moment, Regis finally finished his drink as he slowly placed it on the table.

He then leaned back in a relaxed manner, putting his leg over the other.

’That’s enough acting cool, I guess...’

If Larkson knew what he was thinking, he would have been livid.

Still, there was a reason why Regis maintained this mysterious image of his.

’As I thought, there’s nothing.’

He thought as his blood-red irises wandered over Larkson.

The reason why Regis was so sure that the commander did not have any ill intentions was that he could not sense any darkness from within his heart.

’I didn’t expect to use my new evil craft so suddenly like this...’

One of the effects of Sinful Arbiter of Darkness: [You will instantly sense the darkness one had in their heart]

Another reason was that Regis did not sense any demonic energy or signs of corruption with his Corruption Manipulation.

After all, demonic humans would normally have corruption energy within their minds.

At this moment, Regis finished thinking as he spoke.

"To think that you and Aurelia would have the same mannerisms whenever you’re nervous and stressed..."

"What?" Larkson inwardly felt relieved, ’Thank goodness he said something. That silence was killing me.’

Regis looked him in the eye, "I meant the way you fidget with your fingers under the table, it makes me wonder just how close the two of you were in the past."

"Are you with those demonic worshippe—"

"No."

"How can I trust yo—"

"And I also know that you’re planning on going back on your deal."

The sharp words of the child before him made Larkson’s pupils constrict, "What do you mean..."

"The way you interacted with Aurelia." Regis changed his posture, leaning forward with both of his elbows on his thighs.

Before Larkson could protest, he continued, "You know how you treated Aurelia since that incident, but instead of treating her the way you used to, you acted warm with her. You also deliberately spoke about things that shouldn’t be made public yet."

"This can only mean that you’re obviously hinting at something, because of things you could not say due to being let’s say... under surveillance."

"Oh, and don’t worry, I also put the guards outside your door to sleep."

Hearing his words, surprise flickered across Larkson’s face before it softened into relief, "This will be easy then. I wonder where my niece found such a peculiar friend..."

"...can you do me a favor and escape immediately with your group?" Firmness could be seen in his eyes.

Regis was a little surprised, "Eh? You’re trusting me that much already?"

"Normally, I wouldn’t have trusted you no matter what you say, but..." Larkson’s face was filled with melancholy as he rubbed the golden pendant of his necklace.

"...that incident... it hurt her the same way it hurt me. So, the fact that my niece told you about that only means that she fully trusts you."

Larkson looked straight at Regis, "This fortress is already riddled with demonic worshippers. I don’t know exactly what they’re planning, but it has something to do with the Duskmire Grove and Drakaroth Heights."

"So, Commander, what are your plans?"

"I don’t really have much to do in this world anymore. I just did my best to serve the kingdom that I love..."

Larkson rose from his seat and walked to the window behind his desk, where the beautiful moon shone through the glass.

"Now, bringing this fortress down with me will be my final contribution to the Acheron Kingdom. After that, I can finally be with my wife and daughter..."

"You’re really dramatic, you know?"

"W-What!?"

Larkson was flabbergasted, ’I didn’t say all that just to receive that kind of reply!’

"That necklace..." Regis walked towards him, "Can I see it?"

"Why? Well, just make sure to return it..."

Regis chuckled at his words, "You know what, you seem like a fun uncle. I could see why Aurelia misses you."

Gazing at the golden part of the pendant and the corruption energy within, he smiled inwardly, ’It’s just as I thought.’

"S-She does?" Oblivious to Regis’s thoughts, a smile crept up on Larkson’s face which melted his stoic expression.

"Hmmm, it’s just as I thought..."

"What do you mean?"

"Can I ask you first why you treated Aurelia that way after she turned your family to gold?"

"She must really trust you, huh?" Larkson smiled before responding, "Well, I’m ashamed to admit this, but I felt angry at her."

"I blamed her for doing that to my family."

"Even when I knew that it was an accident— that she didn’t mean it, I hated her."

"And so, I ignored her."

"When I came to terms with my feelings, it was already too late. My niece and brother had already suffered..."

Larkson had faint regret in his eyes, "I wasn’t there for her and Aurum when they needed support the most."

"Now, I don’t have the guts to face them anymore. This is the last thing I can do for them..."

Regis did not comment on his story and only nodded, "You can choose, Commander. You can either go with your original plan or ask me for help."

"What difference would it make?" Larkson raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"It’s simple, your plan will kill you and mine won’t."

"I already said earlier, I just want to be with my—"

Regis did not let him finish as he returned the necklace to him.

Larkson took it from the boy’s hand.

He was about to continue speaking, but felt a weird feeling as he observed the necklace, "Wait, something’s not right... What did you do?"

The necklace was the same as before, it consisted of a thin black chain and a pendant.

However, the piece of gold that was inside the pendant before was now replaced by a thin piece of fabric.

"This..." Larkson looked at the fabric, his eyes filled with indescribable shock.

Regis smiled, "Let me guess, that piece of gold was from the statue of your family, right?"

"Yes..."

"I assume that you still haven’t destroyed or damaged the statue, right?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Then, I think I can help you."

Larkson’s gaze turned distant, his mouth opening slightly, yet no words came out.

"I-I want to see them... even if i-it’s just their corpse."

Regis thought for a moment, "I think there’s a high chance that they’re still alive."

"H-How can you be so sure about that?"

"I experienced it myself."

At his words, Larkson’s eyes widened, "What?"

"Your beloved niece once turned me to gold as well, but enough about that."

Regis started walking towards the door, "I’ll inform my party about our conversation and will visit you with them in a few minutes. We need to act fast if we want to kill all the humans in the fortress, after all."

"Oh, and by the way..." With his hand on the door knob, he gesture to the unconscious hooded figure on the ground, "You can kill him if you like. I saw just how much you hated him, so consider this a little gift of sincerity."

"That’s all, bye." Regis’s words echoed around the office as he closed the door behind him.

At this moment, Larkson still could not react to the sudden turn of events.

The information that he had heard was too much for him.

"Haha..."

He slumped down in his chair as boisterous laughter soon filled the room.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

It continued for a minute before subsiding as Larkson stared at the moon outside the window.

His black eyes were filled with various emotions.

Nervousness. Shock. Longing. Excitement.

And most importantly...

Life.

***

A few minutes earlier, while Regis and Larkson were conversing...

Killian, Pandora, and Aurelia all sat together at the table.

"Why is he taking so long?" Aurelia asked out loud with a worried expression.

Pandora didn’t respond and only kept looking out the window.

On the other hand, Killian spoke while reading one of the books from the bookshelf, "Don’t worry, he’s the last person you’ll have to worry about..."

The three of them all had their combat gear on.

They did not dare to slack off and remained alert in the case of a sudden attack.

A few minutes of silence passed by.

It was then that Killian slowly placed down his book while Pandora took her staff that was leaning on the wall nearby.

Aurelia noticed her friends’ actions, "What’s happening?"

Killian slowly stood up, unsheathing his longsword in the process, "We have some visitors."