Chapter 946: The Show In Question

Kyyle caught Noah pretty quickly.

That really wasn’t all that much of a surprise. Noah hadn’t been running nearly as fast as he could have been. It wasn’t like he’d actually wanted to escape the Apostles in the first place. Doing that would have just defeated the whole point.

“Stop!” Kyyle snarled, grabbing onto Noah’s arm and dragging him to a halt. “Damn it, just wait for one second before you go sprinting away. What do you think you’re doing?”

“I thought I made that pretty clear already,” Noah said. He pulled his arm free from Kyyle’s grip and turned toward the man as confused chatter swelled in the darkness all around them. “I would spell it out even further for you, but we don’t want the wrong kind of attention.”

“I — honestly, I can’t believe you’re one of them. It doesn’t feel right,” Kyyle said tersely. He almost sounded put out, like a child who had discovered that his favorite trading card was actually incredibly common. “I mean, your clothes…”

“I’m not,” Noah said. “Relax. Do I look like a deluded idiot to you? Or was I breathing through my mouth? Do you really think that any of the Truthseekers would have the taste to dress like this?”

Thank God Moxie isn’t here to hear this. I don’t know if I’d ever live down being a diva about how I dress..

Kyyle paused for a moment. Then confusion entered his tone. “What?”

“I’m a hired hand,” Noah said through a sigh. “I had a run in with Og a while back. We don’t agree on most things, but I’ve never been one to turn down a good deal. He offered one. And, all of a sudden, I suddenly found myself finding him very convincing.”

“You’re a mercenary?” Kyyle asked, though the disbelief and disappointment in his voice had faded considerably. Even though it was evident the Apostles were working with the Truthseekers… it didn’t look like there was any lost blood between them.

Then again, Noah had figured as much when he’d fried Og right in front of the Apostles, who had done nothing at all to stop it.

Kyyle was on the edge. Noah could tell that the Apostle had nearly bought into his story. The man was 80% there, but there was still doubt left. And Noah couldn’t afford that. If Kyyle paused to actually think about this for too long before he could be convinced that Noah was, indeed, with the Truthseekers, there was too great a chance that the Apostles realized he was full of shit. He wasn’t going to get a second shot at this.

“Yes,” Noah said. “I’d say I’d offer you my calling card, but you’ll have to wait a little longer to see it. I don’t tend to leave physical ones lying around.”

There was a moment of silence. The other two Apostles said nothing, simply watching from behind Kyyle. It was pretty clear which of the three was in charge of this particular operation.

Then Kyyle let out a small curse.

“The rumors. That’s what you’re talking about,” he said, realization dawning over his tone. “The Star Dragons. Ending old legends. I heard people saying that was you. I wasn’t paying the rumors much mind, but it seems there was more credence to them than I thought. That… does line up. It’s the kind of thing that definitely would have drawn them.”

Noah paused for a moment. Then he nodded. “Right. That’s it. Which is why I’m sure you can understand that I don’t enjoy my process being interrupted. Are you joining in or not?”

“No,” Kyyle said sharply. “It’s too early. I don’t care what you were told. You’re not one of those fools, so you can use your head for half a second. We can’t make our move yet. I don’t know what it is you’re thinking, but I can assure you that Vivian is nowhere near as distracted as you suspect. You will die, and we will not interfere to save you.”

“Is that so?” Noah asked. He hesitated for another second, as if in thought. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Kyyle said. “All you’re going to do is expose all of us. Think. If you make any manner of scene while Vivian is anywhere near Aqua Terra and not occupied with someone at least as powerful as she is, then the best result for you is an impressive death. And that is almost certainly what Og wants. Worse, you will inconvenience us. Whatever you’ve started — stop it.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on NovelPhoenix. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I don’t know if I can go back to Og with zero results,” Noah said. He shrugged. “I have a great deal of faith in my abilities. This would not be the first time I’ve slipped Rank 8s. I have evaded Vivian’s pet shadow more than once.”

He could practically hear Kyyle grind his teeth in the dark.

“Vivian is a different story. She is pulled in many directions because of the tournament. But I can assure you, try something now, and her wrath will fall on your shoulders. You will not escape. Not while you reside within Aqua Terra. Besides, what could you possibly accomplish now? None of the pieces are in place.”

“Are you so sure that he’s doing anything at all?” Crone asked from behind Kyyle. “All he’s done is cut the lights. We could just kill him now and put an end to the whole thing. Og will never know. He’ll just think his plan failed.”

