“HAIL GREED! HAIL GREED! HAIL GREED!” The crowd began shouting as almost all of their eyes shines with a blue radiance.
Alex was beside Silas, and from the looks of it, he was beginning to panic.
“Alex…” Silas shook him, but he didn’t respond.
This time, his eyes began to flicker blue before returning to normal.
‘Shit… Staying here is probably increase the strength of the echantment. It’s probably easier if I let him fall for it. He would be safer that way…’ Silas thought before shaking his head with a look of confusion.
‘Since when did I care about other people’s saftey?’ Silas thought before looking at Alex again and sighing.
‘Well, I guess I’ve always had a soft spot for kids.’ Silas chuckled, however, his mind quickly threw him back to how he had abandoned Syra without a second thought.
‘Or maybe I don’t… I don’t have time for this emotional bullshit that normal people do. I need to think… And I need to rely on my instincts too…’ Silas shook his head again and looked at Alex.
‘My instincts tell me that he’s going to be very useful to me in the future, but for now, it’s probably for the best if his mind gets taken over… And maybe it’s for the best if I act like mine had been taken over too.’ Silas thought before shouting holding his head between his arms and convulsing with pain.
His eyes were still green, however, they were much brighter than before and were pulsing with mana the same way the others were.
If this was anything like a zombie movie, he had to act like them to blend in with them, otherwise, he would most likely be attacked. Of course, zombie movies weren’t really the most reliable genre he could have used, but it was the best one the best he could do for now.
“Hail Greed.” Silas looked into Alex’s eyes with a blank expression before controlling the pressure he exuded around him, as well as his mana fluctuations and the speed of his breathing.
The people around him did everything together. They breathed at the same rate. They spoke in unison. Hell, even their hearts were beating at the same rate as one another.
“N-No… Not you too.” Alex took a few steps back before and bumped into one of the others, causing him to quickly fall to his knees.
And when he did so, his eyes flickered again.
‘He’s very strong.’ Silas thought before turning around and shouting “Hail Greed” as loudly as he could. However, he made sure to keep an eye on Alex the entire time.
And after a few seconds, Alex finally broke calmed down and stood up again, his breathing in sync with everyone around him.
“Hail Greed.” He muttered and turned toward the platform.
***
“What have you done…” Archie looked at the crowd with a stare filled with a shred of despair. It was terrifying. The scene was terrifying. Everything that was happening was beyond terrifying.
And worst of all, there was one person among the crowd that he had kept an eye on, continuously praying that they wouldn’t fall for the essence too…
But right before his eyes, Silas fell to it.
He fell just like the rest.
His mask was telling him so.
His breathing had changed.
His heart rate too.
There were even pulses of mana coming out of his eye now, synchronized with the rest.
“How could you do this?” Archie looked at Life.
“She-.”
“I TRUSTED YOU! YOU KNEW WHAT WAS ON THE LINE!” Archie roared while grabbing Life by her collars and lifting her off the floor.
“Please… Arlem… Please understand-” Life tried to reach for Archie’s face, however, he quickly pushed her away, causing her to almost fall off the platform if not for Death grabbing her at the last second.
“Don’t… DON’T CALL ME BY THAT NAME…” He took a few steps back, his breathing heavy and filled with utmost rage.
“I trusted all of you…” Arlem gritted his teeth and pointed at all of them…
However, he quickly turned around and pointed at someone else.
He pointed at Greed.
“I trusted you too…” He muttered.
“Poor little Arlem. Sad that momma Greed ruined his plans?” Greed giggled like a little girl. However, her smile was ever-extending. As if she was feeding off Archie’s despair.
“You don’t get to call me that…” Archie took a step back, but he quickly felt a dagger placed over his heart, as well as a black sword that looked like it had teleported to his neck.
“Arlem… Please, don’t make this harder than it has to be…” Life spoke with a quiver in her voice before pointing her staff at his back.
Both Eclipse and Death kicked the back of Archie’s legs, causing him to fall to his knees.
Everything seemed to have happened in a little over a second, yet Archie didn’t do anything…
“We were a family…” Archie muttered again, his voice filled with dread as his mask was quickly ripped away from his face.
However, at that moment, Greed saw mana fluctuating out of him and spreading in every direction, but before he could do anything, she placed the tip of her rapier at his neck before letting out a devilish smile.
“Yet, just like the royals and their family, we betray each other for the greater good…” She spoke before leaning forward and whispering into his ear.
“The same way you let our commander die for the greater good of this organization.” She stepped back and let those words seep into his mind.
“I would suggest you don’t do anything rash… You might be strong, hell, you might be the strongest one of us…
But not even you can take on 4 generals and the entire city all by yourself.” She chuckled maniacally.
“I won’t have t-“
“And before you go on to trying to kill me, let me remind you that I am keeping the entire city hostage.”
Her eyes glowed with a certain golden radiance.
“With a snap of my fingers, I could make every person in this city a vegetable, and you wouldn’t even have enough time to react to it.”
——————
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