"Accelerated Decay."
*Click... *Crumble...
"I hope this is proof enough."
Lix asked nonchalantly after watching the table fall easily to the cursed spell he had learned from the mind of the body Moloc was currently possessing.
As his goal was to attain a level of recognition while remaining mysterious, that spell seemed like the best option given its level of rarity was the perfect amount.
With that, his gaze swept through the room, hoping to gauge everyone's reaction and prepare the perfect response to any questions they might have.
The room completely fell silent as everyone stared at the Adamantine-lined table that was also magically reinforced and should be able to easily withstand the force of a typical Rank 7 Magician, as it rapidly crumbled to dust right before their eyes.
The expression on their faces was filled with surprise and astonishment as they struggled to process the information they had just witnessed with their eyes. Frankly speaking, this was something they all already suspected about Lix, yet, seeing it being so casually displayed to them had completely thrown them for a loop.
Severus couldn't help but shake his head as he could only imagine the expression Teyla would've had if she was still here to bear witness to this. He reckoned this was enough to push her to the very edge so perhaps kicking her out was a good thing in the long run.
Despite how damaging that was to her reputation as a rank 7 Magician. This might've been much worse as a reputation was at least salvageable, her pride, on the other hand, might've never recovered. Ignorance was indeed bliss.
After glancing at everyone's faces to make sure they were all back to normal, Ivan gently stroked his long white beard as he decided to formalize the request on behalf of the three organizations.
Normally, this task would've been left to the Guild Leader of the Magic Guild, Syphilia— to handle as Lix was receiving this quest as a member of the Magic guild and not as a merchant.
However, given as she was currently absent from this meeting, he had naturally stepped up as her representative given as he was the strongest leader of the three organizations present here, as well as the oldest.
"...Then, Mr. Lix, we'll be leaving everything to you if that's alright."
Safe to say the other two Rank 7 Magicians party leaders in the room did not have a problem with this outcome. After all, a Tier 5 Mage was an incredibly rare occurrence in this world.
With the Vice Guild Leader of the magic institute being only at the intermediate Tier 4 standard, not even they had reached that level yet this man had not only claimed to be one, but he had also even casually displayed a 5th Tier spell to boot.
It was one thing to have reached even the Basics of the 5th Tier as one would gain an absurd boost from their mana body alone, let alone be able to learn the incredibly difficult and complicated spells written in unreadable runes that make it almost impossible to draw out the magic circle and understand how to activate it.
Yet, seated before them was a genius capable of doing just that. There was no way any of them would be able to keep up with his party. Hence why they had both remained silent despite missing the opportunity for an instant promotion. A chance almost anyone at the guild would jump at matter the cost.
However,
Lix nodded confidently in response to Ivan's humble submission. As the three organizations agreed unanimously to leave everything to him.
"I understand."
Then, he shifted his gaze to the child seated at the head of the table and spoke. While he had successfully gotten rid of any interference from the magic guild, there was still the issue with the city's lord's personal guards to deal with.
He also could openly reject the Lord's offer straight up, which was why Uriel had prepared a series of options for him and Tyler chose the simplest way.
"We'll be moving out as soon as possible given as all our preparations have already been completed. Besides, any further delays would likely increase the chances of the Devil completing its ritual with the remaining survivors."
"Hmm... that makes sense. I suppose there's no longer a need for my guards to accompany you there is there? Although their assistant will not affect your rewards."
"There is no need to bother yourself with my safety. It will be faster transversing to the Farbelt Pass without any extra weight on my carriage."
"Extra weight?"
All four of Nullen's guards furrowed their brows at that statement as their auras flared up rapidly and instantly suppressed the room. However, it didn't seem as though Lix or even Lilith — who was supposed to be weaker — was even slightly bothered by the pressure.
To think someone aside from the Elders of the Zorak family would ever dare to consider them as nothing more than extra weight. Such insolent attitude was unheard of even though they knew he had only been referring to their actual body mass weighing down his carriage and slowing down his travel speed.
Lix didn't bother to pay attention to the four as though completely denying their presence just as he had done with Ral at the merchant guild.
This flagrant disrespect caused anger to flare up within the four but before any of them could burst into a childish outburst of rage, not unlike that of the Magician Teyla, Nullen's words immediately calmed them down.
"So that's a no. That's fine then. I look forward to hearing the results of your quest soon. And for your sake, I hope you don't disappoint me."
"Understood."
The eyes of everyone in the room rested on Lix with varying expressions on their faces. Lix didn't bother to extend the conversation any further as he deemed the meeting over and returned his gaze to the others in the room.
