137 Harus Wisdom (2/2)
Leaving the room, he spotted Haru quietly waiting outside for him. ”Thanks.” He nodded towards him. ”I owe you a favor.”
”Really?!” Haru replied excitedly. ”Then make me your student! No, make me your disciple!”
”...” Ed stared at the kid, feeling exasperated. ”Didn't I already promise to introduce you to OP Baldy?” He questioned.
”Yeah, but I've never met him.” Haru replied. ”Besides, they say you should never meet your heroes or you'll be disappointed. But I've already met you and know what you're like, so I should just choose what I already know!”
”Know?” Ed smirked. ”Brat, I've killed a lot of people. I've tortured them and experimented on them. To further my own goals, I've purposefully caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Maybe more. To meet my future goals, I'll likely cause the deaths of millions. So, you tell me, do you really think you know me?”
”Mm.” Haru nodded. ”At first, I didn't recognize you, but I've heard of Forge a long time ago.”
”Forge?!” His eyes widened in surprise. ”Where the hell did you hear about that?”
”A lot of people know about it.” Haru smiled. ”There was a strange storyteller that used to visit us before the Water Nightmare came, and he told stories from around the world. One such story was about a boy named Forge and his organization called Harmony. He told us that Forge had successfully taken over an entire state in America before being stopped by the President and thrown into prison.”
”And what did this storyteller look like?” Ed questioned.
”That...” Haru hesitated a moment. ”He looked like an ugly old man wearing a black robe... but I followed him once out of curiosity and watched him transform into a teenager with spiky white hair. He must've been an esper.”
”Tsk.” Ed clicked his tongue. 'What game is Dupe playing? Spreading stories of me around other countries... Does he want to watch similar uprisings happen so that he can sit back and enjoy the show?' Shaking his head, he looked back to Haru. ”Look, we don't have disciples in America. I don't have any techniques to give you nor any sagely advice. I'm mostly just fumbling around on my own. If you really want to follow me, I won't stop you. Just know ahead of time that you're wasting your time.”
”Got it.” Haru nodded seriously. ”I won't let you down, Master!”
'I'm going to regret this...” Ed groaned to himself as he walked down the stairs. ”Tai, ready to roll?” He yelled towards the dining room.
”Coming.” Tai shouted back. Exiting the dining room, he frowned when he saw Ed. ”You changed your robes? A pity. My father really likes those that wear the sect colors. After all, he's the one that decides all these things.” He looked at Haru, who was standing on the staircase nearby. ”Oh... matching robes?” He grinned. ”I see. So you accepted Haru as your first student. Congratulations!”
”Let's just go.” Ed frowned as he grabbed Tai by the arm and dragged him towards the door.
”We'll be back later!” Tai shouted towards the house. ”Don't worry if we're gone a couple days!”
Back on the Fire Dragon Sect campus, the duo walked for nearly twenty minutes before reaching an ordinary looking building. Other than the bright colors, nothing seemed special about it. It wasn't even large, only being about the size of a small office building.
”This is the place?” Ed questioned curiously.
”Ah, one of them.” Tai nodded as he entered inside.
'One of them? Can the Sect Master be in multiple places at once like Dupe or something?' He wondered as he followed Tai inside. Contrary to what he was expecting, there were only two things in the small building. A short middle-aged Chinese woman sat behind a large mahogany desk, and behind her there was a giant hole in the floor. Confused, he glanced at Tai, but it seemed that he had been expecting this.
”Hello.” Tai smiled. ”I'm here to meet with my father.”
The woman looked up, and upon seeing who it was, she hurriedly stood up and bowed. ”Young Master Long! It's an honor to see you again!”
”Haha, no need to be so formal.” Tai nonchalantly waved his hand.
”I still remember when the young master was just a little toddler...” The short woman sighed while rubbing a tear from her eye. ”You were so cute the way you use to always run around and cause trouble. I was just a young woman when you snuck into the women's bath-”
”AHEM!” Tai coughed into his fist. ”Please excuse me! We're in a bit of a rush.” He hurriedly grabbed Ed by the arm and dragged him towards the hole. He didn't hesitate at all as he jumped inside.
Similar to the time Ed had entered the cage, the duo fell for a long time. The wind roared past them as they dropped like rocks. After nearly ten minutes, Tai shot strong blasts of flames downwards, slowing their descent. Not really understanding what was happening, Ed copied him using his silver flames.
The duo softly landed on hard ground thanks to their powers. In front of them was a maze of caverns with reddish-orange lava flowing throughout them. The smell of sulfur was suffocating, and the heat singed their skin. Even for powerful espers, it was extremely hot. Much hotter than an underground volcano should be.
Ed glanced at Tai, waiting for an explanation.
”My father meditates down here most of the time. That's why there are multiple entrances since the caverns cover the entire city.” Tai explained. ”He has a tendency to heat things up, so it isn't good if he does it above ground. You'll see what I mean soon. Follow me.”
The duo walked along the winding paths. They occasionally passed lakes of lava, and Ed couldn't help but reminisce about the cage. It had only been a short while since he escaped, but he missed it in some odd ways. At the very least, things had always been relatively simple and straightforward down there.
After nearly an hour of walking, they stopped in front of a pair of large obsidian doors. The doors towered over a hundred meters in height and glowed an eerie red color. The heat radiating off them was so strong that Ed's skin turned red while sweat covered his body. 'Just how strong is this heat?' He wondered. 'For it to affect me despite my chimera body and my mastery over a path of fire...'
”We're here.” Tai said seriously as he looked to Ed.