Roland had completely lost track of time. He spent the last few minutes walking around in circles, deliberating if he was somehow some kind of demon.
Meanwhile, the elder stared at him from inside the cage with a curious glint in his aged eyes.
"That's a surprisingly specific question, but to answer you, no, the word bloodlust doesn't mean anything to me. Although, there was a peculiar group of dark race individuals who used to drink the blood of their-"
Roland waved his hands and quickly intervened.
"Alright-alright, I get it, the demon race...Shit" He couldn't help but curse beneath his breath. Was he truly a demon? He hadn't grown horns or wings, and as far as he could tell, there was no need to kill or drink anyone's blood.
But he vividly still remembered waking up in the middle of the forest, covered in animal blood and missing the better portion of a few hours.
Unfortunately, Omega didn't possess enough information on said race to give him a proper response either. And Roland was left to handle this anxiety the only way he knew how.
'There's nothing I can do right now. I'll just try not to think about it.'
Meanwhile, Wizard Grey remained idly in wait until he decided to rise to his feet again. He approached the side of the cage closest to Roland. His gaze lingered in deep thought before he cautiously prodded the static electrical bars.
"Intriguing." Said the Elder in thought
"Hm? Wh-what was that?"
"This…power. I can't say I've studied any domain or illusion this powerful. Not only can I not influence or feel any form of mental energy. My consciousness is very much still intact. Say, what is it you intend to do with me?"
Roland froze on the spot and turned to face the very intrigued wizard grey. He had no idea what he intended to do. After all, this was a defensive response to the Elder's attack.
'Could I even release him?" Roland thought to himself. He needed to ask Omega once he was out of this room.
"Ah, I imagine you are unsure of what to do yourself? Well then, let me propose a…deal of sorts."
Roland's ears perked up. "I'm listening?"
The Elder's smile pulled even wider, making him look less trustworthy by the second.
"Free me, or…place me into another body. You do that, and I will swear to serve you until my very last breath. There is a great benefit to having me on your side. I have secrets you might be interested in knowing, and also..."
Roland practically had his ears pressed against the side of the crackling red bars by now.
"Also, what?"
"I will grant you your wish and teach you...magic."
Roland folded his arms and listened intently. That thought certainly crossed his mind more than once. But the problem Roland had was trusting anything this elderly fellow said.
'Hmm, I should pry more and at least let him think I'm gullible enough to openly believe him.'
"What kind of benefits? and also, you don't expect me to be freely trusting someone who tried to take over my body." Roland reminded him with a narrowed gaze.
The elder held up his palms in defeat.
"Bygones be bygones. That was before, this is now. Also...H-how many days have passed since my…departure?" Wizard Grey's visage seemed to change.
Roland thought about that question, wondering if it served him to tell him the truth about time within this space.
"Sigh, a few weeks, give or take." He admitted truthfully.
The elder's face was pale with sheer horror. Roland didn't miss it and quickly questioned the sudden fear.
"They'll be calling soon…shit-shit…b-boy listen. I need your help. How about this? As a measure of my goodwill, I'll give you something."
Roland perked up hearing the possibility of free gifts.
"Go on…. I'm listening."
Wizard grey cleared his throat in a bid to compose himself.
"I have one more hideout. It's not too far from the area where we took you. You need to go there and retrieve something important."
Roland was dutifully surprised to hear that, which means the elder was true to his word when he spoke about surveying the castle for as long as he claimed.
"What is it?"
"A mask"
"What kind of mask"
"A special one, now just keep quiet and listen! It's ivory with a green emerald embedded in the forehead. You need to retrieve that mask as soon as possible. As a measure of good faith, you'll have access to all my texts; that grimoire you were after is amongst those things, amongst other items. "
Seeing the elders panic conjured a few thoughts for him to consider. This could very well be a trap he's walking into. Considering Roland didn't believe there was much that could frighten the wizard.
"Hmm, I don't know. It sounds a little fishy. Tell me more about these gifts, and maybe who the hell is supposed to be calling soon? I don't understand."
Wizard Grey pinched his glabella, pacing his steady breaths in and out in a bid not to shout.
"We don't have time. But I don't imagine they've picked up on things yet. Luckily."
"And how are you sure?"
"Because you would've been dead. You and everyone inside of that castle."
Roland shuddered to hear that. Suddenly, he believed the elder's words more.
'Omega, what do you suggest we do?'
The system beeped and chimed before its gentle voice responded with near enough to what Roland expected.
{Omega advises deploying caution. There is an unknown amount of variables to consider. Although with Host's current timeframe, Omega suggests perhaps exploring the idea}
Roland thought deeply about it. He wasn't exactly flowing with options right now, so maybe listening to the Wizards' idea wasn't so bad.
"Sigh, alright, tell me carefully where to find this hideout. And what can I expect."
The elder's mood had completely changed. He told Roland everything he needed to know to locate his hideout. Roland was advised to go alone and ensure he didn't reveal the location to anyone under any circumstances. Roland couldn't promise that last bit, but he agreed anyway.
"Good, the password is Apple Honeycomb and Dew drops." Explained Wizard Grey
Roland was itching to ask more about that password choice but felt that now might not be the appropriate time.
"Don't ask, just find the hideout. Get the mask and…if you wish to find answers to the questions you hold about my world. Read my testament."
***
In the absence of his death knight, Roland spent the next few days training and hoping he wasn't a demon. There was still an added incentive for him to leave the castle, but he couldn't quite find the best chance without being chaperoned or quizzed 100 questions on why he wanted to leave.
Training continued, and the little blindfolded girl, Swallow, was just as ruthless on day 7 as she was on day 1.
Although Roland couldn't ignore the gradual improvements his body was making, mainly his ability to adapt to the beatdown he was receiving on a day-to-day basis.
