Amun Za'Darmondiel-Nox.

12 Septara, 1492.

19:42.

***

As far as I was concerned, the event went off without a hitch in every meaning of the phrase. The students had aptitude, if not experience, and the data of their encounters had been recorded in excruciating detail by Etan and the Dark Room's instructors. Yet, they displayed nothing that stood out as special. The Guilds of Polaris remained cordial, if distant. Conversely, the rest of the general-purpose guilds gave us space while continuing to deepen the relations formed. Lastly, the Southern kingdoms were either fervently willing, logically apprehensive, or zealously opposed to existing beneath the Legions' umbrella. Regardless, the Troupe and a few others laid the foundations for the work the Legions would soon put in. As stated, without a hitch. Still though, I waited two days after the Optimus Regni left before I went to see Zorrenor. Long enough for any lingerers to depart and yet not so long that the underclassmen were back in the swing of their studies.

It gave me a bit of nostalgia, walking through those ancient halls to get to his office, but it wore off once I laid my eyes on him. He looked even worse up close. His bark-like skin had grown fungus and mold or otherwise seemed rotten, coated in slime oozing from the deep, stretch mark-like furrows within; or, considering Grimm's reaper above him, deep scars. His eyes, already sunken, had the color of rank pond water, and he smelled of it too, making the office feel more like a swamp than the indoor forest I was familiar with.

"Do not think this is because of our deal or your taking a branch off the Bodhi Tree." He gestured me to a seat; a laborious task, it seemed. "I was cursed before I met Cole Nox. I made a deal with an unseen devil of the void who went by the name of Tefnut."

A subtle nod rocked my body at the sound of the name. Due to what Zakira once told me about my ancestor of the same name, I assumed he was buried somewhere in the Hells. Before then, however, he must have been well-traveled to have made it from here to the Hells.

"At the cost of allowing his descendants to attend this tree, he granted my wish by tying my life to it," Zorrenor continued. "If I die, it dies, and vice versa. Thinking myself and the tree unbeatable, I accepted. Centuries passed. I grew older still, weaker still, and then I met Cole Nox in the Bodhi Tree's opening year. He decimated the land, damaged the tree's roots, damaging me. He cursed me again. Then, I realized the truth behind this deal I made. And so, I dreaded the passing centuries, fearing each class would bring one more child of the Nox. Cole, the Mad Void Monk. Corvus, the Raven Reaper. Everandus, the Necro King. Azrael, the Shadow Puppeteer. Emeric, the Skull Mastermind. Void and death; death, dark, and dark. Void, beckons the end." He paused, wearily blinking as if to focus on me. "You, Amun, a half-devil and elf like Cole, are the void that beckons my end."

"I see." I scratched my chin. "No wonder you look like shit. It's unfortunate the rest of the land has to go, though." Giving him a look over, it was safe to assume that he wouldn't be around long after Class 1,000 completed their ritual. I gave him two years max. Which was honestly a bit too long for my taste. "Well," I sighed after a silence. "In case I don't see you again before I leave the peninsula for good, I just want to say that I have no personal feelings involved in this, despite your cheating Death. It's just business; Nergal's Rules of Death, and all that. And though I disagree with your methods, I respect your ambitions for this academy. It's a fine institution."

"Unexpected, but I appreciate your words all the same." He lowered his head. "And more, I've put it in my will that you will receive my mana well upon the event of my death. That, as well as this ancient tree and all of its lands. Whatever remains of it, at least, shall belong to you. It was your ancestor that made it possible to bring this place to what is has been, after all. And I will do my best to shift the blame away from you."

"Yeah, I heard." I snorted distastefully. "Despite how I feel about it, I value knowledge and learning above most things, so I'll give you my word that this repository of knowledge will follow the Nox's way of using Death's Door as a point of change. A place of growth. Although the knowledge will no longer be contained in this tree, that knowledge will be improved, and the Bodhi Tree's culture of sharing that knowledge with the denizens of every realm will live on through the ages. That said." I sighed. "I fear no matter what you may do or say, I'll still be seen as the villain of this story and many more to come. I've accepted as much as my fate. I am the Drow Child of the Nox, after all."