“You could do that,” Noah said with a nod. “Well, you could try. But killing me won’t stop what I’ve started. What exactly is it that your plan is? Because Og hasn’t told me much at all. I imagine I could handle him so long as I have a way to prove that this is the better method.”

“We don’t need your help,” Kyyle said tersely.”

“Nor do I need yours,” Noah said. “The thing is, you’re asking me to back out of my payday. And I’m not doing that. I will be getting my reward. Either by helping you, or by doing it myself. Your choice. You might want to go fast, though. We’re running out of time.”

“Forget it,” Crone growled. “Just be rid of him. What could one lone mercenary possibly manage to pull off? It’s not worth the hassle.”

“No,” Kyyle muttered. “This one has connections. He’s accomplished significant feats before. Og wouldn’t have given him this much leverage for no reason. And he’s not alone. We can use him. But it’s too damn early. Fine.”

Noah blinked. “What?”

“I said, fine,” Kyyle growled. “Call whatever you’re doing off. Pull your forces back. I know you’ve got reinforcements. I’m no fool, and it’s quite clear you aren’t either. And I can assure you… the only path this leads to is death and failure. Join in with us. We will ensure that your goals with Og are met.”

Huh. He actually bought that quickly? Jesus, maybe all that shit people said about how the way you dress influenced how others saw you was actually true.

I really wasn’t expecting them to fold this easily.

Whoopsie.

“Well,” Noah said, drawing the word out for a moment. Then he shrugged. “If you’re certain. It’s all the same to me.”

“Then you can call it off?” Kyyle asked, relaxing slightly.

Noah cleared his throat. “That depends. How long has it been since the lights went out?”

“Maybe a minute?” Kyyle said. “Why do—”

A deafening explosion rocked the darkness.

Flames tore into the air to coil high toward the ceiling looming far overhead. Waves of heat and pressure slammed into all of them, making their clothes whip and snap in the air.

Noah raised a hand before his face, squinting up at the huge pillar of fire that had engulfed a very large portion of the room. It was certainly quite impressive. Maria had held her end of the deal up. It was too bad the whole thing had been entirely unnecessary, but such was occasionally the price for farming aura.

In his defense, he’d really thought he’d need a bit more to convince the Apostles.

“Fuck!” Crone snarled. “What did you do?”

“Opening ceremony,” Noah replied. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “But the good news is that I can call it off. That was just the first act.”

“Then fucking do that!” Kyyle snarled. “Now!”

Noah looked off — he wasn’t actually sure where Maria was at this point, as aside from the fire that was still coiling into the air, the whole room was dark. But he figured she was somewhere close. Then he hurriedly pulled his hand across his throat whilst shaking his head.

The flames died down. They faded, pulling in on themselves, then sputtered out. A second past. Then the lights in the room sparked back to life. The darkness evaporated as color returned to the world in its proper capacity. All of the conversation that had already been filling the air doubled into a dull roar.

A few moments later, the scent of burnt bread, meat, and about a dozen other aspects of what had once been carefully-crafted dishes drifted to reach Noah’s nostrils. The only thing remaining of the dozen or so banquet tables that had been in the area was nothing but charred ash.

Noah and the Apostles stared at it for a long second. Then the Apostles’ gazes slowly drifted back to him.

“What, exactly, was your plan?” Kyyle asked in a low, sharp tone.

“There were about five hundred more of those ready.” Noah coughed into his fist. “They were connected.”

“Fucking madman,” Crone muttered. “What the hell do you think that would have accomplished?”

“What do you think? A big boom,” Noah replied angrily. “But now I need to change routes. Thanks to you idiots, I might add. You owe me for this next part especially.”

Hey, might as well get a two for one out of this, right? Can’t un-explode the tables.

“For what?” Kyyle asked. “It’s done!”

“Hardly,” Noah growled, starting toward the smoldering remains of the banquet tables. “We made a move. Now I need to put on a show. And I need you the hell out of my way. I’ll find you after the party. Then we’ll talk.”

“What? How will you find us after the party?” Kyyle asked, aghast. “And is stepping even further into the spotlight really…”

But Noah wasn’t listening. The rest of the Apostle’s protest was lost behind him. He was already halfway to the remains of the banquet tables, his violin materializing in his hands as a grin crossed his lips.

There was only a single thing he’d told Kyyle tonight that wasn’t a load of bullshit.

It was time to put on a show.