ROTLE- Chapter 235- The Question Nobody Asks (Patreon)

Aiden did his best to shove the thought away from his mind as he ran forward, discarding the idea of using the knife once more. With the weaving of speed cursing through him, it would only be a matter of time before he caught up to Rometo.

As for Valdan and Ted, they were still far enough away.

Aiden ran, catching up to Rometo, and ignoring the urge to look back and see a [Life Eater] in combat with a chimera that could talk and hold a conversation.

Eventually, he caught up to Rometo. Rometo spared him only a moment’s glance before they finally turned the corner. Aiden could see the questions on the man’s face and found himself wondering which one he would ask.

I cut the arm off a chimera, Aiden thought, hoping to God that how he had done it would be the question. After all, it would not be possible if he was not aware of mana flow and did not have experience training his intent to server mana flows.

When they turned the new corner, Aiden’s hand moved and Dull Grey came up with it. He deactivated the effect of [Elemental Ring] so that the flames guttered out just before his blade clashed with Valdan’s, bringing them to a stop.

“No, no,” Aiden refused as Valdan’s eyes widened in surprise and Ted’s face took on a look of relief. “Keep running! Keep running!”

He moved past Valdan, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling. Rometo did the same with Ted.

“[Life Eater],” Ted said hurriedly as they ran. “It followed us.”

“We saw it,” Aiden answered, taking the next turn. “Lead us to the others.”

Ted nodded but Valdan was the one who pulled ahead, dragging Aiden along. As they ran, Aiden’s mind focused on new information. If he was to believe the chimera, and he was finding that he did, dimensional mana granted the user the ability to move through worlds. To access other worlds somehow.

Was it truly the only way to go back? Was there no other option than the path of [Demon King]?

“Spot!” Rometo called out suddenly, lagging behind with Ted.

Aiden opened his mouth. “Ahe—”

The word died on his lips and he looked back. Rometo was watching him, a deep look in his eyes. The man was as much a descendant of a [Demon King] as he was a member of the Order. And right now, a member of the Order was looking at him.

Aiden knew the question Rometo had to ask. It was written in the man’s eyes.

How did he know one of the Order’s team codes?

They didn’t run that much longer before finally coming to a stop. For the entirety of the run, Aiden had kept his senses and awareness tucked into himself. It was not the most common, but when someone was strong enough, they could sense the reaches of someone else’s awareness. The last thing Aiden wanted was the chimera tracking them through his awareness.

They came to a stop after finally turning one more corner. Aiden found himself panting when he did, hand resting on the wall, thoughts filling his head.

There was silence, a silence filled by only the sound of his panting. Rometo kept a curious eye on him. Ted and Valdan looked confused.

“We didn’t run that much,” Ted pointed out. “Why are you breathing so hard?”

“Fear,” Aiden answered easily, not ashamed to be afraid.

Ted raised a brow at that, still confused.

Rometo was kind enough to answer. “We ran into a weapon from your world. It seems to have terrified your brother.”

Ted looked from him to Ted. “What did they hit you with? A flame thrower?”

“Is a flame thrower what I think it is?” Rometo asked.

“A handgun,” Aiden answered, not answering Rometo’s question.

Ted gave him an incredulous look. “You ran from a handgun?”

“We,” Rometo interrupted, “ran from a handgun. And what’s a flame thrower? Something that throws flames… somehow?”

“Spits or projects,” Ted corrected before returning his attention to Aiden. “What type was it? A desert eagle? I can understand running away from that one.”

Aiden shot him an annoyed look. “When have you ever known me to know anything about guns?”

“Fair point,” Ted conceded with a shrug. “But I heard more than a handgun.”

“Yea,” Aiden nodded, tired. “It’s not the handgun we ran from.”

Ted’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not.” Aiden stood up to his full height and sucked in one last gulp of air then let it out. “We ran from a machine gun.”

“I got hit by the handgun,” Rometo said. “Your brother was of the opinion that I wouldn’t want to get hit by the machine gun.”

“Did the handgun hurt?” Ted asked.

Rometo nodded. “Yes, but it didn’t break the skin. Also took a percent off my health stats.”

Aiden’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait what?”

