NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 97: Hostage
After a few minutes of standing and listening to Anders ramble on with the confidence of a man who loved the sound of his own voice, Ren finally took a seat.
"Good man." Anders praised, raising his glass in Ren's direction. "I knew you'd see reason."
The Penny Prince leaned back in his chair as he spoke. "Have I ever told you how much I admire you?" He asked.
"A third son with so little prospects, he might as well be a commoner. But look at you now." He took a sip of his wine.
"Defeated a Rank 4 Knight in single combat while being Rank 3, made a wager and swindled a wealthy noble out of a million gold coins. Not to mention the fact that you killed a king in the heart of his own kingdom."
"How did you do that, by the way?" Anders asked. "How did a Rank 3 Knight kill the king? If you were Rank 4, I wouldn't even be this shocked."
"At this point, you don't even need to do anything else. Your legend has already been sealed. Even if no one doesn't know you killed the king, just the whole Rosefield thing is enough for stories to be told about you."
"In a hundred years time, you'll certainly be a folk hero. I'm impressed, Ren. Now, I know why the inner city nobles never liked you border folks."
"While they're enjoying themselves in the cities, enhancing their Bloodbinding in blood farms, where they kill animals specifically bred to advance them, you border warriors fight with your life on the line, knowing there's no help coming but yourself. Except in the event of an invasion, of course."
Ren sat there, saying nothing. His patience was slowly running out.
He'd already done all the waiting earlier in the day, and right now, waiting for Lilith to arrive felt like torture.
And with Anders' voice droning on, he was literally begging the world to move faster in the privacy of his mind. When it was time to return to the arena and the king didn't answer their calls, his Knights would force open the door and see the dead king.
The capital would probably be locked down tight in response.
His attention shifted to Anders. His mind went back to Anders' extensive wiki article. Why hadn't it included the fact that Anders had been Kingpin? Was it because even the creators of Eternal Souls hadn't known either?
Had the universe retconned it to make the world actually make sense? That raised a question in his mind. Does the world have plot holes?
At the end of the day, it didn't matter. He already knew all he needed to fight Anders. He knew all his abilities and of course, the artifact he was using to guard himself. The Rank 5 artifact.
"You know," Anders mused, dragging his attention back to the present, "I believe we'll have quite a bit of fun together in the future. Just imagine what we could accomplish if we continue working together."
"We won't be working together." Ren said immediately, shooting down the idea.
"We'll see." Anders chuckled, staring at Ren like he knew something no one else did.
An hour passed before the doors finally opened. Lars walked into the room, turning slightly as Ren stood.
What the? Ren's stomach dropped.
Lilith stood there, looking more like a wraith than ever before. Her skin was paler than usual, almost as white as chalk. Her legs shook visibly as she walked forward, and she would have collapsed if Lars hadn't been lightly supporting her.
Ren rushed to her side, eyes wide. "Lilith!"
She barely lifted her head to look at him, her eyes dull and unfocused. Ren caught her just as she nearly fell, his arms wrapping around her body. She was far too light, her body trembling as she tried to stay conscious.
His eyes roamed around her body and his concern ignited, turning into rage.
His eyes snapped to Anders, burning. "What the hell did you do to her?!" He snarled.
Anders smiled casually, looking at Ren as if all was right with the world. "Oh, nothing too extreme. Just a little something to keep things… balanced."
"Explain! Now!" Ren roared.
Anders sighed, setting his drink down. "You see, I knew you wouldn't just go along with what I wanted, Ren. You're far too… stubborn for that. Less so than Octavian, of course."
"I needed something to make sure that you'd continue to be useful to me." He gestured at the weak Lilith. "So, I gave her a special concoction. And judging by how she is now, it must be working."
"Don't worry though, it won't kill her immediately. But…" Anders paused, raising a finger, "it will slowly keep her in a state of weakness until she finally dies."
Ren's vision went red. He was about to move, to launch himself at Anders and rip him apart, but a whisper froze him in place.
"Don't." Lilith whispered weakly. Her fingers weakly grasped his sleeve. "Not… here."
Anders laughed in response. "Ah, how sweet. But don't worry, Ren. I'm quite the reasonable man. I wouldn't leave you without an option."
Ren stared at the man through the haze of his fury. "Get to the point." He forced out.
Anders smirked. "Every month, I will give you a single pill. That pill will keep her stable for another month. But in return, you will do a mission for me." He tilted his head, insanity shining briefly in his eyes as he laughed. "Simple, isn't it?"
Ren's whole body trembled. "You—"
"Ah, ah." Anders waggled a finger. "I wouldn't make any reckless decisions right now if I were you. You wouldn't want Lilith to die without an antidote, would you?"
Ren gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. His very soul sang to him to rip Anders apart, but he couldn't. Not when Lilith's life was at stake.
Anders chuckled. "That's the look I was expecting. You have one month till you get the pill, Ren. I suggest you use your time wisely."
Ren didn't respond. Instead, he carefully lifted Lilith into his arms, her body far too light against his own.
He turned and walked out into the daylight. His mind worked, thinking of a way out of this. He couldn't leave Lilith in the same state she'd been five years ago. Feeling like her life wasn't in her hands. He couldn't allow it to happen.
"If only I can—" he paused, remembering the king's soul. He'd gotten information out of it just by touching it. If he could do that, then Lilith would be able to extract the pill or antidote out of Anders' soul.
A dark grin appeared on his face. "Don't worry, Lilith." He whispered to her. "I'll get you out of this."
The time has come. He'll be paying Anders a visit tonight.