Kaze knocked on Evalyn's door at 5:45 the next day. She immediately opened the door, fully dressed with a slight smile.
"Hello, Kaze." The blonde said, "I can't wait for another happy day following you around like a helpless kitten."
"Welcome back, [Evalyn]; your fate is remarkable." He chuckled in disbelief, "Post Apocalypse Party arrival date, closed cultivation, plans for revenge but not vocalized. You understand, yes?"
Evalyn nodded with a frown, pleased that he trusted her enough to give a fake alibi in one sentence without needing a drawn-out explanation, but displeased she was compared to the Ice Phoenix.
So she silently followed him up the stairs to the meeting room, not expressing any emotion.
When they got to the door, her uncle was waiting with an ambivalent expression.
"Good morning, Kaze, Evalyn." Daniel said with a forced smile.
"Good morning, Uncle." Evalyn replied dryly.
He didn't know anything about what happened but knew not to interact with her more than necessary.
"Let's go in, everyone." Kaze smiled, "Our guests are waiting in the side room."
Everyone nodded and walked into the room, taking seats at the table facing the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Sir, they're ready." A woman said with a nervous tone.
"Please let them in, Marilyn." Kaze requested, looking at the nervous woman who was a flight attendant only a week before.
When he invited her to Immortal Skye, she didn't expect to be given a serious career role. She was originally overjoyed until military personnel showed up out of the blue.
Marilyn motioned to the men in the hallway, and they lined up. This time around, they brought an elite force consisting of only cultivators.
While they didn't expect to survive an encounter with Kaze, they no longer underestimated any of the other faction members.
After six men in full black tactical suits walked into the room without guns, two men walked in.
Kane Ryker, the agent with a short brown haircut and dark brown eyes, was accompanied by another man.
The man had grey hair and a leathery face. He wore a green suit decorated with medals, indicating that he was at least a lower general.
Everyone in the room, save Kaze and Evalyn, had beating hearts.
"Greetings, gentlemen." Kaze smiled while standing with his hands behind his back.
The general stared at the emperor for a moment, expecting an outstretched hand that never came.
He closed his eyes, accepting the message, and put his hand out instead. "General Michaels. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Kaze."
The emperor immediately accepted it. "Kaze Lexicon, likewise."
Then he motioned for the men to sit without looking at agent Ryker.
Everyone in the room was tense because of Kaze's actions. Even Evalyn was confused by his obvious slights against the military.
However, she watched closely. At that point, she knew that nothing the emperor did lacked meaning and wanted to learn.
The general's eyes glided to Evalyn with a meaningful gaze before returning back to Kaze, who gave them cold gazes.
"Are you here to speak business, or are you here to speculate about our internal matters?" The emperor asked coldly.
"Forgive me, Mr. Lexicon." The general replied with a blank expression.
"But should we not address the obvious first? Last night this woman's mother was in Marysworth Hospital, and a powerful cultivator destroyed it on camera.
He actively destroyed missiles to prove he could, only a day after you warned us to bring missiles.
Then he explicitly warned the government and military to avoid powerful offending cultivators like yourself.
Lastly, he blamed us for not giving out simple cultivation techniques, which we're here to discuss.
Do you not think this is relevant to our conversation?"
The room's physical temperature dropped twenty degrees instantly.
Everyone turned to Evalyn, whose eyes were filled with wrath and was surrounded by a torrent of frost.
Kaze closed his eyes, and a vortex swept over the room, making everyone feel sickly from their meridians being deprived of Qi.
"Is your reconnaissance so bad that you'd need to speculate on my actions instead of addressing facts?" The emperor asked coldly.
The men began sweating, looking into his murderous eyes.
"Your unruly actions are courting death, gentlemen." Kaze declared in a frigid tone.
"In your minds, it's relevant. There's a 50/50 gamble between my innocence and being guilty of blowing up a hospital and warning you all of the obvious things most cultivators know.
However, the truth is there is a 100% chance that your actions would trigger my and Ms. Skye's aggression.
Regardless of her knowing, you just informed her that her mother had died, and you're insinuating I'm responsible for a crime without knowledge.
You did all this while calling my partner, whose name is on this faction, [this woman].
Tell me, gentlemen. Is there anything sensible about what you just did?"
General Michaels and Agent Ryker shuttered in fear.
"Forgive us, Mr. Lexicon." General Michaels said, "Surely, you understand the importance of ascertaining facts when negotiating with a dangerous party."
Kaze scoffed in disbelief, and his gaze turned even colder.
"Is it my responsibility to give you the answers to these offensive [facts] as you call them before a negotiation?" The emperor asked mockingly.
"Or did you cross-check my whereabouts instantly last night and not pull up anything, only to come in asking the man in question if I'm a criminal? Unbelievable.
You have five seconds to leave before I kill everyone in this room save my people."
The room grew colder in shock and disbelief.
General Michaels shook in disbelief. "Y-You cannot be—"
"Hold your tongue, you uncouth swine!" Kaze yelled with an authoritative voice.
Everyone in the room shook, even Evalyn, who couldn't believe what she was watching.
"You walk into my home to negotiate a deal, disrespect my partner, and insinuate I'm a criminal." The emperor scoffed in disdain, "Then you justify your actions?"
The men in the room shook in terrified confusion.
"M-Mr. Lexicon, you're threatening the government itself." General Michaels stuttered, "Surely you understand such an action has consequences?"
"You mean the government who will attack me thinking I threatened them?" Kaze laugh-scoffed in bewilderment.
"Why would I trust people who will take what I have to offer and [attempt] to kill me because I'm a threat?
I do not seek a foolish death; so stop comparing me to yourselves and get out of my home."
General Michaels and Agent Ryker shook in disbelief.
"W-Wait. We'll apologize; this was just a misunderstanding." The general pleaded.
"Are you deaf?" The emperor asked in vexation, "Will any words or apology fix the intrinsic problems with your threatening mindset and attitudes? Your chimerical behavior is beyond diagnosis."
"Then what, Mr. Lexicon?" General Michaels requested hurriedly, "What will would ease your concerns for [my] disrespectful and harmful mindset? I do not speak for the government."
"It seems your self-awareness and productivity has increased." Kaze growled, closing his eyes. "Give me a moment to think if there's some way to reverse this obtuse [misunderstanding] rationally."
Everyone fell silent, respectfully giving him as much time as he needed to think things through.
Evalyn and Daniel watched him in disbelief. The emperor had the Malta military singing to his tune, begging him to concede.
It humbled and infuriated Evalyn, whose trauma was being used in the meeting as a bargaining chip like her mother was. However, she applauded him for his actions and learned from them.
She watched him kill all the people that killed her mother and then crush the military for disrespecting her. He used the first action to accomplish the other.
It was remarkable. The blonde was now keenly aware that Kaze Lexicon wasn't as simple as he appeared.
He wasn't a simple person with individual strength, knowledge of the future, and a survivor.
There was something incredibly off about his actions, and she needed to learn what that was.
Kaze opened his eyes and locked them on General Michaels. "The only way to establish a proper negotiation and prevent future hostilities is through an official alliance."
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