“One percent.” Ted let out a low whistle, but he was quiet about it. “Then you definitely didn’t want to get hit by the machine gun. It fires too many bullets in a second.”

Aiden’s mind was still reeling from Rometo losing a percent of his health to a bullet. Yes, it proved the power-scaling between Rometo and a normal person considering it had been a gut shot. But being over level two hundred, Aiden had expected the bullet to just be painful, not something that also carried any damage.

A gut shot could kill a man, but it would only take a percent out of the health stat of someone over level two hundred.

The math made sense when he thought about the fact that it was a singular damage not something that increased with time. If Rometo got hit once, given some time, he would regain the percent back without treatment of any kind.

“No one said anything about the flamethrower,” Rometo pointed out.

Ted looked at him. “Are you sure we can stand and talk? I remember running from a guy with a Tommy gun.”

“We’re fine,” Rometo confirmed. “It ran into the other creature, exchanged a few blows, and chose to flee.”

So, he had been paying attention. That was good.

“We’re good,” Rometo finished. “For now. Again, the flame thrower.”

“It’s a magical device that shoots out fire like a spray of water,” Ted answered.

Rometo looked at Aiden. “I thought you said there was no magic in your world.”

“Magical was an expression,” Aiden debunked. “It’s just a weapon like a significantly advanced technology that spits out fire as if it is spitting out water. A dangerous weapon in its own right.”

Valdan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Is it something we can recreate or is it like monster?”

“Monster?” Rometo asked, confused. “You have monsters in your world?”

“In their world monster is the name of a drink that boosts stamina,” Valdan explained. “Apparently, it is also sweet, most unlike our stamina potions.”

Rometo stroked his jaw in thought. “That would make a lot of many here.”

Valdan’s eyes lit up. “That’s what I was saying.”

While both men bonded over their business greed, the conversation brought Aiden’s mind back to something the chimera had said, something that still wasn’t sitting right with him.

“Rometo,” he said, pulling the man away from his bonding. “I have a question.”

Rometo looked at him. “Does it supersede mine?”

“No,” Aiden answered, knowing what the man was talking about—the Order’s team calls. “But it is important.”

Rometo folded his arms and everyone present turned serious. “Ask, I’m listening.”

“What do you know about the summonings?”

“You’ll need to be more specific.”

“Tell me everything you know about the technicalities,” Aiden said. “I don’t need to know about the purpose, just how it is done. What is required to get it done?”

Rometo pursed his lips in thought. “Not much if you really think about it.” He looked at Valdan. “Sir, Knight, what did your king require for your summoning?”

“Nothing,” Valdan answered simply. “Whatever he needed was handled by his adviser.”

“Even the sacrifices?”

Ted and Valdan paused, looking at him in horror. “Sacrifices?”

“I see,” Rometo mused, then looked at Aiden. “You, however, are not surprised.”

“What is he talking about?” Ted asked.

Aiden sighed. “At some point in my life,” he said, causing a confused look on Rometo’s face, “I came across a text that explained that one requirement to summon us is that you would need twenty humans for every one of us.”

Ted and Valdan’s expressions were horrified.

“Twenty per person.” Ted’s voice was a quiet whisper. His horror was clear in it. It stained it, smothered it. It ruined it. “I caused twenty people to die.”

“Not really,” Aiden explained. “You really didn’t have a choice. Saying you caused twenty people to die in this situation is like saying a child caused their parents to have sex. You’re wholly innocent in this one.”

“But still…”

Aiden shut him up with a raised brow. “Don’t be arrogant, Teddy. You are not that important.”

Ted returned the look, as if to remind Aiden that he had once lived a life that led him to become the [Demon King]. He was important.

“If it helps, it was at least a good thing,” Rometo said. Aiden knew the man was genuinely trying to help so it left him more confused because he did not know how it was a good thing.

So, he asked, “How exactly is it a good thing.”

“I would like to know too,” Valdan added. “Perhaps it can help me feel less like a fool that served a monster as his king and did not even know it.”

Rometo blinked in confusion. “I thought you of all people would know, Lord Lacheart, seeing as you already knew about the people that needed to die.”

“Needed,” Ted muttered in a quiet voice, “is a very strong word.”

Rometo sighed at his statement.  “I did not imagine that the older brother of Aiden Lacheart would be so… sympathetic.”

