Radars and Realms

Within those years the knight served under the young Aristian Emperor, he slowly coped up with his mood swings, which were unexpectedly sensible, and learned how to read them.

Yesterday's confrontation was Hal's clear display of drawing a line between him and Eli. Undoubtedly, his words came out harsh and unfeeling, which Allen was sure had stung her even for a bit. She should've gotten the message with that.

She should've known by now that she's nothing but a tool to Hal.

But then, here she is, inanely asking for advice on how to help them instead of feeling disheartened.

Eli felt shivers ran down her spine when Allen's face turned sour. She then remembered his strong urge to kill her.

The thought that she just irked the one person who wanted to get rid of her made her stomach churn in fear. Perhaps, she sounded boasting when she said she'd help Hal, or maybe, she insulted him at some point.

Eyeing the distraught red head, Eli found herself fearing for her life.

---

A moment later, inside the Student Council clubroom, a certain ash-haired girl forlornly awaited her demise.

After their conversation in the hallway, Allen told Eli to meet him again when classes were dismissed. While his way of inviting her sounded nice and all, his expression said trouble.

She tried to recall which part of their talk had rubbed him off, but at the end of the day, the only cause she could think of was his craving to end her.

She honestly thought that these Champions were just as frightening as the summoned creatures.

That's why she's now all tensed up, sitting a few good meters away from her predator.

"We're alone now...Had he planned to kill me in secret all along?" Eli internally winced.

On the other end of the sumptuous russet-walled room, filled with exquisite fixtures and furniture of sombre colours, the Student Council President was sitting on a leather black rolling chair in front of a huge rectangular window, aura so menacing that his shadow was close to resembling a grim reaper.

He's intently staring at his fidgeting guest across from him, both hands folded under his chin.

Allen recalled Hal's plan to use the Empress's human vessel.

Despite his qualms on his decision to spare this feral beast, he knew that she could be an immediate asset to them once proven that Eli could control her. He's aware that Eli herself wasn't at fault here, but as long as there's no concrete evidence that she wasn't involved in reviving their mortal nemesis in any way, he couldn't help but suspect that she had something up her sleeves.

After all, no normal human could share a body with a magical entity, though the premise of reincarnation wasn't really ill-considered in his opinion.

"You're asking me how to lure the enemies out, right?" Allen started calmly to which Eli nodded.

"It's just like what Hal said. Summoned creatures are able to recognize one another just by sensing their presence. It's something like a radar that draws them to you, and consequently, lures them out of hiding. That'll lessen our burdens for a bit since we'd be able to hunt them down when they're outside of their Realms," he continued.

"About these Realms... Can't you just find a way in?" she asked, interest noticeably piqued.

"It's not impossible, but these Realms are impenetrable fortresses. Only the summoned creature who owns that Realm has the key to get in and out. Once the summoned creature was defeated, their Realm vanished altogether. Unless the Realm's owner themselves allowed us to enter or they're currently at a vulnerable state, these hideouts are just impermeable."

Eli was glad she got the gist of it.

Unlike when she's still a newbie at this whole summoning fiasco, she's getting better at seeing the whole picture. Now, she understood why Hal said that Venus was profoundly lacking in knowledge upon coming to this world.

Venus's mirrors-filled darkness back then was probably her Realm, which she was still able to create even without knowing how it really worked. Her vulnerability at the time she took over her body made her presence easy to track, and at the same time, made her Realm accessible.

Allen patiently watched Eli as she nodded in understanding while processing his words.

He's a bit impressed that she's able to interpret it that quickly. Then again, she might've already grown accustomed to how odd all of these were by being around Hal. Regardless, it's probably indisputable that she's fast to pick up.

"But, you know, becoming a walking radar may only be effective for a while. Once these summoned creatures learned that you're working for the Champions, they may start to neglect your presence in order to stay safe. Although they have no specific means of communicating with one another while inside their respective Realms, words mysteriously spread around the campus. But, unfortunately, that's a matter I'm not allowed to talk about," Allen added, intriguing Eli even more.

"Then, other than being a walking radar, what else can I do?"

His eyes widened at her intrepid question.

Aside from interpreting all these a lot quicker than he expected, she's really into the idea of being an instrument for enticement that he found it difficult to not disclose any more information.

He might get scolded by Hal for discussing further, but she already had him absorbed and diverted.

"Illusions..." Allen trailed off, making her tilt her head quizzically.

"Sorry, what?"

"The late Empress's power was illusion manipulation. If you also have it, now that both of you share the same body, it can be handy at battles."

Eli beamed at this in pleasant surprise.

She read from the book that Venus indeed possessed that ability and witnessed how Venus used it for a little bit recently, but was unaware of the possibility that she had also acquired it alongside her memories. Yet, this was her most promising feat so far.

More than babysitting and attracting enemies, she could actually join them fight.

"Then, if I do have it, can I be trained?" she blurted out, catching him off guard.

Seeing Eli's big doll eyes gleaming with zeal and fervour, Allen knew he had to swerve around. He hadn't anticipated any of her reactions today. All he thought about was how to make her understand Hal's viewpoint and their current relationship. From one topic to another, he played it cool and explained what she needed to know in accordance to their plan.

Never had he thought he'd be dancing on the palm of her hands like this.

"Hmm... You have to ask our leader for that," he lamely reasoned as an excuse to change subject.

"I see. I'll just have to consult Hal about this later. Thank you for informing me, Sir President," she replied with a small smile.

"Speaking of Hal, I have an important thing to say..."

He purposefully dropped the tone of his voice at this, which Eli must've noticed as she tensed up once again.

"I feel the need to clear up your misunderstanding. It seemed like Hal had a different perception from yours. He wasn't really asking favours from you as a friend. When he said that yesterday, he meant it as an order. You have to follow him regardless of your opinion. To be honest, friendship was probably insensible for both of you. After all, you're the vessel of his archenemy."

His words were supposed to come out piercing for the ash-haired girl, but even then, her face remained blank, almost inscrutable. Whether she's faking it or she just really didn't know how to react to that, Allen didn't waver in talking her out of it.

He needed to re-trace the line that Hal drew in order to distance himself from her. By doing so, he had to bring forth the issue of Hal and Venus's decade-long rivalry as a slap back to reality.

"For all we know, he might just be using you to pay the Empress back for all she did."

Despite wanting to contemplate his choice of words when describing his master's true colour, he just had to make Hal look heartless as way of pulling the last straw.