The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 589 Confronting Lyrun

"Hello... Jack?"

"I’m here!" replied the hero. "Sorry, we were finishing up our conference and I had to step out before responding."

"Don’t worry, you’re fine. I’m glad we managed to connect our crystals during all of that," Lyrun laughed. The Elf God let loose a long sigh as he looked about his room. It was grandiose and luxurious yet it felt more like a prison with each passing day.

"Thanks for shielding me from your attack. It was much more powerful than I expected," Jack chuckled.

Lyrun nodded. "Don’t think anything of it. Considering our agreement, it was the best course of action. It was your idea to use a blinding attack which would allow me to shield you without anyone noticing."

"So, now that the first phase of the plan is complete, are you ready for phase two or will you need some more time?"

"Perchet will be the one to decide when the best time arrives. On his go, we’ll begin the next step," stated Lyrun. "Again, allow me to thank you, Jack, for taking on Korten in the midst of all this."

"Why wouldn’t I? I’ve wanted that from the start, so--"

"But you should know that Halmut won’t take this lightly. He’ll act out in some way after losing his largest military force," added Lyrun. "He has dragons which can overpower the elven armies, but they can’t outnumber the elves. And the elves were blindly loyal at times, something that the arrogant dragons will never be."

"I understand, but I wonder how he’ll act out. Let me know as soon as you can."

"Of course--"

"LYRUN!!!" Fists pounded on the door and slightly muffled shouts rang out. "Lyrun, let me in now!"

"I’ll inform you immediately. I’ll be off now."

Lyrun immediately took in a deep breath, ignoring the rowdy knocks and shouts for a moment. He canceled his silence spell and casually walked to the door, plastering a smug frown on his face. The Elf God opened the door a crack and asked, "What is it, Tralbok?"

"How dare you leave the chateau!" Tralbok shouted, pushing the door open and stepping into the room. "Have you any idea of what could’ve happened? You could’ve--"

"I had to defend my territory. I would never surrender the fate of my people without a fight."

"Then at least win the fight! You call you pitiful effort to stop Jack a fight?!" Tralbok let his mocking laughter echo throughout the room, shaking his head. "As one of the highest-ranked gods, we expected more from you!"

"And who gave you permission to chew me out?" asked Lyrun, calmly frowning. "Last time I checked, we’re at the same level. Though I don’t outrank you, my tenure with Halmut is second to none. You have no right to harp on the way I handle my business."

"Then--"

"The elves are my people. If they choose to side with Trodar then I won’t force them to reconsider through violence. Given time, they’ll soon learn how critical their mistake was, but that doesn’t mean I want to see them dead."

"Now, they’re our enemy," stated Tralbok. "If they challenge us and our goals, then what will you do? Will you hold back? Or will you slaughter them?"

Lifting an eyebrow, Lyrun spat, "I have no reason to entertain your aggressive behavior."

"Then answer the question!" Tralbok barked.

"I’ll face any enemy that stands against us. Though Korten is my people and they chose to not follow us, I won’t kill them in cold blood. But if and when they act out, then I won’t be against us using force to put them down. Does that satisfy your corrupt sense of justice?"

Scoffing, Tralbok shook his head, "Just barely... You still should’ve killed Jack while you had the chance."

"I tried... I have to give him props, at least. I can now understand how Jack managed to face Halmut without dying too quickly... How is Halmut?" Lyrun asked, showing off the concern in his voice.

"We still have no clue. He’s yet to open his chambers to anyone, but I’ll try again and report your failure. Someone has to..."

"Then let me thank you, Tralbok." Lyrun bowed his head briefly, accentuating his sarcastic tone. "Then I’ll let you go so you can handle your business elsewhere."

"Sure..."

Tralbok turned to leave, not looking back at all. He didn’t care about Lyrun or Lyrun’s reputation. To Tralbok, Lyrun was the greatest hurdle to clear in order to become Halmut’s right-hand man.

"Good, the sourpuss is leaving. For a moment, I thought our drinking session would be ruined!"

When Tralbok reached the wide-open door, he frowned. "Oosam, don’t be like that."

"Why not? You’re the greatest brown-noser in all Kartonia and only care about ruining the lives of others for your own gain." Pushing the door open wider, and pointing outside the room, Oosam added, "Here, allow my useless self to hold the door open for the great and powerful God of Time."

Used to Oosam’s antics, Tralbok ignored him and left with haste.

While Oosam closed the door behind him, Lyrun shook his head and asked, "Can anyone say such things to him or does he only let you?"

"It would take a long time but he gets accustomed to it eventually," chuckled Oosam.

Recasting silence, Lyrun stated, "Well, we may not have that much time left... Either we fail and die or we succeed and are free."

"How exciting!" Oosam threw himself across one of Lyrun’s many seats, selecting to spread across an entire couch. "So you managed to connect your crystals?"

Lyrun nodded. "And after Halmut’s response to losing Korten, we’ll need to be ready at a moment’s notice. There’s no changing course now, so we’ll have to give it our all."

"Why worry so much? So long as we do our best with the things in our control, the odds can be in our favor. With some luck, then we’ll manage to escape the contracts with our lives intact. No matter what happens, I’ve resigned myself to the outcome and am ready for phase two."

"Good... I have a feeling it may become more difficult than we anticipated..."