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nKairos looked down at the five people that had walked up. He couldn’t recognize most of them, but he knew for sure that one of them was Edward, beyond a shadow of a doubt They had simply been together for too long. Though they haven’t seen each other face to face for quite a while, it was like an instinctive feeling.

nHis eyes narrowed as he looked down, not sure what to say.

nEdward also looked up, and just stared back at him silently.

nNeither of them had any expression on their face, making it seem as though the two of them had just met for the first time.

nKairos also noticed something strange. The mana around them was acting strangely. In roughly a one hundred meter radius, the mana was unnaturally chaotic, seemingly vibrating and zipping about strangely.

nThis was the first time he had seen something like this before and didn’t know what it meant. Even when Tiana was controlling mana, she couldn’t do it like this. It seemed like she could only vaguely influence mana that was directly connected to her.

nKairos focused on where this distortion seemed to be coming from and noticed it seemed to originate from Edward. Though, not directly at his center. There seemed to be waves that rippled out from his pocket.

nHe guessed that he was carrying onto something that would distort the flow of mana.

nTiana called out to the people below.

n“And what exactly are all of you doing here?”

nEdward spoke up.

n“We are the leaders of the town behind the scout team from earlier.”

nTiana raised an eyebrow when she heard that.

n“Ah, came for revenge, now did you?”

nEdward slowly shook his head.

n“No, nothing like that. They overstepped their boundaries while scouting, and were naturally killed. It’s not their fault.”

nTiana blinked a few times.

n“Then why the hell are you here? Just to give an apology?”

nEdward cleared his throat.

n“That’s part of it. We were thinking that it may be possible to have an alliance with one another.”

nTiana narrowed her eyes.

n“And why the hell should I accept an offer from a pathetic bunch like you?”

nThe expressions of the other four distorted, but Edward responded without a change in tone.

n“Because we have something to offer as a sign of sincerity.”

nHe pulled something out of his pocket, the same one that Kairos had been suspecting earlier. Within, was a pitch-black opaque stone. Just from looking at it, the stone didn’t exactly look all that impressive. If anything, it just looked like something a kid would pick up by a beach.

nEdward spoke slowly.

n“This stone can distort mana, making it so that people within about one hundred meters radius will be unable to cast spells.”

nTiana blinked a few times. Her expression softened slightly, but it didn’t seem to be a pleasant one.

n“…Oh really?”

nEdward nodded.

n“I can toss it up there and you can check to see if it works.”

nTiana’s expression twitched.

n“…Well what if it’s a bomb?”

nEdward stared blankly back.

n“Then maybe I should set it somewhere else, and you can get someone to confirm its effects?”

nTiana narrowed her eyes.

n“It seems you have this all thought out. Seems a little fishy to me.”

nEdward didn’t respond for a few moments.

n“Then what do you suggest?”

nTiana narrowed her eyes.

n“Hm… I don’t see why we should even agree to this alliance in the first place. You haven’t given any terms.”

nEdward blinked a few times.

n“I suppose the main thing is the proposition of trade, where we can agree on exchanging different items. On top of that, we can decide to support one another if one place is attacked. As for how you decide to support or if you support at all is up to you. Other than that, we can negotiate for other deals depending on the situation that comes up.”

nTiana raised an eyebrow.

n“So you’re just telling me to trust you?”

nEdward shook his head.

n“Trust is something that must be gradually built up. Right now, we are strangers, but I’m hoping to become allies soon enough.”

nTiana bit the bottom of her lip. She was having difficulty saying that she was against this proposition. The alliance itself wasn’t something she cared about all that much, but from what Edward had said about the stone, it seemed like it would interrupt her own ability that connected her to the others.

nAs for Kairos, he wasn’t all that enthusiastic about making an alliance, but the black stone was nearly an irresistible temptation for him. After all, he knew that its effects were probably real just from looking at how it distorted mana around it.

nThat meant it would be able to stop whatever control Tiana had over him, and if he could get more of them, then he could give it to his other party members.

nBut despite everything, he kept quiet.

nPerhaps if the person down there wasn’t Edward, he would’ve already spoken up and began negotiating. But when he looked at him, all words seemed to escape him.

nTiana slowly turned to him.

n“…What’s your stance on this? Do you want to accept it?”

nKairos did not respond. Instead, he continued to stare at Edward. Tiana seemed a little frustrated with his lack of a response.

n“I will assume that your silence just means no if you don’t say anything right now.”

nKairos blinked a few times.

n“If I had to say, then I would want to accept this alliance.”

nTiana looked at him straight on.

n“…Why?”

nKairos did not look at her.

n“I don’t really care about the alliance between people, but I want that stone.”

nTiana stared at him blankly.

n“Why do you want it?”

nKairos hardly moved.

n“I think you know why already.”

nTiana fell silent for quite a while. After a few moments, she slowly turned to Edward. From the look on her face, it was fairly clear she was hesitating. But eventually, she let out a defeated sigh.

n“…I agre-”

n“Wait.”

nKairos raised his hand, cutting her off. Tiana looked at him strangely, but let him speak.

n“Edward. I’m sure you know who I am, right?”

