A couple of hours later, Jonathan and his army finally headed back towards Deja. Staying there any longer was pointless as neither Jonathan nor Ashton had anything else to say to each other.
However, despite showing his strong stance and not allowing Ashton to take Mera's clone in for interrogation, Jonathan had made it clear that no matter how strong Ashton was, in the end, he had to heed his command.
Well, at least that's what he thought. But Ashton only gave up on interrogating Mera's clone when Astaroth informed him that interrogating the clone would prove useless. Since the clone would think of herself as the actual person and would not accept that she was a clone.
In the end, interrogating her would prove to be a waste of time. On the other hand, giving her up would mend whatever little bit of fracture his words might have caused between Jonathan and his relationship.
As for Jonathan, as much as he wanted to protect his daughter's secret, he couldn't do so. Sooner or later, Ashton would find the fact that Mera had multiple clones made of her to ensure her protection
That being said, Cloning was a process that was lost along with the humans, and not even Jonathan knew how Mera accomplished it but she was careful enough to not let anyone else get their hands on the technology. All he knew was that his daughter had about 6 clones of her.
Two of which were now under his custody. Obviously, it wasn't him who found out the information. It was his shadow assassins who discovered it.
However, Ashton's behaviour was troubling him more than Mera's disappearance. At the speed he was progressing, it was only a matter of time before he became too strong for him or anyone on the planet to handle.
He had heard Ashton's message loud and clear. From the way, he had behaved it was clear that he was slowly turning into a rebel. Which meant, he was about to turn into an ulcer for Jonathan.
But as soon as Jonathan put himself in Ashton's shoes, he could understand his actions. After all, just out of the fear of an invasion from other kingdoms, Jonathan was getting paranoid and wanted to take over the swamps and take over their kingdom before they could take over his kingdom.
What Ashton was doing here was similar. Mera invaded his territory and he retaliated, that was all to it. However, since Jonathan prevented him from taking his vengeance, it went without saying that Ashton was angry at him too. Hence, he acted out.
'What a mess this has become...'
Jonathan tried to calm his nerves and think about the situation carefully. No matter how hard he thought everything came to one conclusion... it wasn't safe to make an enemy out of Ashton.
He was a one of a kind being and with his support, Jonathan's dream of ruling over the werewolves as a whole would no longer be a dream. But then again, he didn't want to lose his daughter either. Despite having their differences, Mera's death would have a profound impact on Lycania.
It was obvious he didn't want either Mera or Ashton to lose their lives as both of them were important to him. Also, if Ashton was to kill Mera, it would only weaken the kingdom as, despite her flaws, Mera is an integral part of Lycania.
A few of the kingdoms were in fact more worried about her and her strategic qualities than Jonathan's might. And even though it was clear that the two of them never get along, when it comes to Lycania's safety and integrity, Jonathan had no doubt in his mind Mera would come to their aide.
That being said, Ashton was an important figure as well. He was no longer a mere pawn for Jonathan to help clear the swamps. He was the living embodiment of Lycania's alliance with Transylvania and Alucard.
This relationship between Alucard and Ashton also meant Jonathan could not place his finger on Ashton without fearing the consequences Alucard might bring forth to him. Ashton being a tribrid was just a bonus that granted him safety.
"It's better to leave Ashton alone for a while. Once everyone is cooled off, we can revisit the conversation." Jonathan reminded himself as he and his soldiers headed back to Deja.
***
Meanwhile back in Livan, people were scrapping whatever they could and helping the city rebuild. Even the soldiers who had been captured before the battle gave in when they saw Ashton's might and had turned into his loyal subjects.
Virgil, Sheera and everyone in their respective teams wanted to know more about Ashton's secret. Since the cat was already out of the bag, Ashton didn't refrain from giving them answers. His answers might have been vague, they were enough to shut them up for now.
But the thing that surprised him the most was... they weren't afraid of him. he had expected them to distance themselves from him the moment they got to know about his secret, but they didn't. Weirdly enough, they were happy to know his true strength now.
Their meet and greet lasted for about twenty minutes and then they were off to work as usual. On a positive note, they no longer have to worry about resources.
As per the agreement Ashton made with Jonathan in exchange for letting Mera's clone go with him... everything that the Morgans owned was now officially his. Their land, their soldiers, their riches... every single thing.
Which made it easier for him to secure things needed to make Livan the best city on the continent... well, not yet, but with Baiter's help one day Livan would become a city everyone would want to live in.
[Enough monologue bullshit. You still need to hit level 30 to unlock the evolution quest.]
"Hm... maybe I should go back to hunt down the last Deull. That bastard got off scot-free because of the battle. But not anymore."
[Once that's accomplished and you have evolved, we could look into this cloning thing and you know who we have to approach for that. But before all that, you better have an apology ready for her.]
"I'll think about it..."