Strike Aftermath (2) (Revised) – Rising Up Arc (10)

1 day remaining before Lord Ikrel's son arrives

We need to think of ways to get rid of Lord Ikrel's son before he even arrives, or maybe I can employ the help of Ayame if I can meet her again; the last time we met, she seemed to care a lot about Fumiko. I will try to get in contact with her again.

You can contact her again. Based on the data gathered, I am sure she will lurk around the mansion for a while. You can search there!

"Sia, I wonder how you got all the information you gave me. Are there any limitations to what information you can get me?" I am sitting on my bed, looking up at the ceiling.

!I can get most of the information that you requested. However, I can't access information that is culturally considered taboo in this world. However, another skill can help you with this. I call her my little sister. Well, she is my little sister. We were born from the same Supreme skill. Her name is Mammon, with the title of Lord of Forbidden Knowledge. She can get all the information like me and taboo information on top of that!

"I understand, well, I doubt I can obtain Mammon anytime soon, you did well on every task that I gave you until now Sia"

!Thank you for saying such a nice thing about me, Hikaru!

I got up from my bed and looked around; I was alone in my room; Hana was with Fumiko in Welcia running some errands for her; I don't know what to do now or how to prepare; I might need to ask Fumiko about Lord Ikrel's soon and find a way to make Fumiko hate him even more, but what if I kill him? Well, maybe that will make Fumiko sadder, and I want to avoid that; I know if I kill him, even though Fumiko hates him already, it will cause her to be hurt even more.

"How are you Hikaru?"- Fumiko entered the house; she looked happier than yesterday.

"Well, got sidetracked and stared at the walls for half an hour. I will get to cooking something for the both of you."- Getting out of bed, I picked up a pan and some ingredients. I need to focus on the thing at hand; I need to wait a bit and then search for Ayame to see if I can find her

. 

I brought the water to a boil, removed the rice, and divided it into three portions and a few slabs of meat for us.

Sweet rice and fried meat is an odd dish that I once ate at one of the mental facilities I was being held at after my first suicide attempt; it tasted good for me.

There is no time to remember what happened there; I must keep going here.

"What are you thinking about Hikaru?"- Hana talked to me through the telepathic network.

"Nothing. There is an important event we need to focus on, didn't Sia tell you about it yet?"

"Yes, she did tell me about it, Lord Ikrel's son is coming to Welcia in a day to visit her. He must be grieving as well. I don't know what to do honestly, how do we make Fumiko hate him even more like Sia suggested, any ideas? If we get the help of the girl that you told me about, she might kill him. The things I heard about Ayame from the guild and other people it's terrible, she is like an assassin that killed a lot of people"

"Well, I think I got it. We can spread a fake rumor that he was somewhat involved in killing her father with his father and that he planned this from the start. Or we can just use Ayame's help to do both. It would be better if his son was dead and Fumiko hated him. 2 birds with one stone."- This is the best plan, but what evidence should we use against him in the first place? No, we need something that can prove without any shadow of a doubt that he had a hand in it and is looking to steal Fumiko's place to be a Lord.

"Yes, be careful Hikaru, I know you got this. But be careful, he might be unto us. His son is as old as Fumiko and has greater intellect than her, or even us, we can't underestimate him. He might even spill the beans to Fumiko if he knows about this."

"What makes you think he might be unto us, I didn't see him when we have gone to Ikrel so it shouldn't pose a problem."

"Well, I was told by Fumiko that he possesses an ability that allows him to find the truth to whatever question he may ask, but the only condition is to look around for the answer himself, the true answer will be revealed once he gazed at it."

"Well, seems kinda useless for a skill, but if it is like that if it works like that I can see your point, but I don't think we have to worry about anything right now, they have drunk poison and weren't killed directly, I made the stab wounds using my Shadow Tendrils and Lord Ikrel's hands and I poisoned the drink using an ability, the way you put it looks like it can detect only the direct action of a person but not the action of skill itself. Let's ask Sia just to be sure."

