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"That would make it easier to accept." Levana nodded, quickly altering her plan. She certainly had no desire for death, but she needed a reason to accept the elf\'s demands.

"I suggest we start with a show of power." She offered. "If I retreat without cause, I will be mocked and even shunned. However, if I negotiated for our release from an overwhelming enemy...it will go down much better."

"Ah, indeed. You might even be praised for your foresight. Is that all?" Eldrian asked.

"Let\'s call it the prerequisite to continue negotiations."

\'She\'s quite shrewd, or well... I\'m simply not used to dealing with people with alternate intentions. Normally things concern a matter of survival. And in such cases, well, things move smoothly. But I feel she\'s hiding, figuratively, her fangs.\'

\'Wait, this had to do with their survival! Ah, right...we are the aggressors in this case, though.\'

"How shall I prove our strength?" Eldrian asked. Realizing that they were the aggressors, he suddenly wanted a peaceful resolution even more. And if he could prove their strength, perhaps he could order the release of the slaves?

"How about a duel? Since you cannot die, I think it will be quite fair if you were to fight me and should I die, I will accept it as the price to save the others."

"I guess mentioning that you are a Tier above me won\'t mean much." Eldrian mussed, and Levana simply smiled. Thinking that he was trying to blindside her.

\'I will ask them to get revenge for me should he kill me.\' She smiled, hiding her thoughts behind it. "I will make sure Alec knows to abide by your demands if I end up dying."

"Shall we form a contract then?" Eldrian asked, this turn completely blindsiding the vampire. She thought she had played her role well, yet the elf was still wary. "Not that I don\'t want to trust you, but... I have been burned before."

Thinking of Miracle, Eldrian knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Levana clenched her fists at her side while trying to maintain her smile. Showing that this angered her would give away her inner thoughts. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way out of this. "I would love to but, sadly, we do not fall under the same gods."

\'Fall under? What a curious way of putting it. Shouldn\'t it be believed?\' Eldrian decided to drop the topic there for now. He had learned so many new things today. He was truly looking forward to when the fort was theirs. Of course, that required him defeating the unawakened vampire before him.

Eldrian could now use mana sense to see her stats, and he had a chance. However, in everything but strength, she surpassed him with 200-300 points. In speed alone, she would be 1,3 times as fast as he was.

\'I can\'t back down now. In the worst case I can go to Avgi or perhaps find an empty space in the kingdom. Maybe one of the lost cities or towns?\' Thinking of this, and curious what his limits were and understanding that he had to push himself. That he could no longer refrain from danger, Eldrian resolved himself.

"Oh, but there is one we all fall under." Eldrian smiled, a smile that gave Levana shivers. A smile one would give someone at checkmate. "GAIA, I am sure a contract under them would be the best possible option."

Levana\'s eyes widened in shock and she only barely managed to stop her jaw from dropping. It was commonly known that GAIA was the supreme gods, above all other gods. In those ancient myths of her family, it was GAIA who had killed the other gods.

Yet, GAIA was a deity that refused believers. Their believers were the other gods, after all. To invoke GAIA. It was insanity.

"Th-wh-we... Are you crazy!?" She could no longer contain her composure. Such a contract; there would be no escape from it. She knew how to circumvent some of the gods, especially the gods she as a vampire fell under. But GAIA...

"Not at all. They\'re quite nice once you get to know them." Eldrian replied. The words he spoke entered Levana\'s ears. But she failed to register their meaning. It was simply too absurd.

"I-I think you mi-misspoke."

"Not at all. They\'ve helped me understand where I am lacking quite a lot. They helped me realize I can\'t run from danger. Which is why I am here."

\'H-H-H— I-Is he saying he is an envoy for GAIA?!\' Suddenly, all the strangeness surrounding the elf made some sense. And she understood the fear that had been growing inside her.

"Ah, nevermind. We\'ll retreat! You can have the fort." She jumped back and shouted. The only reason she didn\'t bolt away right there and then was because the firebird glared at her as soon as she moved.

"No, no. That won\'t do. You need something to report to your superiors. Besides, I do want to test what I am capable of after reaching Tier 5. I\'ve never had a true fight since it happened. Though...I did die already." Eldrian laughed, thinking of how he died without being pushed to his limit. Of course, it had been part of the plan. But it felt weird putting it into words.

Levana\'s mind instead was reeling. This new information made everything even more insane. And, he just admitted having died. That should not be something to casually mention.

"Ah, if you are afraid, I can promise if I get the upper hand I won\'t kill you." Eldrian offered.

Levana did not even hear the offer. She was still reeling from the former revelation. "Can\'t you just take the fort and let me off?" She tried to make her tone as pleasing as possible, attempting to show off her assets and even throwing some of her charm powers at the elf.

Yet, nothing came of her efforts. In fact, Eldrian did not even notice the charm. It was so weak that it could not even compare to Jade\'s ability. Though, he did slightly notice her other efforts. But he chose to ignore them.

This was the perfect opportunity to have a true duel within a controlled environment. After all, he would never dare go all out against Vivian or the others.

"I\'m looking forward to it." Eldrian said, deliberately ignoring her question. "Now, how should we do this? Normally, it such contracts are either done on divine parchment or in the presence of a priest." Eldrian only knew this thanks to Two having gone through thousands of books.

His mumbling gave Levana some hope. Which was dashed just a few seconds later.

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