Better Call Vigdis

"Insect eggs? Are you serious!? That's fucking disgusting!"

Scowling, Saitou Satoru shivered, feeling as if invisible, tiny beings were crawling all over his body. Fortunately, after slapping his cheeks a few times, that ephemeral sensation disappeared, leaving him standing in the centre of the regular provincial-level city he had arrived in just today.

Following his initial escape, he had made it to a prefectural capital, where he had been blessed with some more torture at the hands of the Imperial Han Family. But eventually, exactly like before, they had stopped employing physical measures and rather had attempted to torment his mind, so he had to bolt once again. This second time, however, it had been far more difficult for him to leave.

Compared to those at the random county-level city he had been held in earlier, the Hans in the prefectural capitals were leagues above! Not only did they have peak Core Formation Stage powerhouses, but they were in general also far more organized and capable. The moment after he had slain his captors and charged out of jail, a city-wide alarm had already rung out!

Soon surrounded from all sides, with all avenues of escape blocked off, he had truly figured out just how strong he really was for the first time. Practically bathing in the blood, bone and organ fragments and brain matter of his enemies, he had butchered his way straight out of their encirclement. Even those at the peak of the Core Formation Stage had not been able to kill him! While they had still been capable of damaging him, this had only further fuelled his strength.

He hadn't known how long it had been, but when his mind had snapped out of the berserk state it had been in, he had already found himself outside of the city. His pursuers had been warily glancing at him from afar, yet not daring to engage him again, evidently both frightened and unable to deal with him.

Yet, he had known that there was still a chance that they had some trump cards saved up that might be capable of slaying him. Therefore, he had continued his escape, not knowing which way to go. Days later, after he had asked for directions at a smaller town on the way, he found himself at a provincial-level city that had been graced by Theodore's presence in the past.

Like anyone who wasn't blind, he noticed the blatant advertisement that had been put up and read through it, the information contained in the public service announcement almost making him retch. Still, because the insect controller 'only' had a Transcendent-grade Talent, he didn't take them too seriously.

It was the same for that Theodore Winter! He knew what the Supreme Pillars were–well, he had a general idea, just like most inconspicuous commoners–yet he didn't believe that he was too outstanding. Weren't they all Heaven's Chosen? While there would definitely be a certain gap between them, that was no reason to bow his head in obedience!

His lack of education and knowledge on the subject of Supreme Pillars–and especially Theodore Winter, who stood out even amongst them–led him to arrogantly believe that with the Talent which he had got, he didn't need to fear them!

"Maybe I should go there and have a look? If I can beat this Winter guy, I can just take over his gig for myself!"

With a somewhat bloodthirsty smile brimming with killing intent, which had been overflowing from him ever since his relatively recent massacre, he contemplated for a while. Then, he picked up the communication artefact and channelled some of his Energy into it. He didn't know what else he was supposed to do, but this should work, right?

"This is Theodore Winter's secretary, Vigdis Rún, speaking. To whom do I owe the pleasure of talking to?"

After a few moments of waiting, a pleasant, yet formal and professional voice sounded from the artefact, which had successfully built a connection. Delightfully surprised at just how soothing the voice was, Satoru cleared his throat and responded.

"Ahem, the name is Saitou Satoru. I would like to know where I'm supposed to meet you and your boss? I can't lie, I'm interested in having a chat."

Obviously, he wouldn't simply reveal his true intentions just like that, so his tone was friendly, if not a bit haughty and inexperienced. He had no idea that from this alone–and his family name, which did not belong to any Named Family–his conversation partner had already figured out that he was a mere lucky upstart. Yet, she did not turn him away immediately.

"We are currently residing in Qinglong City. I've just transferred a map plotting out the optimal travel route from your present location to your device. You can access it at any time by injecting a fifth of the Energy that you used to initiate this call. You will be welcomed at the gate once you arrive. In the name of Theodore Winter, I thank you for your interest in working together!"

Shocked at how easily and smoothly all of this went down, Satoru's eyes widened, then he quickly tested the method which Vigdis had told him just now, successfully learning about the correct path to take. He had no idea that Qinglong City was the state capital of the local Hans, so he didn't comprehend exactly how powerful one would need to be to conquer it.

"Oh, I see! It shouldn't take me all too long to arrive, it seems. I will be there within a week. See you then, Miss Rún! Good luck to you in the meantime!"

Considering he had had quite an amiable conversation so far, he held a markedly high option of this secretary. He was never one to look down upon the average workers, as he had been living amongst them for the vast majority of his entire life. To treat those only doing their job kindly was one of the core tenets which he lived by.

"... thank you. To you as well."

Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt as if the woman on the other end of the line had shown an amused smirk before responding. But he would not be able to find out more now, as it would be both very inappropriate to ask about it... and she had just hung up.

