Free Web NovelChapter 89: _Magnet For Danger
Back at the Aegis Council Chamber, Valentine effortlessly stole the attention of all gathered once he mentioned the bipedal beasts.
The council speaker uttered after a beat. "Well? What about them?"
Valentine took a good look at the hall, his head angled at Ambrose for only a split second. "Before the SS-Ranks bravely faced the Leviathan... Something was happening in Norfolk. To the bodies of the dead A-Rank beasts."
Ambrose arched a brow.
He remembered what he was talking about already. And from their expressions, Devon, Viktor and Alisha seemed to as well.
"Their bodies changed," Valentine sounded less solemn and more like he was explaining an exciting discovery. "Melted away into... strands of black liquid that flowed back into the Echo Rift."
Suddenly, he shoved a hand into his coat, making a few people stare cautiously. Most however were aware that if a man like Valentine actually wanted to do something to harm everyone present—
—He would have.
"Here," he pulled out a glass vial, gesturing for Gabriel to take it from him. Once the man collected it, he went on. "I’m surprised no one took samples. This phenomenon went on for a while before the SS-Ranks clashed with the Leviathan."
"Wait a minute..." Magnus glanced over his shoulder. "You mean to tell me you were in that harbour?"
Valentine shrugged. "Yes."
"And you didn’t see it fit to assist in taking down—"
"Guild Master Magnus," Council speaker Aileen faked a cough. "Please. You can sort things out with Mr Lockwood after the meeting." Her eyes slid to Gabriel. "Hunter Gabriel... if you would be so kind."
Gabriel didn’t need to be told what to do.
A flick of his wrist made the glass vial levitate until it was hovering above everyone. The cameras turned to it, zooming in and showing it on the screens.
Ambrose felt like something was crawling over his body as he gawked at what was within the vial. It was a black goo—actively twitching and taking the shape of the cylindrical vial.
Like it was trying to escape. To go back to its source.
"As you can see," Valentine gestured at the vial. "This black goo—the dissolved essence of a bipedal beast—is still ’alive’. Or perhaps it’s just residual consciousness. Whatever it is... It’s trying to go back into the Echo Rift."
He paused, making sure his words sank in. That was clearly the case as seen by the grim silence that now stretched through the chamber.
"The black essence sporadically helped the Rift grow," Valentine’s tone became more serious. "Helped it evolve. And it was during this evolution that the SS-Ranks fought the Leviathan—eventually leading to the emergence of the new entity."
Murmurs rippled through the hall, most still staring with awe at the glass vial. Eventually, Gabriel twisted his wrist again, recalling it back into his waiting fingers.
"So..." a woman with a West African accent spoke into her mic. "What you’re saying here is that, even if we bring down the Leviathan permanently... Its essence will still go back into the Rift and help with its evolution?"
Valentine snapped his fingers. "Precisely," then he added. "The Echo Rift itself is the recycling of the energy of a previous Rift through space-time. It’s being run by constantly reusing aether, each time getting stronger."
"That new entity? It’s only just the beginning if this theory is correct."
With that, he relaxed properly into his seat, watching how tense the hall became. The air itself seemed to hold its breath, eyes wandering and mouths parting speechlessly.
Even Ambrose was left stunned, using every ounce of willpower not to look back at Valentine.
Oh, he’s GOOD.
"What I’m hearing," a man started with a gruff voice, "is that the ’containment’ the US is doing now is basically useless. Sooner or later, those things will break out of it. And then we’ll have to fight them, probably losing a good chunk of our forces."
"And as if that isn’t enough," another man added. "If we manage to kill them, their essences will just go back into the Rift and get recycled into something more terrifying. Perhaps even more intelligent."
Quiet debates sprang through the chamber.
Aileen herself appeared troubled, not even attempting to disrupt the overlapping chattering. Indeed this was unlike anything the world has ever seen.
"I have a suggestion." Those words from Valentine snapped everyone’s attention straight to him. His expression was still calm.
Like someone playing chess while watching everyone else play checkers.
"There’s one obvious way we could gather enough information to permanently close this Rift," he made sure his words were loud and clear. "And that’s if our combined forces aren’t just focused on killing the beasts... but on travelling into the Rift itself."
The words created an uproar, as many around him gazed at him like he’d gone mad.
"Travelling into a Rift we don’t understand is suicidal." A man snapped.
"Haven’t you seen how the Rift sucks in things around it? What’s to say whatever goes in can come out?"
Despite all the voices against him, Valentine didn’t even flinch.
"People could come out if they venture in. And I know this because I sent one of my undead commanders in there before leaving."
Once again, he brought decorum with his words. And that was only the beginning.
"From the data it collected, the Echo Rift’s landscape has a higher concentration of aether energy than normal Rifts." He persisted. "And its landscape is ever changing—constantly evolving. I had to summon it back to me once the battle grew too intense, but..."
Ambrose blurted before he could stop himself. "... It’s proof that we can go in and go out."
Valentine shot the Guide a look, his lips curving slightly.
"Well," Aileen adjusted her glasses. "We’ll send forces to attack and contain the Leviathan and the new entity long enough for a second team to collect data from the Echo Rift?"
Valentine nodded, the curve of his lips widening. "And fortunately for us all... I’ve already thought of the perfect lineup for this double mission."
His eyes settled on Ambrose.
Although he didn’t say anything then, he knew there was something off with the way he faced an A-Rank beast and lived to tell the tale.
Yes, his timely intervention helped. But aside from that, he shouldn’t have survived that long.
So... perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to push him enough. Make him reveal his true colours.
Simultaneously, as these thoughts ran through Valentine’s head—Ambrose felt it again. That eerie feeling he got when he was being observed.
He shifted on his seat without looking back, fingers tightening.
Suddenly, he didn’t just feel like a magnet for danger. He felt like he was at the centre of it.
