Kael, who now donned a practical suit and trousers, adjusted the lapels of his shirt's collar and stepped into the building. The eatery was dimly lit, vastly unassuming to the average passerby. Wooden tables and chairs lined the walls, and a fireplace was nestled in the corner of the room, flickering with crimson flames. Situated above the fire was the decapitated head of a moose, its mouth wide open in a silent scream—it told Kael all he needed to know in terms of how it was butchered.
His gaze remained on the moose for a few moments before he turned to the man with icy blue eyes, smiling. "You really want to know about him?"
The man, with his gaunt face and pale skin, nodded his head as he took a step back, collapsing into a wooden chair by a round table. With the wave of his hand, turquoise flames emerged and condensed in his palm, taking the form of a tea set. Upon seeing this, Kael chuckled and sat down across from him.
"Head ...Chaos, is it? I fear the names get jumbled in my head." Kael picked up a cup of tea, sipping it leisurely, his gaze fixated on the peculiar and enigmatic man.
Head Chaos stood six foot one, his figure lean and refined, much like Kael. Kael stood at five foot nine, so he had to raise his eyes to properly look at him.
"We're both nobles, so I'd refrain from addressing me as such. You can call me by my real name, Alexander."
Kael absorbed the information, nodding his head as he put the teacup down. He then focused his attention back to the current matter. "Are you sure we should discuss this in such an ...unassuming place? The slightest of intervention could jeopardize the entire discussion."
At this moment, Alexander let out a low chuckle as he dug into his chest pocket, taking out a small vial of dark-red liquid. The gaunt man unscrewed the lid and brought it to his nose, sniffing the substance greedily like a voracious, gluttonous pig.
His lips twitched up as he smiled before saying with some pride in his voice, "The last person to compromise my inner circle was found in a matter of days. What you see here is what's left of them."
Kael stared into the vial of crimson blood, his interest brewing like a gradually heating stew. He slowly took the vial from Alexander's hand, rolling it back and forth in his palm.
"Anyways, I took a slight detour in my emperor's mission, stopping by to look around the kingdom. Aside from their disgustingly advanced technology and wide range of markets, a specific individual couldn't help but grasp my attention."
An illusory string of crimson appeared in between Kael's fingers, before dissipating into what looked like human hair.
"Are you going to give me information, or put a curse on them?" Alexander chuckled deprecatingly, eyeing the singular strand of hair.
Without saying a word, Kael clenched his fist, causing the hair to ascend above the table. Crimson energy seeped from the hair, suddenly bursting into rampant flames and condensed into an image—a clear image showing the blackened streets of Seraphis Kingdom. Wraiths, undead creatures, and ghouls screamed and hollered in pain and sorrow as they were sucked into the palm of a boy who looked around fifteen to sixteen years old.
His hair cascaded down past his ears, stopping at around his neck. Behind his glasses were a pair of grayish-brown eyes, and he was clad in a gray tunic, one purposed for hospitalization. What seemed to take them aback the most were the insectoid limbs protruding from the boys' sides.
"When was this?" Alexander arched an eyebrow, watching the scene with unfiltered enrapturement.
"Two weeks ago, the last Blood Moon. This feat of power is ...astonishing."
Kael looked up at Alexander, scoffing. "He's also on the Apocalypse pathway, just as I am, just like everyone below us is."
"At Order 9, doing all this? It took me months to learn how to absorb spirits and creatures into my own body. How hasn't this boy perished by now?"
"I don't know. But he's a figure of interest. This world hasn't seen a Seeker of our own pathway—especially one outside our own ranks—in almost a millennium."
Hearing this, Alexander looked back to Kael, his icy-blue eyes flickering with ambition. "Are you gonna blindly approach him and invite him into our ranks? He's just an adolescent, but he's surely intelligent; he'd immediately suspect something."
The man with elven ears and red hair leaned back in his chair, prompting his boots onto the table, kicking the tea set to the floor. The moment the fine china hit the wooden floorboards, it disappeared into illusory azure flames.
"The goal isn't immediate gravitation. In this day and age, simply approaching a child who doesn't know you could have one locked behind bars—maybe even killed. Instead, strategy is paramount. It's like advancing the very pathways that govern our world. Gradual climbing, advancement, and patience are the keystones to success."
With that said, Kael stood up and rapped his foot on a particular floorboard. At that moment, the entire floor seemed to rumble as the boards began to split down the middle, making way for an entrance that descended into darkness. On either end of the stairwell were torches ablaze with crimson embers.
"Now, let's talk politics, shall we?"
...
"You said your inner echelons were compromised. How long ago?" Kael asked, his arms folded neatly behind his back as he walked.
Alexander fell silent for a moment before replying with little hesitancy. "About a month and a half ago. Upon interrogation, we learned nothing—not even their name, or why they were sent here to begin with."
"Why not torture them? That's as effective as it seems to be."
The man with a sharp jawline and icy eyes shook his head, letting out a low sigh. "Even heretics have a degree of mortality. While my comrades would happily torture them, I look on the less brutal, less inhumane side of life."
The duo stopped in front of massive stone doors engraved with patterns. The moment Alexander grasped the door handle, the illusory symbols lit up with crimson energy.
"After all, the best way to look good is to do good, even if it's good nobody expects, or anticipates."
Stepping into the hall, they caught sight of countless other individuals around a circular stone table. In contrast to the almost ancient-looking environment, the floors were carpeted, and a fireplace roared in the corner. From the ceiling was an expensive, diamond-clad chandelier that flickered and cascaded lights and images off the walls.
