Chapter 11: The Master

Roger and Warren didn't question a thing, in fact, they quickly obeyed the order without hesitation.

"These villagers will also be coming to the castle." The butler announced.

Both of them started walking towards the butler and the troops as the villagers followed. Once they got close enough, the soldiers adjusted their formation and made a larger circle around them. The butler looked over his shoulder to check if everything was ready to go. When the soldiers were done adjusting and the villagers were together, he commanded the troops to take them back to the castle.

Each soldier pulls out a Teleporter Bead and crushes it all at once. When the beads disperse, a line on the ground was created in between each soldier, and connecting the locations the beads were crushed. The lines on the ground created a giant circle around everyone. This was a special way to use Teleporter Beads to transport an entire group rather than one person or object. The line started shining and we found ourselves at the entrance of the castle on the side of a mountain afterward.

The butler commands the troops to move forward again and we slowly make our way into the castle. Entering the castle through the main hall from the drawbridge was a sight to behold. There were two large staircases leading to the second floor and a beautiful chandelier that dangled from the ceiling. And a beautiful marbled floor greatly complemented the statues and the decor of the hall. The villagers gave astonishing reactions as Roger and Warren anticipated their next moments.

Once they entered the main hall, the soldiers dispersed and returned to their barracks. The butler turns around to notify the group that he'd be their guide through the castle. He turns around and leads us to the master's hall. We slowly walk up the stairs and through the halls as the villagers admire the decor. We eventually arrived at the great hall, the hall before the master's hall. This hall was covered with ancient artwork. Paintings covering every inch along the walls, a giant clock at the end of the hall, and giant statues of many different animal species attached to the ceiling.

We approach the door at the end of the hall, the entrance to the master's hall, and push the door open. Both doors open slowly and creak loudly as it opens. We walk to the center of the empty room and stop. The master is not present at the throne and no one else is in the hall. The room is very eerie, it is barely lit up by the sunlight and every corner of the room is covered in darkness. The butler turns around and faces us as he tells us to wait for the master. Then he leisurely exits the hall through a side door.

"How was your mission?" A deep voice echoes through the hall, making it difficult to determine the source of the voice.

"Master?" Roger responds to the voice in confusion.

A man with colossal wings flies down from the dark shadows above. He lands with his feet on the floor and lowers his wings, dragging them along the floor as he mysteriously walks towards Roger and Warren with a joyful smile. When the master is barely visible, both Roger and Warren drop on one knee and bow in respect.

The master calmly walks into the sunlight that pierced through the castle window. His body was revealed as his large white wings remained in the shadows. He had a red and black swallowtail coat with a hood. He stood strong and tall while he spoke to them.

"Raise your head agent."

Roger and Warren follow the master's command but remain on their knees.

"How was your mission?" The master asked again.

Roger bowed his head down before he spoke. "The mission didn't go as planned, sir. My apologies, but we had an encounter with the Kannon and had to end the mission early." He lifts his head back up to see the master's reaction.

The master's reaction didn't change at all, he was still so calm and happy. He looks at Roger and Warren, then he scrolls through the villagers with his eyes. He raises his right hand towards the side entrance and asks for the butler.

"Robin, can you please escort the villagers to their new home?"

The butler bows after the command then ask the villagers to follow him as he guides them out of the master's hall. Before the butler closes the door behind them, he makes sharp eye contact with Warren with a side-eye. Addled, Warren shifted his eye contact elsewhere as the butler shut the door.

"Warren, it was your decision to bring in the villagers. Why?" The master asks Warren with an accusatory tone.

"I believed that it'd be safer for them." Warren nervously answers.

"Safer? It's only safer because you provoked the Kannon." The master contradicted his statement.

Both of them kneeled in silence as the atmosphere of the room grew tense. The master takes a deep breath and continues his lecture as he walks towards the window.

"Roger, I won't condemn you for being forced to adjust to a dangerous plan that wasn't your own. But as for you Warren, we will discuss your punishment later. But as of right now, let's go over what you did."

The master walks back to his throne and takes a seat as he criticizes Warren.

"You stole a level three artifact, engaged in combat, teleported to their base, and returned with a stolen level five artifact, and finally, you provoked a commander. All of which goes against your guidelines. And on top of that, you brought back the villagers."

He gave Warren a disappointing look and spoke in distress.

"I regret sending you on this mission."

Full of anger and sadness, Warren started to tear up as he listened. Seeing that Warren couldn't take another word of criticism, Roger intervenes.

"Sir, with all due respect, choosing to bring the villagers back wasn't a terrible resolution. We could use the extra set of hands and military power. Plus, if we left them out there then the Kannon would have eventually found them and..."

"Say we brought them in." The master intruded before Roger could finish.

"Everyone, who is still alive, is now within our walls. If and when the Kannon find us, they will also find everyone else. Our base would be a nice big box with a bow on top for them. We'd lose the fight and help them achieve their goal in the process." The master pauses and walks towards the two.

"I understand what you were trying to do Warren, really. You're a good person but this solution of yours was suicide. Roger was right, good intentions but you never think your plans through."

The master stops in front of the two and asks them to get off of their knees. Roger stands tall and strong while Warren keeps his head tilted down, quietly sniveling in shame and frustration. The master adjusts his body direction to face Warren as he tells him the devastating news.

"Warren, as of today, I am stripping you of the title, "Agent of the Inari."

Roger and Warren's expressions don't change, for they both saw the same outcome. The master asked both of them to leave his hall afterward and Warren humiliatingly walked back to his room as Roger followed in discontent.