THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 130: 130. BAIT

”He was a good man, and those Lankanias made him live less than a dog,” sir black said.

”Still, that is not an excuse to set a whole prison on fire and kill almost everyone in it,” the general said, but he did not sound angry at all. In fact, if sir black could see his face, he could know the man was amused. Even his voice sounded lighter today.

”That place was hell, and it had to go. I am too compassionate to let such an evil exist,” sir black said, his smile widening. He did not regret anything he had done up north in Lanka. He was not a man to easily get nightmares, but that place had been haunting him for days. I mean, how cruel could a human being get to put another through such a dehumanizing situation and even deny them a quick death? Denying someone already condemned to death was the most cruel thing and the most dishonorable act.

”Still, it was not your place to intervene. First, you kill the mad king’s champion, and then you burn down his most treasured asset?” the general asked, and even when he pretended to care, there was a ghost of entertainment in his voice. Perhaps the other reason he had kept sir black around him for this long was that he entertained him.

”I might have gotten all emotional and gone out of control.” sir black, sitting on his knees just behind the veil separating them.

”So I assume you did not get what you wanted and you wasted my money and influence?” the general said, his voice growing more serious.

”On the contrary. My mentor, the genius of many arts, is quite a stubborn man, and even at the edge of madness, he still had something he had been holding with his last shred of sanity before he passed. May his soul rest in peace,” sir black said, posing dramatically for a moment of silence.

”Are you going to mourn the man as you waste my time, or do you wish I could send you to rendezvous with him?” The general said, all the humor disappeared from his voice.

”Joining him now after all the years he endured waiting for someone to say his last words,” sir black started. ”Do you know something about the ink keepers?” sir black asked, and there was silence for a long moment. Then there was humourless laughter behind the curtain that was so chilling and sent a cold down sir black’s spine.

The laughter went on for a long moment, echoing in the small room before silence fell, and Sir Back could smell the anger coming from his master, who, when his voice came again, it was cold and barren of any emotion.

”You mean to tell me you went all the way to Lanka, burnt a whole prison, escaped by the skin of your teeth, and wasted my influence just so a mad person could tell you the definition of ink keeper?’ the general seethed, and sir black shifted uncomfortably.

”On the contrary, my lord, he mentioned the soulless, then mentioned the innkeepers. You, my lord, have been searching for a lost clan of the soulless. Only a few elites knew such a pure clan existed, and we may have tried to create such a person in my labs for years, but we have not achieved it. I think he was telling me the ink keepers know something about the disappearance of that clan,” sir black said, and the silence that followed this time did not feel tense at all.

”The ink keepers are capable of hiding such a secret even from me, even from the seventh wing of the war headquarters?” the general said. It might have been years since he was in the war headquarters, but he still had people who were loyal to him in such a place, and all the subjects under study in the seventh wing were of no interest to him. The ink keepers had information on what he had been searching for for ages. ”Those damned eunuchs have been hiding such an important piece of information right under my nose?!” the general snarled, and sir black was glad the anger was not directed at him this time.

The sound of something breaking followed as the general went on a rampage behind the veil, and sir black could hear his labored pants of rage.

”It seems so, my lord,” sir black said, and the anger behind the veil went up a notch, and more objects were broken. The rampage went on for a while longer before it finally stopped. Even long after it had stopped, neither of the two men spoke for a long moment. This was a tough piece of information to take for someone as powerful as his master, sir black knew that. To know that a set of people whom you considered unimportant has been hiding the biggest secret. It was only natural that keeping something safe, you keep it in plain sight or just somewhere no one could look, and those scroll keepers were the least interesting people.

”How far is the final high school exam?” When the general spoke again, his voice was level as if he was not the one who had been losing it moments ago.

”I believe it will be in two months’ time,” sir black said.

”Make necessary arrangements then. He had to fall into our trap,” the general instructed. He was way too calm. It was very calm before the storm. He always got like that when he was about to make someone regret they had been born.

”I already have bait, and they are hungry to get revenge for the boy,” sir black said. This time, he had not gone to look for them, but they had followed his oldest lackeys. The Childface and his wide-eyed are companion.

”The two runners from the academy?” the general asked, and sir black already knew the man knew everything, but it still surprised him sometimes how nothing got past the man.

”They are desperate to get revenge, and I need bait. What better way than using bait hungry and foolish enough?” sir black answered.

”It is good to pick a hungry bait, but a starving one can come to bite you in the back. What if they succeed in killing him?” the general asked.

”They have tried before. Childface told me the boy was moving with his insides still out and killed two men in a second. Childface even wished to retire after what he witnessed,” sir black said.

”So you set them up for failure?” the general asked.

”They set themselves for that. I only saw a plan with no loopholes. If no one comes out alive, the better, and if the boy attracts the attention of the seventh wing beside the tip we gave, then that is excellent,” sir black said.

”You have done well. I will look into the innkeepers myself. Now go.” The general said after a long pause.