A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing
Chapter 717 - 717 - A ghost's frustration

Tension rose rapidly. Eira and Naeku looked at Erik miserably, but what could they say? Their own lives were the last thing they were concerned with right now, especially because Eira could simply teleport Naeku and her medium on Erik's arm outside, should Erik truly explode.

The ancient Maasai man looked at Erik strangely. It looked like he was actually impressed by Erik's conviction, but before he could think of a response, Elora's weak voice rose instead.

"There's no need to kill yourself for me, my love," she groaned, a helpless smirk spreading across her lips.

Erik snarled. "I know there's no need, but you think I care?! Besides, my bond with you is preventing anyone from messing with my mind, and without that protection, who knows what Audumla and Ymir might do to ensure I comply with their plans?! Setting aside that I'd threaten my own life to get you back, I'd rather kill myself than be a slave!"

He was actually a little angry at her. Since when would she undermine him like this? It was supposed to be their family against the world, no matter what. Keeping Elora safe was supposed to be his part of their partnership!

The man rapidly blinked his eyebrows. "Wait, isn't Lord Ymir dead?"

Unfortunately, his question went ignored.

Feeling his anger, Elora sighed and shook her head. "That's not what I meant." She glanced over at the Maasai man. "I'm sure you're wondering how that power is contained in his soul? It's because it's occupying the space allocated there through my bond with him… and if our bond is broken, that space collapses and then, well…" She shrugged helplessly.

Elora left the consequences hanging in the air, but everyone instantly understood. Such power loose in his soul would certainly rip it apart and kill him, anyway. Erik, especially, couldn't believe he didn't think of that before. To be fair, he had many other things to worry about, but still.

Now, everyone focused on the Maasai man to see his response. First, he blinked, and then an amused smirk spread across his lips. "Alright, your conviction impresses me." He cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Elora, but continued addressing Erik. "But then, wouldn't the best choice be for me to keep her locked up? It would ensure your compliance and life."

Erik growled, but before he could respond, Elora was first again. "Don't make me laugh," she chuckled weakly. "You are a remnant soul who's been kept in stasis for tens of thousands of years. Now that you've awakened, you have…"—she cocked a mocking eyebrow—"…an hour to live? Two?"

She shook her head gleefully. "Your options are to let me go, kill me—and Erik in the process—or keep me locked up. But then, if you keep me locked up, you'll either let Naeku inherit the facility—after which she'll free me instead—or you won't let her inherit it. In that case, the facility remains dead, and I'll die in captivity after a little while, once again resulting in Erik's death—and that last one is assuming he doesn't do something stupid before then."

Shocked silence settled after Elora's tirade. Neither Erik, nor Naeku or Eira had given any thought yet as to how this man was even here, but it seemed Elora had already figured it out.

Suddenly, and surprisingly, the Maasai man began to chuckle, then burst out laughing. Suddenly, he seemed far more amiable. For the first time, he actually addressed Elora with a wide grin. "Hahaha, you're absolutely right! Spirits, how I've missed verbally sparring with an intelligent fairy!"

Helplessly, he turned his eyes up to the ceiling and shrugged. "You won't believe how hard it was to fill the intellectual void you left after your kind betrayed us!"

Everyone, except for Elora, had their eyebrows twitch. Rather, Elora scoffed proudly. "Of course it was! There's a reason my kind is ahead in every kind of research!"

The man sighed and nodded… but then frowned. "Truthfully, we couldn't have done any of the things we did without your kind to help us with the research, but you still betrayed us in the end. Your kind destroyed everything we worked so hard for. How can I just let Lady Audumla's harbinger be influenced by you? The entire plan now hinges on him!"

His frown deepened. "And how did a fairy even end up on this planet, anyway?! Surely the pathways haven't opened yet?! How long has it been since the awakening?!"

Suddenly, he seemed to be full of questions, causing both Erik and Elora to smirk. "We might be willing to answer your questions," Erik chuckled, now feeling far more confident and in control, "but you'll have to let Elora go first."

The man groaned and rubbed his transparent face. "You're making things very difficult for me, Harbinger." He glanced at Elora thoughtfully. "I suppose it's at least obvious there's no bond of slavery between you two… But it's equally obvious you care about her enough for that not to matter, because she still influences you through your feelings."

Erik shrugged nonchalantly. "No more than any two people who love each other influence the other. Why would that matter? This betrayal you talk about happened long before Elora was even born. She'd never even heard of it before I found out from Ymir!"

"So Lord Ymir really is alive?!" the man instantly interjected, fists balled, eyes wide in excitement.

Unfortunately, Erik simply shrugged smugly. He wouldn't answer any questions until Elora was free.

"Argh!" the man groaned in frustration, clearly desperate for answers as he buried his face in both hands.

Elora giggled with sadistic glee. "He's right. I have no strong opinion about Audumla's plan, but if it really includes creating universal safety for Runebound and doesn't involve his death, then I don't see why we shouldn't work with her."

Her voice deepened by an octave. Conviction and obsessive love filled it as she glanced at Erik. "After all, I want Erik to be safe, and I would rather die than betray him."

The man sighed and sagged a little helplessly. He was clearly still hesitant to let a fairy go, but he also realised the problems with not doing so.

Finally, after a moment of thought, he seemed to come to a conclusion. "Alright…" he nodded. "Since I obviously have no good choices here, I'll let her go and hope for the best." Grins broke out, but before they could respond, he raised a finger. "But! I have one condition."

Before he could explain further, Erik cocked an eyebrow and pointed at Naeku. "You'll also give her the inheritance she deserves?"

The man blinked, his thoughts interrupted, and looked at Naeku on the throne. "Ah…!" Then he coughed and nodded. "R— Right… I'm sorry, inheritor, for ignoring you so far. Normally, I was planning to use this time to get to know you better and find out what happened to the world after my death until it became time for me to truly move on, but…"

He shrugged helplessly and waved at Erik and Elora.

A little embarrassed, Naeku blushed. Honestly, she was just happy it looked like this event was getting a happy ending. "I— It's fine… I'm just glad you're letting Elora go."

The man rolled his eyes and glared a little at Elora. "You've really ingratiated yourself, huh…?"

But Elora scoffed and pointed at Erik. "Blame him! She's honestly not that keen on me, but he cares, so she cares."

"Right…" the man muttered, glancing between Erik and Naeku, fully aware of what was going on there. "I guess I should be happy my inheritor and the harbinger are bonded…"

He shook his head and focused on Erik and Elora again. "Anyway! My condition is this…"