nTwo of the people in Edward’s group were Collin and Nola. Their expressions both distorted slightly when they heard that. As for the other two, they both seemed rather confused. From the looks of things, they weren’t filled in on the fact Edward knew Kairos, or why they were really making this alliance in the first place.

nEdward looked up at Kairos with a passive expression.

n“Yeah, Kairos.”

nAfter that, there was a moment of silence. Collin and Nola both looked uncomfortable, while the other two of their group were discreetly whispering to each other, wondering if there was some sort of antagonistic relationship between Kairos and Edward.

nKairos eventually sighed.

n“I almost thought you would never respond to me again, even now.”

nEdward smiled bitterly.

n“Honestly, I thought the same thing.”

nThere was another awkward silence, as everyone else in the group was wondering what exactly the relationship between the two of them was.

nKairos tilted his head to the side ever so slightly.

n“It seems like you decided to make this alliance because you knew I was on it, or is that just my ego speaking?”

nEdward shrugged his shoulders.

n“You’re right on the mark… like always.”

nKairos blinked a few times.

n“You really want to become my ally? Are you sure about that?”

nEdward stared at him blankly.

n“I can’t really tell, to be honest. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have avoided you for so long.”

nKairos gave a small nod.

n“That makes sense. How about this then, I will let you decide whether or not we become allied. I want to hear from your mouth only, whether or not you want this.”

nNola and Collin both began whispering, but before they could say anything, Kairos shouted rather loudly.

n“I don’t want any interference. I just want to hear his genuine opinion.”

nEdward took a deep breath.

n“I assume I’m not allowed to defer this decision to someone else?”

nKairos spoke flatly.

n“I just want to hear it from you. That’s it. Can’t you do just that much, Edward?”

nEdward looked up to him with a bitter smile.

n“Alright, Kairos. I would like to…”

nKairos’ head suddenly darted to the side, and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

n“Nicole?”

nThere was a figure of mana that appeared next to him, but no body to support it. That immediately made him think of Nicole. However, there was no response as the figure suddenly leaped off the wall, heading towards Edward.

nEdward furrowed his brows.

n“What are you-”

nHe cut himself off once he saw that Nicole had suddenly formed in the air. She was casting the invisibility spell, but the black rock ended up disrupting her spell, causing her to reveal herself. Her eyes were widened all the way, while she had an axe pulled back. With the way she was looking at Edward, it was as though nothing else existed.

nBut not in a good way.

nBoth Collin and Kara immediately stepped up, bringing out weapons to try and stop her. However, Edward simply remained in place.

nBoth Collin and Kara launched their attacks, and Nicole didn’t even try to block them. Her body was about to be sliced in half.

nBut then, their weapons passed through, almost like she was a complete mirage. Both Collin and Nola were dumbfounded as they stumbled forth. They turned around to look at Nicole in confusion.

nNicole made no sound as she hit the ground, and swung her axe towards Edward’s neck.

nKairos frowned and shouted loudly.

n“Nicole!”

nNicole froze in place, with her axe just a few centimeters away from his neck.

nEdward hadn’t moved the entire time and just spoke casually.

n“Hello, Nicole.”

nNicole stared back with furious eyes that seemed to be filled with flames.

n“…Edward.”

nKairos let out a sigh.

n“Stop, Nicole. Get back up here.”

nYet, to his surprise, Nicole remained rooted on the spot. Collin frowned when he saw this.

n“Hey! Don’t think we can’t kill you! Every ability has its limitations!”

nNicole didn’t respond. Her head tilted to the side slowly, almost like it was a door that hadn’t been oiled properly.

n“You remember what I told you, didn’t I?”

nEdward slowly nodded.

n“As though it was just yesterday.”

nNola furrowed her brows.

n“If you dare touch him, you’ll regret it!”

nNicole ignored her completely, instead continuing to press.

n“Then you remember what I said, right? Yet you dare show your face here again.”

nEdward blinked a few times.

n“Yes. Yes, I did.”

nNicole slowly lowered the axe, which made everyone else feel less tense, but Kairos frowned instead.

n“Stop it, Nicole!”

nWithout responding, Nicole’s free hand suddenly shot towards Edward’s neck. She grasped on tightly and began lifting him up. Edward’s head tilted to the side from the excessive force, and the veins that suddenly appeared showed that the hold on his neck was far from light. Despite the fact blood began dripping down from his neck as the skin had torn apart, Edward did not fight back. He did not even lift up either of his hands.

nCollin and Nola both cried out. They tried to attack Nicole, but every attack passed straight through her.

nCollin cried out in frustration.

n“What the hell is this ability?”

nThe other two people in the group tried to help as well, but were unable to do anything more.

nNola had a look of despair on her face.

n“Edward!”

nKairos crouched down before leaping off the roof.

nHe slammed down on the ground with a crash, cracking the pavement. From there, he rushed to the opposite side of Edward so that Nicole could see him.

n“Please, stop.”

nNicole could not hear him as of now, but she was able to tell what he was saying just from the movement of his lips, despite not being a good lip reader.

nShe bit the bottom of her lip.

n