"Sure, Sia, what can you tell us about this ability?"

!Hikaru is mostly right about this ability, it's a Legendary tier ability called Investigate Truth. There is a loophole in using this skill; if Lord Ikrel's son knows the name of the skill that you used to poison his father's drink, then it will show him as true.!

"So, it will work only if he knows the skill name. I see. Is there anything that we can do to counter that skill of his?"

!Yes, you can use Lucifer to deceive his ability; once you have the skill activated, all the results from his skill will be manipulated in your favor no matter what happens. Primordial skills can rarely be countered by a Legendary skill, which is the case with this one. But I suggest caution because he might try to do shady things with the 2 of you or Fumiko to convince her to forfeit her lordship and give everything to him. Watch out for Fumiko and take care of her!

The telepathic communication ended. Me and Hana nodded to each other. As I promised, I will take the hard choices into my own hands; I know Hana is not the type of person to kill and hates the idea of killing; I hate it as well, but this is what we must do for this world and for ourselves to survive in it. I didn't know I still had it in me to be this delusional and stay alive. If Sia wasn't numbing our emotions, we would be emotional wrecks.

I discovered that telepathy is a skill that can be used to control aspects of another person. We might also be able to use the appropriate skills on Lord Ikrel's son.

"Hikaru, Hana. The 2 of you seemed to space out for a long while. What happened?"- Fumiko is near me in bed.

"Yes, guess we fell asleep with our eyes opened. Sorry for that Fumiko. What do you want to do next?"- Hana grabbed Fumiko and went with her outside.

"We will be back Hikaru!"

It's time; I have to sneak out past them.

"Hana, keep Fumiko occupied. I need to go check something."

I wandered outside and slowly sneaked past Hana and Fumiko; Hana was already in on this, so I didn't have to worry about a thing.

2 hours later:

I arrived at the mansion after walking for a good while. I was also dodging brainwashed Ifrit followers on my way there.

I am standing against a mansion wall, trying to sneak past the guards and search inside the mansion.

I tried to distract the guards, but sneaking past them would be easier.

I took a chance and entered the mansion of Lord Welcia.

I check the first floor first. The rooms were intact, and nothing was stolen or moved.

Something was still amiss. The room's whole vibe made me feel like someone was watching me. Maybe it's Ayame.

"Ayame?" - I am standing on the stairs to the second floor, looking back and forth to see if I can catch a glimpse of Ayame.

"Behind you," – Ayame's voice echoed from behind me. I slowly turned to see her sharpening her knives.

"You scared me for a second. Look, long story short, you know about Lord Ikre's son, right? We need to get rid of him one way or another, we need your help. Last time we talked you seemed to care a lot about Fumiko, can you give me tips to make Fumiko hate him and then he is your's" – I tried to tell her as fast and as quietly as I could

"I understand; I want to go to you and tell you this. Smart move. You just lure him out here in the night. I will let you do the killing on this one. Do make it look like a suicide; make him look like the coward he is. I won't let any harm come to Fumiko."- She said the part about Fumiko with so much emotion that I couldn't believe she was the same person.

"One thing, Fumiko is improving; I found a fix for her condition; it isn't gone forever, but it's effects can be nullified by learning many skills that can drain a lot of mana upon learning. You better use this once you join us and make Fumiko the way she is supposed to be."- Ayame's eyes lit up with hope. She gasped audibly before covering her mouth using her right hand.

"Are you sure? You may have told me this before, but I can't really believe it until I see it. Look, I will bring more skill scrolls once I join all of you, but that's a bit later. You should get going now; things might be bad for you if you stay longer. Use the window of the third room on this floor to jump and escape." I didn't know why she suddenly said this, but I did as Ayame told me to do.

I jumped and returned to Hana and Fumiko. Fumiko still didn't notice I was gone, which is a good thing.