Chapter 1388 (1/2)

We’ve found quite a bit of Nether on your planet, Mr. Ghosthound. Some of it in some very… unusual places.

Randidly kept his expression very neutral as he tried to figure out whether Captain Quill’s last statement was a threat. Very purposefully, he spread the fingers of his hands open, keeping the movement as inconspicuous as possible. Randidly winced when his left arm flickered and the metallic limb froze in the process.

Two facts were suddenly very concerning to Randidly. The first was the fact that Randidly couldn’t read Captain Quill’s expression at all. His features shrouded in mist made him a mystery. Despite the very obvious focus that could be detected from the Captain, Randidly understood this was probably artifice; it was completely controlled by the Captain himself. Putting his faith solely in that was foolish.

The second fact was that Wuva was standing a little bit behind him and one meter to the left. As he arrived, this positioning had seemed deferential. Now it seemed a little bit more sinister. Should the aide move, Randidly didn’t believe he could escape unscathed.

Setting aside the issue of the Aether formation he had admired on the way into the tent...

Randidly had the urge to unleash a little bit of his image as a way of posturing, but his grip on his images was iron. That instinct was driven by fear. Even Yggdrasil groaned ominously as it prepared to release its power, but Randidly wasn’t sure yet what Captain Quill’s intentions were. His wording was ambiguous. Likely purposefully.

Releasing a long breath, Randidly said, “Is that so. Do you, in your professional opinion as a Captain of the Xyrt Brigade, believe that this Nether presence on Earth is… dangerous?”

Captain Quill seemed to consider for a while before replying. “In terms of amount… no. Perhaps not even in terms of current usage or strength of the Nether. But… these things inevitably have a way of escalating quickly. One fool doesn’t realize the danger of Nether and soon huge stretches of land are destroyed or corrupted when he or she makes a mistake. A steady hand is required to deal with the Nether. A firm and disciplined hand. Consider this advice from an elder; our presence here might very well save your hide, kid.”

Randidly’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Captain Quill. Wuva standing behind him still set his teeth on edge, but he realized that the problem was solely the smoky formed Captain. “We might perhaps disagree on that count, Captain Quill. I believe the Earth is capable enough to handle the smaller threats on its own. If you agree that this threat is manageable… perhaps the Xyrt Brigade’s presence is unnecessary.”

In this case, Randidly was unsure whether ‘the Earth’ in their conversation referred to himself or truly just the influence of Nether on the Earth generally. But either way, Randidly believed that he could handle a few escaped Nether Gatekeepers. Or, if it was him, his own Nether experiments. Besides, there were several activities that Randidly had been avoiding for as long as the Xyrt Brigade remained on Earth. He didn’t want to put those off for much longer.

In fact, Randidly didn’t dare delay for more than a few more days. The former Special Investigator couldn’t be allowed too much time to plot.

After Randidly spoke, the pressure around Captain Quill intensified. As he looked at the smoky Captain in his trenchcoat, Randidly could understand what Wuva had meant about creating a template. In the area surrounding Captain Quill’s body, there was a pattern of complex… indentations in the air. They were so faint that Randidly couldn’t perceive enough of them at once to understand the greater shape, but it was clear that these lines buzzed with potential energy in this tense standoff. At any moment, they could erupt and very quickly unleash the full power of Captain Quill.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, the Captain shrugged and shattered the tense weight in the air. “I just thought I’d try to do you a favor, kid. If you truly think you have the situation under control… I don’t mind leaving. I was just hoping to give you a little boost so you would owe me later…”

Captain Quill turned to Wuva. “Wuva? Recall everyone. I suppose we’ve been thorough enough.” Then he turned back to Randidly. “We will be out of your hair in two hours, Mr. Ghosthound. A pity I’ll have to leave your planet without eating tonight… but I suppose it was simply bad timing.”

As Wuva guided Randidly away and out of the tent, he heart Captain Quill call one last sentence after him. “Oh! Mr. Ghosthound, if you ever want to enter into the Xyrt Brigade… look for me.”

Then Randidly was back on his island, staring at the maroon tent and trying his best to capture the shape of the Engravings that Randidly had seen defending the tent. If he could capture even a fraction of that for his labyrinth beneath the Kharon Academy…

But even Neveah’s avid curiosity was having a hard time understanding. Apparently she recognized some of the Engravings, but they were from a different section of Yxtrix’s tomb. For now, they would have to wait until he repaired his left arm.

Even so, Randidly had to keep his hands from twitching, as though even now he wanted to reach for a pen and begin revising his previous drawings. Even though he had only three floors completed and one in the planning stage, Randidly might very well need to start all over again in order to incorporate ideas from these new Engravings he had seen.

Of course, he would need to experiment with them first… and consult Neveah…

But again, Randidly suppressed his thoughts about the Kharon Academy and frowned toward the large maroon tent. Then he turned and walked away. In a way, Randidly suddenly felt very unsure if the conversation with Captain Quill was the one he thought it had been as they had started speaking By the end of it, Captain Quill had made it seem like the Xyrt Brigade had remained in order to help the Earth. But from what?

Perhaps Randidly had just been trained to expect powerful individuals from the Nexus to want something from him. While it was better to be suspicious than naive, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be costs to that outlook.

Some part of Randidly suddenly regretted not agreeing to the dinner. But as with the situation with Mareen, those social avenues had never been Randidly’s Path. Perhaps now to his detriment, but still…

Randidly planned on staying true to himself. There were things that he was good at and things that he wasn’t. And that was fine.