Watching two teenagers berate the whimpering calamity amidst an ocean of chitinous shards and torn legs became too much for William.
He took unsteady steps, his breath a mess of ragged exhales. His voice cracked in disbelief. "W-What is happening?"
Adam turned, not forgetting to punch the centipede one last time. "Behave." Then, he smiled at William as if nothing strange had happened. "Oh, isn’t it Archmage William? Why did you ?"
Why? To stop them from enraging the calamity, to sacrifice himself to protect his village? William glanced at the beast’s sorry state, his answer almost choking him. Speak the truth when he only watched slack-jawed? Unthinkable.
"B-Because I was worried about you, of course!" He lied through gritted teeth. "You rushed here right after I told you about the beast. What madness got into your heads?"
Adam rolled his eyes. "You’re using that patronising tone of yours again. As you can see, we’re fine." He waved his hand. "If there isn’t anything else, let me deal with the centipede."
Without bothering to entertain the old archmage’s curiosity, he focused on the squirming centipede. Misha sat on its back, her hands raised, ready to slap the unrelenting creature.
A threatening smirk split his face, mana and qi wafting from his sky-blue eyes. "You lost." His voice echoed, cold and merciless. "Death isn’t the only outcome. Spare yourself the suffering. Abandon your prejudices and shapeshift to discuss."
He stretched his hand, his smile and voice softening. "We don’t mean you harm; rather, we come with an offer."
The centipede twitched in hesitation, its beady eyes flickering with anger, resignation, and a faint trace of hope.
Though humiliated by the defeat, the human spoke words of reason. But suspicion lingered, too. It didn’t want to die but wanted to become a slave even less.
Adam waited for its choice before a frustrated screech filled the cave. Purplish mana flared from the centipede’s cracked chitin, engulfing its colossal body in a swirling veil. Misha leapt down its back but didn’t raise her guard, nor did he. After all, the screech had a meaning they grasped as clearly as words. "Fine."
A second later, the mana dissipated into drifting wisps. Where uncountable legs should have been, a lavender-haired man pushed himself off the ground.
Mana weaved into an ancient dark shirt and pants as he rose, revealing a handsome, youthful face and a deep furrow creasing his brows.
His voice echoed in a grating whisper, showing how unused to human speech he was. "Before anything, promise you won’t enslave me."
Adam pointed a finger at his own face, glanced at Misha, then laughed. "As if a promise holds any value. But if it helps you relax, sure. I won’t enslave you."
The centipede’s violet eyes softened with the promise. Massaging his sore body, he sat down and sighed.
"You spoke about an offer. I warn you: if it’s about the mountain’s poisonous mana, my answer will be the same as six thousand years ago. I’ve gracefully allowed Pablo and his retinue to settle on the mountain peak. Their descendants absorbed the energy I filtered for them for millennia—all according to our promise."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, clicking his tongue. "But you fools wouldn’t know how to write ’honesty’ even if I spelled it for you. You keep invading my place, trying to steal what’s mine. And now that you can compete against me with your strange methods, you’re back. Don’t you feel any shame?"
Adam pointed at William behind him. "I’m not with them and don’t care about your mountain. Say. You’ve spent over six thousand years in these galleries. Don’t you want a change of scenery? Perhaps a better mountain without mages trying to vie for your resources?" He raised his thumb. "Of course, everything is free. I just ask you not to wreak havoc or kill weaker beasts."
The centipede shook his head, frowning. "Better than this mountain? Impossible in the western region."
Misha cut him off, her lips curling into a genuine smile. "It’s not in any region. We have a blessed land." She tilted her head toward Adam, chuckling. "Actually, we have two, but the second is still under construction."
Silence followed the revelation. Both the centipede’s and William’s mouths opened and closed, yet only gasps of disbelief left their throats.
After a moment, the centipede let out a heavy exhale. "Even if I believe this wild story, I can’t thrive without a dense poison source. I doubt your land, as good as it might be, can compete with natural condensation."
Adam shrugged. "I guess I’ll just have to create it, then."
Before the two men’s bemused glares, he produced one of his best gems and ran his palm on it.
Indeed, he would create what he lacked. Most would find the task impossible, but not him, not when he possessed the moon gem as a reference. Just like how it produced an artificial moon to bathe the lands in its glow, he would enchant the gem to produce poison mana in unholy quantities.
The centipede and William’s breaths hastened as Adam’s fingers danced on the transparent gem. Each precise touch imbued it with a magic symbol, as if he could weave mana with his bare hands.
The color shifted, too. From transparent, it grew green and purples, the two hues flowing without melding to represent poison and corrosion.
Instantly, the air became hard to breathe.
William clutched his neck, his eyes trembling. He gasped, confused, terrorised. There was no scent, so how?
Noticing his distress, Adam stored the gem and smirked. "Sorry, these poisons are a little too potent for you." He turned toward the slack-jawed centipede. "Interested, right?"
As William panted to recover, the centipede closed his mouth and coughed in his fist. "I want that gem. I would even trade everything I have for it. But I can’t. I value promises and will uphold mine to Pablo. His descendants need me to refine the poisonous mana."
He pointed at the basin of purplish liquid. "It’ll last them twenty years at most before the source reclaims its right and things become... ugly. Anyone who’s not an archmage will die."
Adam walked to the basin, grumbling, while Misha chuckled. "Hahaha. Someone finally took advantage of you."
He clicked his tongue but didn’t answer. Instead, he drew tangling lines into a complex diagram around the purplish basin. Qi imbued each stroke until it formed a glowing formation that devoured the poisonous mana, lightening its color, before expelling it in less concentrated doses. Gentle gases swirled in the cleaner air immediately. Easier to absorb, they promised a bright future for the order.
The two men reeled in shock. Qi refining mana? Was it even possible?
But it was only normal for Adam, who melded both to create his flying bastion’s barriers and supply system.
With the job done, he turned to the centipede. "They won’t need you anymore. Follow me now."
The centipede hesitated before a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. This human appeared like a magical treasure trove or perhaps one of those legendary demons who could grant wishes with a snap of their fingers.
Determined to profit, he smoothed his shirt and smiled. "Could you plea..."
Adam’s eyes narrowed into slits, his icy voice cutting him off. "If you ask for anything else, I’ll find a better use for you." He pointed at the chitinous fragments on the ground. "These would make for fine light armor. Your legs already resemble blades, and I’m sure your core will crown a magical staff perfectly."
The centipede’s mouth instantly closed, and icy sweat trickled down his forehead. In a meek voice, he said. "Please, guide me to my new habitat."