Chapter 1489 (1/2)

In the end, it was actually more simple than Randidly had expected to convince the memory version of himself that what he was saying might possibly be true.

“So I’m the memory version?” The memory had asked with pursed lips. They mutually agreed to maintain a seething forest of roots around their face-off, keeping the duos away. Real Randidly didn’t want to bother with them and fake Randidly didn’t want this strange interloper near them. Some of them tried to cut through the mass of plants, but the two Randidlys just regenerated the barrier. Which meant that they were completely isolated within the pulsing mass of vines. “But I must assume that you coming back and challenging yourself is a pretty significant deviation from the original scenario. How’s your head?”

Randidly gestured vaguely behind him, to the ambushers. “I took the memories from all of them. With more people’s significance supporting the memory, it looks like deviation isn’t such a problem.”

“Taking memories from them…” Dream Randidly said, rubbing his chin. Randidly rolled his eyes. He could practically hear the ‘oh, that’s a good idea’ in the memory’s internal monologue. Then the memory looked back at him, seeming to consider him. Meanwhile, the undercurrent of testing continued. Every second, the memory would release pulses of different images, seeming to test him. Randidly responded with the same pulse.

The only difference was the Grim Chimera. Randidly grinned wolfishly over at the memory when that image came up. His version of the Grim Chimera had a noticeable edge.

“So why are you here then? What do you want from yourself?” The memory asked. His eyes glittered as Yggdrasil spread its branches and began healing his mental fatigue. Regardless of the reason, it seemed obvious that the memory considered him a significant threat, and not a training opportunity. That was good.

Randidly’s smile was lazy. The Grim Chimera appeared around him. “I wanted to refine some of the changes to the Grim Chimera that I’ve made. And as you know, we’ve already fought so many times against Kaan… so I thought… why not try and fight the man who managed to defeat Kaan Swacc?”

After a moment of silence, both Randidly’s began to laugh. Fighting intent spiked upward from both of them. Then the memory Randidly pouted. “Heh, it’s rather frustrating that I have to be the one used as a whetstone, rather than the one improving… but I assume this is your first attempt? Next time, tell me to look at our Nether Nebula. There’s… something wrong with mine. It’s hard to explain. It’s like its a replica built to look like one, without any of its power. A model with no true significance.”

Randidly blinked. “...Thanks.”

Then they began to fight.

*****

Tatiana sat in her office. She took a sip of her tea and then sighed in pleasure. White teas were her favorite. This particular blend included both dried raspberries and what could only be grass that had been soaked in white wine. The result was sour and bitter, just the jolt she needed to start the day.

Then the central spine of Kharon turned and looked to the North, letting her eyes fade from the forefront of her focus so her mind could peer through the walls of her office. Although it was far away, she still could feel the place where Randidly Ghosthound had fought last night. In retrospect, some sort of challenge against him in the wake of the duos tournament was obvious. She should have seen it coming. But at least from what Tatiana had heard from Mrs. Hamilton, Randidly had inflicted a rather serious punishment against them. She offered a sharp smile to the hardwood paneling of her office wall.

She would give him shit for making more political work for her, but if the Zones tried to make an issue of it, Tatiana would butcher them. How dare they legitimately try to ambush him? After all the work he put into making them stronger…?

But Tatiana suppressed that frustration and turned her attention to hallways of City Hall around her. She took another sip of her delicate tea and released a sigh. As she grew more distant from Randidly during the process of preparing for his departure, her uncanny intuition slowly evolved to include the creations of Randidly Ghosthound. So she could faintly feel the sensation of each person moving about the building. She could feel their feet tap lightly along the floor of the tiled halls.

Tatiana stood and walked to the door. She held the handle for several seconds, waiting for her target to approach. Then, just as Commissioner Arrietti was hurrying past, Tatiana opened the door. When their eyes met, she favored him with a smile. “Ah, Commissioner. How are you doing today?”

“I am well, thank you.” The Commissioner gave her a short bow. Then he hesitated as though debating over whether or not to say something. As always with the man, his sense of duty won. “The report on corruption-”

“Ah, let’s not talk about business right now, Commissioner.” Tatiana waved her hand. Wouldn’t her life be so much easier if she had more subordinates as determinedly single-minded as he? Then she brought her fist against her palm as though she had just remembered something. “Oh! Didn’t you tell me that you enjoyed barbecue? I recently went to a new restaurant and the food was excellent. If you have time, perhaps you should stop in and give it a try.”

“Oh? Well… I do consider myself something of a connoisseur of the grill…” The Police Commissioner said. Then Tatiana gave him the address of a restaurant owned by a single, middle-aged woman with a warm smile and a spine of iron. Tatiana had done a thorough investigation of the woman’s background to make sure she had no ulterior motives for coming to Kharon and believed the two would be compatible. Her intuition told her it was an ideal match. All that was left was to see if Tatiana had lost her touch since coming to work in politics.

With a nod, Tatiana walked away from the Commissioner and went to the staircase in the East Wing of City Hall. She could feel Commissioner Arrietti standing still and repeating the address to himself, so he wouldn’t forget it. The image of the very serious expression he undoubtedly had on his face made her smile.

As Tatiana descended to the ground floor, she passed the bickering figures of Derek and Hydie on the wide stairwell. Tatiana favored these two with a warm smile as well. “Ah, back from your training expedition? How did it go?”

“No fatalities,” Derek announced in a jolly tone, but the corner of his mouth twitched. “Unfortunately, about a third of the participants suffered rather serious injuries. Injuries so serious that we needed to call a dedicated healer in order to stitch them back together. It just seemed like so many unlikely accidents befell our expedition…”