107 Origin Mana (2/2)
”No.” Tai shook his head. ”There's no purple smoke in that section of the maze., so they can be killed with the simple press of a button due to the mana-collar.” He pointed to his own neck. ”And so can we. Speaking of which, what happened to your collar, Ed?”
”Huh?” He replied while grasping towards his neck. ”Ah, I guess it melted off when I went swimming in the purple lava rivers.”
”Ah, that makes sense.” Tai nodded. ”I planned to remove mine the same way, minus the swimming portion. That would kill an ordinary esper.”
”So, how do we escape from the shipment area?” Carlos frowned while rubbing his mustache. ”The place has gotta be guarded to hell and back.”
”It won't be easy.” Tai agreed. ”We should expect extreme casualties. We'll be lucky if even one in five men make it out alive. Fortunately, I've got all the other espers participating. They don't even know the plan yet since I refuse to give any details to them. As of now, only the two of you are being informed, as you are absolutely essential to our success.” His face darkened as he looked at the map. ”The real challenge is not just the guards. There's a giant manullium gate blocking the exit, and a fortress beyond that. My informants have let me know that the gate's at least 100 meters thick, literally the size of a football field. High-powered steam engines are required to even open and close it.”
”And how in the hell are we supposed to bust through that?!” Carlos replied in shock.
Tai glared seriously at them. ”That's where you two come in. I was truly at a lost until now on how I could break through. I figured that by coming to the cage, I might discover some espers that could help. As a result, I've wasted two years here searching for the right espers. And just when I was about to give up, I found the perfect combination of you two.” He glanced at Ed. ”Your purple flames will easily be able to melt through the wall, but from what I've seen, you likely won't be able to produce enough of it for it to be effective.” He turned to look at Carlos. ”Fortunately, Carlos is different. He's a purple wind powerhouse. His wind could also wear down the manullium gate, but it would take far too long. But with his wind feeding Ed's flames, we'll have a real shot at escaping this hellhole.”
”Hmm.” Carlos rubbed his chin. ”It might work, but is that tiny fire really enough? I'll probably just blow it out.”
Ed frowned. ”It's all I can make. I tried training, but I couldn't gain any more of it.”
”How'd you get it in the first place?” Tai questioned, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
Ed hesitated a moment, debating whether to trade the valuable information. Always on the lookout for potential gains, he put on a stern face and crossed his arms. ”I can tell you, but it'll cost you. After all, this is a completely new method and it might even work for you.”
Tai's breathing grew rough as he struggled to contain his desire. ”I'll give you 10 purple mana-cores! That's 10 percent of all my stock!”
”Make it 50.” He replied.
”11!” Tai countered.
”60.” Ed smiled.
”I'll give you 15! No more!” Tai ground his teeth in anger.
”Let's make it 75.” He put a hand to his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter.
”20!” Tai's eyes turned red from rage as he pounded his fist against the table. ”That's my absolute final offer! It took me two years running the Fire Dragon Clan to collect that many! I'll escape by myself before giving you more than that!”
”Deal!” Ed grinned as he leaned over the table, shaking Tai's hand. ”Also, I want delivery up front.” He leisurely sat back down, waiting for a response.
”Grr.” Tai suppressed his rage as he left the room. Soon, he returned with a small sack and tossed it towards Ed. ”Take it!”
”Good!” He laughed while checking the contents. Satisfied with the results, he answered. ”I got my powers by eating a purple mana-core and entering hibernation afterwards.”
”What?!” Tai replied in shock. ”That's impossible! I've tested it! Others have tested it! That'd even kill Carlos, not to mention ordinary espers.”
”Right.” He agreed. ”But it didn't kill me, and what's unique about me compared to other espers?”
Tai rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before guessing. ”Your chimera abilities?”
”Yup.” He smiled. ”So you better make sure I escape alive. You'll need me to make you a chimera if you want to try it.”
”Naturally.” Tai nodded while pulling out his fan, waving it towards his face. ”Can you eat more of the mana-cores to increase your amount of purple mana?”
Ed frowned. ”Probably... but I haven't tested it. Also, I went unconscious for months last time. Who knows what'll happen if I do it again.”
Tai smiled. ”I can delay the plan if absolutely necessary, and with Carlos here you have no need to fear the ordinary guards. Only the Warden would be a match for him.”
”Alright.” He agreed. 'I guess I might as well do it here. They need me alive and I don't really want to go unconscious exploring in the maze again.' Just to be safe, he activated his chimera form. Then he reached into the pouch and pulled out a purple mana-core. 'Come to think of it, purple mana-cores are indistinguishable regardless of the elements the original mutant used. Did I develop flame powers because the lion was a flame mutant? Or because of my emotional connection to fire like Tai implied?' Shaking his head from the thoughts, he placed the mana-core in his mouth.
Tai was on the edge of his seat as he watched, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. Carlos leaned back in his chair, appearing laid-back, but there was a spark of interest hidden within his eyes as well.
'Mm. It's kind of like a jaw breaker.' Ed thought as he sucked on the mana-core, waiting for something to happen. Several minutes passed, and nothing happened. Growing bored, he finally decided to swallow it. It felt like a burning rock slammed into the pit his stomach.