"That is good to know." He smiled, inhaling sharply. "Well? Shall we get this over with?"

"First, I have a question." I said, despite knowing the answer. "Why didn't you tell me about the Southern Peninsula earlier? You couldn't have decided this recently."

"Well." He painfully shrugged. "I've already informed the rulers of those lands. I am not unfamiliar with the nature of a devil's deal. You own a piece of my soul, and so you can hear whatever befalls my lips. Few, if any, of the Bodhi Tree's residents wish to go to Polaris, and I don't wish to give this tree to them; even if it's dead. And, well, it's not as if you don't have an empire they can merge with. That is beside the point, however."

He leaned forward slowly to emphasize his next words. "The Southern Peninsula is still the Bodhi Tree's land. Thus, it is your land."

"You're a real asshole for that, you know."

"I am part demon." He apologetically shrugged.

"Clearly." I snorted.

"However, it goes beyond you and me." He continued. "Polaris would sweep over these lands the moment I die. I had to duel the former emperor to keep this land. Do you understand? I had been here for centuries!" he slammed his fist, splattering pus-like sap all over the table. "I will not let them win, even in death. I know you won't either."

"You could have asked first."

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Zorrenor sighed as he sank into his chair. "You would have said no."

"True." I shrugged. "Now, give me your hand and open that eye wide."

Trepidatiously, Zorrenor did as demanded; whereas I loosely grabbed his wrist and flexed my index finger to extend the Void Devil's Claws and watched his face drain in horror as its eldritch white edge raked across his wrist without resistance. My free hand lunged when his eye opened its widest, reaching out to tap his eye's surface and let loose the wicked and the divine within me.

As per the tenants of our deal, the Eternal Champion's divine mana flowing into Zorrenor's eye should manifest my will and immortalize it with my cursed mana, negating the need for any use of the Void Devil's Tongue.

But of course, I used it anyway.

The ethereal hand of Zorrenor's soul shimmered between my fingers as it swayed to the tune of my Deep Abyssal words, despite them not pertaining to it. The withered hand it detached from would have a completely different life from Zorrenor's spirit, concentrated into his eye, and the piece of his soul seemed to know it, given how it swayed and dipped as if to greet me, then sank into my spirit as my finger pulled back from Zorrenor's eye.

I gazed upon the mark I left on Zorrenor's pupil as I leaned back, finding it to be rather mundane - grayed, as if he'd been blinded. And so I fell fully into my seat, maintaining my grip on Zorrenor's withered hand until it snapped like a twig, and then I stood, turning for the door.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Zorrenor." I waved his hand. Then left without another word, intending to take the scenic route to the Omni-Wagon without delay. However, I was intercepted by a certain silver-haired woman, who stopped before me with a stack of papers held out at arm's length.

"My resume," was all she said.

Conversely, "Interesting," was all I could say as I took the papers with a trepidatious mind and narrowed eyes. Of course, I could see all that was written and more simply by looking into her eyes. However, even they couldn't see everything; only classes and ambitions that, for the most part, weren't too hard to guess. Thus, the findings wound up being just that - interesting.

Like Doyle, Mallory Monet was a Nimbuan - an Amazonian phenotype, I've come to learn. Amazonian highlanders essentially, with superhuman endurance due to their extreme altitude tolerance and absurd lung capacity. Yet, they were hardly stronger than a normal human. Their trademark silver hair made me assume Gerolt was one as well, but that was neither here nor there. Mallory was a Sky Sorceress and a Bard who graduated from the Bodhi Tree's School of Service. Born and raised in Polaris, she never agreed with the culture and thus saw every opportunity to leave it. Upon graduating, she spent some time as an adventurer, gathering a surprising amount of skill in both magic and might before settling down, in a way, by applying her bardic services to the civilians in the places she once adventured. Eventually, she was hired as Zorrenor's assistant. And so, she saw becoming my assistant as the next logical step in her professional career. And perhaps her last.