Everyone in the room turned their heads to look at the duo, nodding in unison as they entered. Kael conjured a pipe in his hands as he sat down in his corresponding seat, placing his feet on the table like a careless ruler. Alexander, on the other hand, sat with his shoulders raised and back straight, adopting a more solemn and refined appearance.
"The emperors made a proposition to keep Charles in Seraphis Kingdom longer than expected. If any of you forgot, he's been tasked with running reports on grain and agricultural production." Kael announced.
Everyone in the room fell silent, their expressions unreadable. At this moment, one of them, a young man with fluffy white hair, animalistic ears, and a bushy tail, raised his hand to speak.
"We'd like to know why."
Within this chamber, individualism was a rare concept, as almost everyone present possessed the same political and moral ideology. Therefore, 'we' was a term used to symbolize a collective body's interest in particular matters.
"In my inquiry with the emperors, they discussed the grain output and garrisons on the brink of starvation. Allegedly, the winters are getting colder and harder to manage, leading to possibly the Katshin Empire's biggest asset with food, therefore growing less productive."
Kael lowered his pipe, setting it on the table and pushing it aside. The man with the white hair let out a low sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. Within the thick locks, his fox-like ears twitched and responded to the sudden chill in the air. At this moment, he seemed to enter an abrupt emotional state.
"You said our goal was to help Seraphis in any way—whether political or agricultural, so why aren't we taking action?!" The man slammed his fist on the table, small claws protruding from his fingertips.
"Calm yourself, Felonious. Is this anger because your friend's working as a servant instead of settling his bushy little tail in a seat beside you?"
Kael pointed to the empty seat beside Felonious, a choice he had made himself to mock the mutant man.
The man with ice-white hair let out a low growl as his dull, pointed teeth extended, turning into two fangs that sat in his mouth.
Kael suddenly extended his palm, and ink-black tendrils projected from his fingertips, coiling around Felonious's wrists, ankles, and dangerously tight around his neck.
Nobody in the chamber dared to move or speak as Kael's eyes dimmed, flickering with palpable yet refined malice. His forked tongue dove to his lips, licking them almost seductively as he pulled Felonious in his direction, pausing over the table. The almost feline man choked and gasped for air, only to find a limited amount could enter his windpipe—just enough to speak.
"Remind me again, what's your position here?" Kael leaned back in his chair, swirling his finger in circles in an authoritative gesture.
With spurted, barely contained gasps, Felonious could only spasm out words. "To ...aid ...a-and provide ...aid ...to ...Seraphis Kingdom... so ...they'd never ...face ...h-hardship!"
"How exactly?" Kael whispered, dragging Felonious a little closer, his forked tongue merely inches from the latter's cheek.
Alexander, who watched silently until now, whispered under his breath. "Kael, steady yourself."
Kael ignored the man's order, hearing as Felonious let out an almost animalistic whimper as he kept speaking. "Investors ...bankers ...loaners ...p-people in all corners used to supervise and give ...the best d-decisions!"
Kael clenched his fist, and the tendrils suddenly disappeared. Felonious flopped down onto the table with a splat, his bushy white tail habitually wrapping around his midsection.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're more animal than man." Kael hissed, clasping his hands together with a small smile.
He looked back at the empty seat and silently commanded Felonious to sit back down. Felonious's ears dropped, his all-white garments fluttering as he scurried back to his seat on all fours. After getting himself situated, he looked away from the crimson-haired man with flustered embarrassment.
"Is your entire kingdom like this, filled with your furry creatures?" Kael asked.
"I-it's a wide species there ...the Indun Empire is very welcoming to us."
"I'm not surprised in the slightest. Only the softest of nations ...or softest of emperors would let a tailback like you into their space."
Usually, Felonious would be insulted—almost furious from the usage of that slur. But after seeing what the latter was capable of, he kept his mouth shut and sank into his chair. His bottom lip trembled slightly, catching Kael's attention. It was at this moment that Kael's expression uncharacteristically softened.
"I care about the Seraphites as much as you do, so don't take my more ...indifferent means as a declaration of my public image. Alright?"
Felonious fell silent, nodding his head without saying a word. After everything was settled, Kael raised his feet onto the table once again and kept speaking.
"Now, due to your chaste desire to help Seraphis Kingdom, I presume you have plans?"
The man resembling both a human and an arctic fox looked up at Kael, his tail twitching slightly. His lips parted, and his tongue dove out to lick them as he trembled slightly.
"I mean, it's best we get to the bottom of why their grain is depleting, right?"
Hearing this proposition, Kael shook his head as a small smile formed on his face. "That can happen later. Soon, I might send you to Seraphis Kingdom to run your own private investigation on the matter. Since the Indun Empire has a vast array of chancellors, nobles, and ambassadors, I commission you to assemble a carefully partitioned team based on the following criteria."
Kael flicked his wrist, and flames appeared out of thin air, condensing in the form of a paper which he handed to Felonious. Felonious took the paper and arched an eyebrow upon seeing its contents.
"These are ...i-interesting criteria; I don't know if we possess those qualifications."
"If you don't, I recommend making it work." Kael smiled.
"It will be done. I'll return in a week with the correct people," Felonious said as a small, twitching smile graced his face.
He stood from his seat, bowing nobly towards the duo as he left the chamber through the massive stone doors.
...
After the meeting had ended, Alexander turned to face Kael, asking him a question. "Who did you commission Felonious to find?"
Kael raised his pipe to his lips, blowing some smoke as he replied with a sly smirk. "Governors, agricultural professionals, tax collectors, an apothecary, all the people needed."
He leaned in closer, his breath gracing Alexander's ear. "We want to help the kingdom, right?"