“You make it sound like I’m heartless,” Aiden muttered.

“You are heartless,” Valdan deadpanned. “All the heart you have is left for me and your brother.”

Rometo looked at the three of them. “Am I safe to assume that you do not want me to explain anymore?”

“No,” Valdan said. “Our apologies. Continue.”

“From our records,” Rometo said, “there are three things required for your summoning. The first is the summoner who should be at least at the peak of their level.”

“Level five hundred,” Aiden muttered. He didn’t know of anyone at level five hundred. By the end of his past life, there was only one he had been aware of, and that person had died at Ted’s hand.

“In case you do not know, there are no known people at that level on Nastild,” Rometo pointed out.

“King Brandis’ advisor was in charge of the summoning,” Valdan said in thought. “He has to be at level five hundred.” New horror dawned on him. “He is that powerful?”

Aiden didn’t understand why the man was so confused. He remembered telling him the man was a [Sage]. Didn’t I?

Perhaps level five hundred was finally putting the [Sage] thing into perspective for him.

“Yes, the advisor,” Rometo said, uncaring. He knew who the advisor was, after all. “The next thing is a source of demonic mana.”

“Impossible!” Valdan hissed in anger. “The kingdom would not do such a thing.”

Rometo gave him a pitiful look. “And that’s why you are not king.”

“Kings are not monsters,” Valdan returned. “King Brandis is not a monster.”

Rometo laughed a little. “Your king dragged innocent children from their worlds without their consent, from their families. That is kidnapping of the highest degree, there is no worse form. Just so that they can come to his world and fight and die. Your king, Knight, is a monster.”

Valdan had nothing to say to that. The facts had been taken and used to slap him right in the face. Aiden saw the light dim in Valdan’s eyes.

“As I was saying,” Rometo continued. “You need the high level, a massive amount of demonic mana, and a conduit of demonic mana, something strong enough to be considered a source.”

Aiden froze in this moment, realization dawning on him. Vass, offspring of Ted’s general Voss. It explained why the [Sage] had kept the boy around. If he was a descendant of a demon, then he was a source of demonic mana. He would be the perfect conduit. It then begged the question of how all the other kingdoms had summoned theirs. What would they have used for the conduit.

Nel Quan had their demonic crystal that was their heirloom. He wasn’t sure if it was a strong enough conduit.

Valdan turned and looked away, dilemma on his face. “What cause is so great that a king would kill three hundred of his own?”

It was clearly rhetorical.

Still, Rometo answered. “I’m not sure, but your king didn’t kill three hundred of his own.”

“I’m confused,” Ted said. “He’s gone killing prisoners of war? Isn’t that also some kind of wrong on Nastild?”

“So, let me break something down about you people.” Rometo looked behind them, then smiled at whatever he sensed. “All the summoned are strong, significantly stronger than anyone on Nastild, at least when it comes to potential and growth speed. There is also another very specific race known to grow so quickly and exponentially.”

Valdan and Ted blinked. They clearly didn’t know. So, Rometo looked at Aiden.

“Care to take a guess?” he asked.

Aiden didn’t need to guess. “Demons.”

“Exactly. So the summoned are so strong because they have a very high affinity for demonic mana. They are humans that have almost as much affinity with demonic mana as demons. However, there’s a catch.” Rometo pressed his lips into a thin line, as if this was the tough part. As high as their affinity is, it is not high enough, so it needs to be boosted without killing them. They need the life force required to grow.”

Horror settled on Aiden now. “And they need life force most similar to theirs. The life force of another human being.”

“Hence the sacrifice,” Rometo agreed.

Aiden looked at him. “And it can’t be just anyone. It has to be people with high levels of demonic mana. Just like us.”

“Exactly.”

Aiden gritted his teeth. “That’s why no one ever wondered about missing or dead people.” The realization made him mad, surprisingly. “That’s why there was never any related news on the subject. Why no one ever asked questions.”

“What am I missing?” Ted asked.

“The reason Brandis didn’t kill any of his own,” Aiden answered. “The reason, Brandis isn’t the kind of monster Valdan hopes he isn’t. The answer to the question nobody ever asks.”

“What question?”

“Where,” Aiden said, “did the human sacrifices come from?”