"Get it together, me! No more being distracted! It's time to leave and find out whether this Winter guy lives up to his reputation. Heh."

With a smug grin on his lips, Satoru departed from the city which he had arrived at merely an hour or so ago, but only after buying some essentials and food for the road.

One day after him, Navya Aatma finally arrived at the provincial capital which she had been travelling to for the past many days. To her dismay, the nearest one to her prior cultivation spot had been very far away, so even though she had been relatively quick on her feet, finding where it was and actually getting there had been quite the journey.

Fortunately, nothing at all went amiss on the way despite having to stop to recover at a couple of regular provincial-level cities. This was because she didn't want to impact her pinnacle Core Formation Stage state in the slightest–as this had the minuscule potential of negatively influencing her breakthrough.

As a result of her comparatively lackadaisical dilly-dallying, by the time she arrived at her goal, what greeted her were the bodies of the Imperial Han Family and their lackeys, as well as Theodore's advertisement.

Due to being from the Spirit race, she did not have to worry about being influenced by the insects herself–but this didn't mean that there was no cause for worry. After all, those who had been assimilated had–allegedly–reached the peak of the Soul Sculpting Stage! In other words, the insect controller was very much capable of harming her without even showing their face.

She was distraught by this, as she was aware that she did not particularly excel at combat–at least in comparison to some other Named Family members–and because she would much rather lead a relatively carefree existence. Somewhat hesitant, she glanced at the Theodore Winter depiction which was pointing at her, her ghastly pale cheeks turning a slight shade of blue.

'He's still as beautiful as the last time I saw him. I suppose... it would be great if I could follow him. That way, I at least wouldn't need to worry about too many matters.'

Recalling that one day when she had finally managed to get invited to a somewhat higher class banquet that the more noble amongst the Named Families had put on, her eyes lost their focus for a moment.

On that day, from her spot at the very edge of the gathering, where she had been keeping away from almost all of her peers, she had spied Theodore in the distance. It had only been a single glance, but she couldn't deny that she found him to be the most radiant out of everyone else who had attended.

Although she knew that becoming one of his people was not a guarantee, as she had seen many getting turned away by him when they had asked to join him, now that he was recruiting on the scene of the event, she might stand a chance. Even if she was selected, this didn't mean that she would be able to lead a cushy life, she knew that. Maybe in the first round, this would mostly be the case, but later on, following an outstanding candidate for the throne like him would come with its own share of troubles.

'But meeting him again like this... what could it be, but fate? If I manage to join him early on, I'll have the opportunity to leave a good impression!'

Naturally, she would not sabotage her own odds of making it far in the Heavenly Succession just for a maiden heart's flight of fancy. However, she was aware that she stood pretty much no chance of winning. Her entire family had constantly nagged her to find a capable backer as soon as possible–and who else could be better than Theodore?

'... I just hope he won't turn me away.'

Quite nervous, she picked up the communication artefact and initiated contact.

Another person who ran across Theodore's holographic image not too long after these two, was Kjartan Skordýr. Having lost two of his Fly Slaves the moment when they arrived in the state capital, he wasn't too surprised at first. A peak Initial Ascension Stage expert would be able to find them upon closer inspection, after all. With someone of this calibre taking charge of Qinglong City, it was only reasonable that they might have detected them via an Array.

Thinking nothing much of it, he continued on as before, implementing his plans one after another. In this manner, he eventually found some more cities which had been 'cleansed' by Theodore, leaving almost nobody worthy of being used by him behind.

Right as he was unhappily clicking his tongue, chalking it up as another waste of his time, he saw the advertisement which was being broadcasted. The left 'page' already caused a deep terror to blossom in his heart, but when he read the one on the right, his expression soured instantly.

How could he possibly not tell that his recent Fly Slave losses had been at the hands of Theodore? This meant that Qinglong City had a new master–and that he had rapidly grown to a point where he could significantly threaten him. He knew that he couldn't possibly stand a chance against Theodore, but somewhere deep inside, he had hoped that his adversaries of this level would waste some more time in the beginning. Or that they wouldn't even deign to involve themselves with regular Heaven's Chosen like him.

But what was this? Why did Theodore publicly broadcast this information about him? Wasn't this just making life difficult for him, for no reason?!

'You bastard! What have I ever done to you? I should be the one being a pain in your neck! After all, you caused me losses.'

No matter how much he complained, though, he knew that he wouldn't even have the guts to say this to Theodore's face if they ever met. For quite a few days, he was torn and couldn't decide how to proceed from here on out, only passively continuing on with his plans.

Then, a creature's shadow appeared in the line of sight of one of his Fly Slaves, causing him to dismiss his worries for now and get serious. The upcoming conversation would be of utmost importance to him.