However… "I have no need for an assistant. Nor do I need an adviser, an administrator, or a lawyer. I have many advisers, chief among them is Etan. Iris is the administrator, and my lawyer is a devil. The best in all the realms." I smiled.

"That is problematic," she said without a hint of emotion. Yet there was a certain fire in her eyes that ignited as she lifted three fingers. "There are three things I refuse to do. Live in Polaris; be without work; or work for anyone with a lesser station than Sir Knagh. With that said, I disagree with your statement. You direly need an assistant, Amun. Although… not in the traditional sense."

"Oh?" I tilted my head, smiling. 'This should be interesting.'

"Based on my observations, your modus operandi is dependent on the context of your, for lack of a better term, adventure. Last year, for example, you and your vassals operated independently of each other - a solo adventure, we'll say. You formed bonds with those around you, translating to many joining your guild by the end of the year. This year, you've been gathering your Troupe and behaving as a general party would. Albeit an unruly one. But what's interesting is that your party has proven to act independently of your Legions, yet supports them immensely. And while I'm unaware of what you'll do next year, the following year will see your modus operandi change as you operate as a Guild Master, similar to your behavior during this event. Thus, I've concluded there to be at least one other context that will see your behavior shift dramatically. Possibly the role you will take next year."

"The times when I'm representing my people as their Emperor." I sighed, defeated by logic. Yet I smiled, for it had been so long. At least until she corrected me.

"God-Emperor." She nodded tersely. "I suspect humility makes you dislike the title, but that makes it no less true. You are an emperor, and you are a god. Divine mana pours from you, changing the realms without your input. Additionally, both sides of your blood are infamous, and your pride makes you unwilling to hide that fact or your true appearance. Combined, this can cause biased opinions to form when establishing diplomatic relations. Therein lies my role as your assistant. The bridge between the nations you meet and the change you will bring them. Unwillingly or of your own volition."

I had to think about it for a few seconds, but she was right. I don't spend time in royal courts for a reason, namely because of the sheer fucking weirdness of royalty and nobility, and I was too impatient for bureaucracy. On the contrary, I fucking hated playing politics and couldn't stand most royals and nobles. I called out bullshit when I saw it, spoke in the language of hard facts mixed with buttered words to persuade as much as possible - to make the deal so sweet they couldn't say no. Like with Silas. Like with the Imperators. Naturally, however, that wouldn't always do. Of course, that was supposed to be Jaimess' duty. But quite frankly, he didn't want to, and I wasn't going to force him to do anything. Besides, he still made the Crowns into the Legions' diplomatic force. He had more than enough subordinates to do the job. Not to mention, there was NoxNet. That didn't address the personnel issue, however.

As she so eloquently called out, doctrine dictated that the rest of the Troupe was to be off doing their own thing whenever I was traveling solo in a new realm and, unbeknownst to her, when I was involved in imperial duties. With the former, I would indeed form my own contacts and get into various types of trouble, just as I did last year. With the latter, however, there was only me and, on occasion, the Abyssal Regent. My only real option was to Bamf in Silas, which went against my policies. He was to stay in Imkeruram as the Paragon King. Thus, there existed a need for me to have an ambassador, of sorts. A proxy. A bridge, not just between those I would meet and the change I would bring, but those I judge and the Legions who heed the call to create or destroy.

Moreover… "You read me like a grimoire." I smiled. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you." She nodded tersely. "It is my duty as assistant headmaster to monitor the students. I know all of your exploits."

"Do you now? Well." I shrugged. "It's as you said. I'll hire you as my proxy to assist me in my imperial duties. However, it will not be without its challenges. To walk beside me, you have to be a legionary. On top of that, you'll have to attend the School of Exemplary Service. You can learn more about them or the specifics of our deal here." I paused to fabricate a data slate for her. "Naturally, however, this will all have to wait until you are no longer employed by the Bodhi Tree, so the specifics of our agreement will be negotiable until then."

"Very well." Came the terse reply. Followed by the faintest hint of a smile. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't call me that." I snorted. "I work for a living."

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