"Why? Why do you have to take things so far?" The legendary Selene Sunfire asked after a momentary silence, unwilling to bend the knee before anyone.
However, the nine shimmering blade hums were the only noise to answer his question.
"I only wanted to strike a deal with you, not fight!" He added, gritting his teeth as their unbelievable confrontation replayed in his mind. Things went south so rapidly just because Lily bound the duo?
As silence engulfed the plaza, Adam's copy's eyes narrowed. With a snap of his finger, the sea of armored constructs moved. Simultaneously, the reverberating noise of their steps colliding with the ground defeaned the citadel, causing it to tremble.
"Beat him until he kneels or dies," the man ordered emotionlessly. Treating those people as equals when they only understand power doesn't work. He accepted it long ago. Since he had a larger fist, he would force the fool who dared to mistreat the duo to regret his actions.
"I admit you are stronger. But don't think mere puppets can beat me!" Selene said, trying to mobilise his mana to defend himself. Yet, his energy failed to flow in his dim circuits, causing dread to grip his heart.
'He can't kill me! That's not what I read seven thousand years ago,' he thought, clenching his jaws to endure the beating. He would rather suffer than let his cracked pride crumble.
Painful screams resonated in the citadel's courtyard for ten minutes as the puppets bashed the elf, uncaring for his reputation, achievement, or nobility.
Meanwhile, the copy yawned in boredom. Seated on his mana stair, he said, "Just give up. You asked me why I took things so far, but you are the one who refuses to admit your wrongdoings. Look at you! Even after losing miserably, your delusional pride dictates your actions. I'd rather see you die now than strike deals with a fool!"
Upon hearing the words, Selene clutched his head with a grimace, agreeing to compromise. "I'm willing to apologise to them and harshly punish Lily. Make them stop," he pleaded, feeling dangerous tremors running through his soul after each strike he endured. 'He lied! He has an affinity but acts as if he doesn't!' He thought, fear trembling in the depths of his eyes.
"Great for them. Now kneel before me," the man reiterated his demand for the umpteenth time, refusing to compromise.
Despite his mysterious intentions, something about his character was apparent. He hated to see Adam, Julius, or both humiliated.
A tight knot of disbelief caught Selene's words in his throat. 'You don't leave me any way out!' he screamed inwardly, the image of the magus superimposing itself with the copy's for a second before he shook his head.
Realising the man would not change his mind, he frowned in focus. Then, under his reluctant orders, his knees gradually bent. His body haltingly followed their descent until he did something he had never considered possible.
From his vantage point, the man's eyes brightened as they landed on the kneeling legend. "Hahaha. See? It wasn't hard!" He chuckled before snapping his fingers.
The armored figures and citadel turned ethereal before dissipating in a shower of dark particles in response until the familiar shop and figures of the boy's family took their places.
Sitting next to his library, he smiled, saying, "You can kill a man but not humiliate him. I think you understand that now."
"I'll keep your words in mind in the future," Selene answered, grimacing at the lesson's painful price. Yet, relief filled his heart as the worst passed. Of course, his shattered pride bothered him. But he could gradually rebuild it after exploring this era.
"Truthfully, I thought you wanted to possess the boy," the copy said half-jokingly, dismissing his nine blades. "Now that you know I'm the strongest in the room, we can speak like civilised individuals," he added, curious about the elf's motives.
"Ahem. Before, I must recount my story to give you context," Selene replied, feeling uncomfortable in his position.
Thankfully, the man's eyes brightened as he said, "What a coincidence. I love stories! Sit and tell me everything."
With a sigh, the legend sat, his unique leg extended snugly before commencing his story. "The important part starts after I resisted the six archmages of my era. The devastation reached a scale the magus couldn't ignore anymore. So, he came to me. Feeling I could be valuable, he offered me a deal," he said, smiling bitterly.
"He also asked you to kneel? What a bad guy!" The copy said, narrowing his eyes at the atrocious demand.
'Isn't that what YOU asked for?!' Selene thought, his lips quivering and brows trembling momentarily.
"No. He asked me to use the legacy I found in my younger years to conduct research for him. In exchange, he would turn a blind eye to what I did until my death," he answered, his somber features hinting at the term's unfairness.
Pressed by the man's curious gaze, he continued, "I had to develop a potent ritual to unite a soul to a foreign body. It was a tall challenge that forced me to revise my vision of the world several times and discover secrets after each failure. That's how I created vampires and werewolves as prototypes. Unfortunately, they were disappointing.
In the first case, the pure soul ended up corrupted by intense thirst, making them unstable creatures. In the second, the individual fused with the beast entirely, giving the resulting body a powerful but ugly appearance."
"Of course, I added a weakness during their creation, making both weaker under the sun and me," he added, making it obvious he aimed to protect himself against the magus after delivering his promise.
"Centuries later, I finally developed the ritual requested. Unfortunately, the challenging task didn't allow me to manipulate the outcome. So, I extracted my soul from my own body and placed one of my loyal followers inside using the ritual. Then, I sealed myself in the grimoire, waiting for your appearance," he concluded, gazing at the overbearing man nodding like a hen in disbelief.