"Then, we shall set out immediately. I hope everyone else will defend the city. If the Devil has truly completed its ritual to summon its master and I missed it, I do not wish to return to a destroyed city."
His intentions were clear for all to read as there was no hidden meaning behind that statement as far as they could tell. This only goes to show how even someone like him was wary of the devil's true nature till the very end.
"Well, I can't say there won't be any problems, but you can leave it to us. If you meet any danger, I pray you will fall back immediately."
Lix nodded as he stood up, accompanied by Lilith, and left the room.
??????????
After a few minutes of some awkward silence then idle chatter. The other magicians said their goodbyes and exited the room as well.
In the end, there were only four people left in the room; Nullen, his second in command, Willow, Ivan, and Riokar, who currently had a proud expression on his face with a smug smile to the booth.
"You seem to be quite pleased with yourself for some reason Riokar."
"Ah, forgive me for my insolence my lord. I am simply glad the situation is finally getting resolved. Unfortunately, it appears my merchants have all met their end on this trip so I am glad Mr. Lix is a part of my organization."
"It is indeed truly rare for such a powerful person to be a member of the Merchant guild. I had tried to even recruit him for myself but he had only chosen to join the Magic guild instead. Not that I'm complaining."
"I see. Was his revelation truly that impressive to you?"
"Surely you jest my lord. I'm sure you know that a tier-five mage is equal in the might of a true demon lord of a low-ranking noble family. One that is capable of governing his own region if I may add."
"And for a being like that to be part of a Merchant organization is outstanding."
Despite their enthusiastic explanation, Nullen's face appeared as innocently confused as it did in the beginning. It was understandable that a Demigod like him was probably not aware that even Tier 5 nobles were considered Demon Lords in this day and age.
Still, even being aware that Lix was at the same level as a Demon Lord, Nullen didn't feel like it was enough to warrant such a level of excitement from the two guild leader so he had to ask.
"Why is that?"
"Well my lord, you see, the merchant guild is usually compromised of silver-tongued salesmen or traders as the ability to buy and sell goods while making a reasonable profit from each transaction are the most sort out qualities of a true merchant. While here in the demon continent, a bit of strength to survive in the wilderness is advised, that's not a requirement."
"So that's it."
Nullen easily comprehend where the Merchant guild Leader was coming from given the current state of the Merchant guild as the weakest member of the three organizations.
"Indeed, this is why the merchant guild relies on the two other organizations to function anywhere outside the city's borders. So, for a merchant capable of traversing the wilderness on his own to join the guild, this in itself creates a vast amount of lucrative opportunities for us. The next part will be if Mr. Lix would consider opening a trading company under the guild."
"I see, such a company would be able to bring in a vast amount of rare material from over the continent and the profits from that would only be shared with the merchant guild as the two organizations would be left out of the process. Plus, with such a reliable company in town, even members from the two organizations would be making use of the company's resources sometimes. Allowing the merchant guild to profit from the other guild for the first time."
"My lord, your intellect is truly outstanding."
"Indeed. You're a hundred percent correct. Such a trading company would improve the guild's standings amongst the other organizations. But more than that, the presence of such a company would no doubt increase the trade traffic of WingedCity. And in turn, increasing the other guild's revenue as a whole."
"That explains why the two of you seem to hold him in such high regard. It's impressive that a single individual is capable of affecting an entire city to this extent. How fascinating."
Nullen relaxed his shoulders as he sank back into his seat with a satisfied expression on his face. He could easily see how the fate of this city had suddenly become tied with a single individual's whims but at this point, there wasn't much he could do to change that.
"Lord Nullen. If he really has so much influence on this city as a VIP merchant. Is it really okay to let him handle this quest alone? The original plan had been to send all three parties of Rank 7 magicians at once."
Willow asked in a soft tone that made the others think her intentions lie in the safety of Lix and his companion. However, Nullen could read the undertone in her words as he simply smirked and responded.
"This is fine too. We can just use this as an excuse to request aid from the headquarters. There's no need in spreading this city's already dwindled defenses even further by sending any more force at this problem."
"If you say so."
Willow didn't press on further as she accepted Nullen's response and returned to her previous calm demeanor.
"Well then my lord, if that's all, we will now be taking our leave."
"That is accepted. You've both done well in educating me on the workings of this city. You have my thanks."
"It was our honor. For a pure-blooded noble prince like yourself to seek the advice of us common folks, there's no way we could possibly decline that."
"You flatter me too much. It's always a good thing to seek the advice of your elders."
"Right."
"Well then, we bid you farewell, my lord."
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