The Ark Of Change Of Commands

"With our calculations on the Husks movement and Benjamin's appearances, our estimates give us about half a year to prepare ourselves. However, we've found that the gaps between the Waves have been shortened as something else is controlling the Husks instead of Benjamin."

The Corrupted One's next appearance shouldn't be for the next few years, but I can't say for sure. Despite all our calculations, we may be in for a turn of events since the rogue Mages we are fighting now have some form of 'Corruption Element' within them."

"They called it 'Darkened versions of the original Mage.' I had no clue how that works until I saw it with my eyes. Anyways, I'm just warning you," said Baldwin.

"I see... Perhaps asking his twin sister for the location of the Corrupted One would help?" asked Gillian.

"Are you high on something? What makes you think that Valkyries have telepathy? And wouldn't our job be so simple if Mavislin could call up the Corrupted One to find his location? Honestly, man! Quit asking questions that hinder your intelligence," chided Baldwin.

"I don't mean by using telepathy to communicate. I meant to ask Mavislin if she has any idea of how to predict her brother's movements since she knows him the best. I knew that Old Man Pond would strike since he's related to me, except for the recent case."

"No, that's not going to happen anytime soon since Benjamin's pattern seems erratic. Even Mavislin didn't know much about him from the last time they fought. You wanted to give me some instructions for the Iron Canine?"

"Ah, yes. I wanted to ask if you will use your best Knight to come along for the Mission. It's not going to be an easy task to locate that Mage, and fighting him would be unpredictable. The Iron Canine was known to be quite the mad dog, and his powers can be unstable."

"Anything metal used against him will be instantly warped or bent, destroying your chances to use firearms or swords. And a fight against him might arouse the rest of the rogue Mages' attention, so it's either you use the element of surprise or deal everything in one blow," noted the Headmaster.

"Are you insane? It took the combined forces of both you and Old Man Pond plus your wife and I to subdue that one dog; how can I kill him in one blow?! If I could do that, I wouldn't be so afraid of the hungry Valkyrie in my house!" yelled Baldwin, wanting to knock some sense into Gillian's head.

"It's just a small suggestion, and no need to go ham on me. I'm slightly worried about your case because if you manage to kill him, the members of the Arks may start to protest for the reason of going back on our motto. We're a haven, not a government. Not a repeat Congregation."

"We provide food, shelter, and safety for all Mages that were homeless because of the war. If we do eliminate the rogue Mages without considering other options first, I would predict that the lower members will make some noise about the matter."

"That's why I didn't send out the order to kill the rogue Mages on sight. We've lost many Mages during the conflicts after the Congregation fell. And we've recently lost some minor members of the Arks to the Umbra incidents. Lose anymore, and we'll be questioned very soon."

Baldwin's expression changed to a solemn one as the Headmaster spoke of his worries about what the members of the Arks would feel about Mages going against Mages. What Gillian mentioned was true, and it was the main reason the Congregation collapsed so severely.

And the worse thing to happen to the Aki would be seeing the group he aimed to create fall apart, just like his first run did.

"I'm not going to tell you to relax because your argument and reason are valid. I know the smaller members will protest if we haven't exhausted all options yet. But this begs the question, what are you asking me to do about the Iron Canine?" questioned the Head Knight.

"I want you to capture that mad dog and put him to good use for the Arks. Give him a choice that we've always given to Mages who stray away from the path of sanity. They might be enemies for now but we can't say for sure until we find out the truth," said the Headmaster.

Baldwin widened his eyes before chuckling at the Headmaster's commands.

"Sometimes, you scare me. I thought you wanted to abandon this mission altogether with the words you were using. You never liked to follow in your brother's footsteps of using enemies to your advantage, but here you are, doing the same thing."