His healing factor was gradually becoming more noticeable. Even the sense of fatigue was loosely felt these days. During his sparring sessions, it proved quite useful, but at times, Roland had a moment of anxiety, wondering if a day would come when he would be immune to feeling anything.
For now, however, he focused on the things before him. And while time moved in a steady flow, the day of the banquet finally arrived.
Roland looked gloomily at his reflection in the tall mirror. His clothes were fitted and tailored to perfection. Today, his timetable was already decided for him. He would be dressing up and attending the patriarch's banquet. Observing his clothes through the mirror, he looked just like one of those old Victorian paintings. Only he wasn't so sure his unkempt braided hair fit the aesthetics too well.
Such was an easy fix, though, he discovered, with a few sturdy hair bands to tie his wild braided hair backwards.
"Much better." He gave himself a close inspection before giving himself a thumbs up.
An unknown figure arrived by his door. Roland shifted his gaze towards the other side of his room before beckoning the guest inside. The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man with a clean-shaven beard, dressed in light armour appeared by his door frame.
Roland looked the fellow up and down before the obvious question flowed freely from his mouth.
"Err-can I help you?" He asked the guard, whose chiselled face was struggling with what to say next.
After clearing his throat, he straightened up his posture and placed a single fist over the left side of his chest.
"Greetings, son of Lady Diane. I have been assigned as your most trusted escort for the day. My name is Orc–"
Roland chuckled out loud, rather rudely, which made him cover his mouth.
The guard narrowed his brows in annoyance.
"No-no forgive me, it's not you. I just thought of something." He lied, wiping the tiny tears away from the corners of his eyes.
"And may I ask who... assigned you to me?" He said putting on his most charming voice.
"Ara! That would be none other than the most gracious Lady Herone." The guard announced proudly.
Roland creased a wry smile. It seems they don't plan on letting me breathe today. He expected nothing less, considering what he discovered was the true purpose of this banquet. Now that he thought about it deeply, this was probably all arranged to give him a chance to get close enough to the patriarch.
Knowing the devious plan set behind the scenes, Roland stared into the dark, shifty eyes of the fellow before him. He couldn't help but wonder how many people were part of this plot to kill his grandfather.
'Now that I think about it, I can't say I remember where I placed that alloy.' With everything happening around him, Roland had honestly forgotten what that crazy girl tasked him with doing. And since he had absolutely no intention of failing to kill a Gold-ranked-bodied warrior. He practically removed all thoughts concerning it.
They said nothing to one another for a while until Roland decided it was best to rip away the bandaid quickly .
"So listen er…"
"Orcus."
"R-right Orc-orcus. Wait, is that actually your real name?" Roland asked him, disbelieving.
The guard's cheeks flushed slightly before he gently nodded his head.
Roland held back his inner laughter before he continued.
"So, Orcus, thank you for this brief encounter, but I won't need any help tonight. You're relieved of your duties."
The fellow's mouth slightly widened, but words never appeared. He seemed more shocked than anything. But that soon turned into a face devoid of colour as fear naturally resumed.
"Yeah, I don't think that's an option, kid, unless you want the main house to have my head on a spike. Tsk! How did the hell did I end up being assigned to the cripple." He made a poor attempt at whispering the last bit of his sentence.
Roland stood a little surprised by that sudden change of his attitude.
'Kid? Ah, I see, so this is his real face.'
He much preferred honesty to lies, but he really didn't need protection tonight. He waved the man away before he said anything.
"No I insist, in fact I order you to report back to Lady Herone and tell her I refused."
Roland could see all manner of fear and politeness dutifully wash away from Orcus features. A stern mask of coldness was slowly appearing.
"I..I…I don't know what you think this is, but let me tell you something: I-no, we cannot afford to offend the main house. Especially not…that woman."
Orcus shuddered slightly. Roland guessed he probably remembered a terrible memory, but he could only shrug his shoulders. He planned on using today's event to test Omega's improved scan functionality. With all the people set to arrive inside, it would be a good testing environment to measure the scope of Omega's abilities.
And no doubt this bothersome guard would only slow him down.
"I'm sorry but I cant compromise on my beliefs I'd prefer to go alone."
He crossed his arms before slightly tilting his head to one side.
By now the guard practically had steam coming out of his nostrils. Roland was surprised he didn't attempt to drag him out by force until now. The guard stomped one foot forward, muttering curses.
Just before the second foot moved Roland was alerted by Omega to a second arrival.
Orcus felt his entire body frozen in place. A shadowy figure appeared beside him, and a slender arm swiftly fell over his neck.
Roland's frown brightened into a soft smile instantly. He was wondering when this figure would show up.
"The young master has already declined your offer. The direction you should be going is that way." Said the willow in an icy, cool voice.
Orcus almost shrieked, catching himself before he tripped over his own feet in an attempt to shuffle away from the long arm around him.
"Wh-wh-whe-di-yo…shit! Fine, have it your way. Goodbye." Roland watched the petrified guard cautiously angle his body through the small gap between the willow and the opened door. He took one last look back before he vanished down the hallway.
The death knight approached Roland before descending to a single knee, which was customary for him.
"The arrangements are set, young Lord. I have acquired the sacred flower, which I will use to continue refining your body. And I can also confirm that Lord Brutus received the letter ."
Roland wore a warm smile. His trusted death knight had returned after a short stint away, and in truth, things weren't the same without him.
Regarding the news, he nodded gracefully, glad the procedures were moving well. Now, he only needed to figure a few more things out before he set his plan in motion.
He smoothed his glabella between his two fingers before exhaling a pent-up exhale. "Guess all that's left now is to attend this banquet. Shall we go then? I'd like to hear about your journey" He wore a boyish smile as he gestured for his death knight's hand.
"Yes, young Lord, let's go."