One Last System

\'They do not care about the sect itself at all,\' Ackhart thought, yet again forced to hold his fury back.

Even though the devastation of the disaster was mostly limited to the arena, it wouldn\'t be a lie to claim it was the only place that ended up damaged.

Some of the living areas were showered with rubble. Even the commercial district, which was the furthest part of the town away from the arena, ended up with several buildings collapsing due to the tremors.

Yet, instead of making sure that not a single survivor of this disaster was left to their own, the current leader of the sect dedicated all of its resources towards the hunt.

\'I have to hold it in,\' Ackhart reminded himself.

Just backing Mia\'s request to join the hunt clearly made others suspicious about his allegiances. But if he were to attempt to slow down the organization of the hunt for the sake of something as meaningless in Sangakart\'s eyes as the welfare of the sect or its people...

\'I\'m sorry,\' Ackhart thought, standing up from his from a random boulder that protruded from the tribunes. He cast a single look at the devastating middle of the arena before bitting down on his lips and moving out of the place.

"Ackhart," the leading elder called him out the second he emerged from the arena grounds, "a word, please."

"What\'s wrong?" Ackhart asked, tilting his head to the side while pretending to be puzzled.

"What was that all about?" the elder criticized him in a lowered voice. He then took a quick look to the sides before leaning in closer. "What was the point of letting that whore in? Don\'t tell me you forgot who she is!"

Internally, Ackhart smiled. The fact that this man actually voiced out his suspicions meant that he himself didn\'t really expect Ackhart to be actually playing against them.

"Someone has to keep up the illusion," Ackhart replied, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. "Since when the elders of this sect were capable of unanimously agreeing to something?" he asked before releasing a small chuckle. "Someone has to be in opposition to what you say. Otherwise, people are bound to start suspecting something is wrong," he explained...

Or rather, recited the very excuse that he came up with even before he dared to say a word against what the man hoped to achieve.

Ackhart then shook his head, unwilling to let the man speak another word.

"And yes, I\'m aware of who that girl is. To be honest, I believe she might think that this royal is actually the guy we wanted to spring a trap on," the man added, coldly calculating the risks and potential benefits of bringing that point up to Sangakart\'s attention.

"And what do you think about it?" the prime elder asked, leaning his head to the side. "Is that royal actually our guy?"

Ackhart shook his head sideways in denial.

"To be honest, I don\'t think so," he claimed, only to purse his lips and avert his eyes. "But that\'s my own belief. Whether it\'s him or not..." he shrugged his shoulders, "I have no clue."

For a moment, the leading elder of the Sangakarts turned silent, simply staring down at Ackhart\'s face.

"If you are unsure about it, why did you want to let this girl join?" the elder asked, seizing Ackhart with his eyes.

"Because if her wish is right, then it\'s better to have someone watch over her rather than letting her do whatever she wants while we will be all away on the hunt," Ackhart explained without even a second of thought.

The years that he spent acting as the double agent gave him an important lesson. And now, whenever he was doing something that wasn\'t strictly in line with Sangakarts\' aims, he was sure to prepare an excuse well in advance.

"I guess I will leave overseeing her to you, then," the elder said before releasing a deep sigh. "Damn, I never thought that the situation would escalate so quickly," he added in a lowered tone.

"Huh?" Ackhart shrugged, not prepared for such information. "So you knew that something was about to go down?" he asked, reluctant to believe in such a convenient slip of a tongue.

"I heard some stuff," the man replied, shaking his head. "Apparently, there were some signs of the disaster coming since roughly half a year ago," he explained. "But it\'s third-hand news. I\'m not important enough to ask Bayrat personally," he added before pursing his lips.

\'Wait, Bayrat?\' Ackhart shrugged, only due to the utmost effort of his will stopping his eyes from widening. \'What does that fucking traitor have to do with anything?\'

"Respectable elder!"

Mia called out to him before Ackhart could get some time to digest the stuff he had just heard.

"We are all ready to go!" she announced, standing at attention once she reached the two elders.

"Good to know," the Sangakart elder nodded his head, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Keep up this attitude, and a seat of an elder might really fall into your hands!" he announced before squinting his eyes and rubbing his chin. "Or should I say, your ass would fall on the seat?" he asked before shaking his head and moving away.

"The hell was that?" Mia asked silently after watching the Sangakart elder walk a considerable distance away, right towards the head of the slowly forming column. "Don\'t tell me he is after my ass now," she added, squinting her eyes as she struggled to hold her fury back.

"I don\'t think so," Ackhart shook his head as he replied before leaning over the girl while pretending to fix his robe. "Do you really think it was him?" he whispered his question.

"I don\'t think it was him," Mia replied without even a second of hesitation. "I know it. And even though it was the second time he stopped me from approaching him..." she took a momentary break to swallow her saliva. Yet, instead of picking up her sentence right away, Mia simply chuckled before raising her eyes and whispering right into Ackhart\'s ear.

"Don\'t they say that the third time\'s a charm?"