85 Swept Away
London, England,
Clock Tower Central Building,
"Pick a card, any card."
"..."
"Can you please be serious?"
Roman grumbled, putting his deck of cards back into his pocket, he'd get an opportunity one day. Smiling, the magician rested his head in his hands and gazed at the two individuals before him. One was a noble to the core with a massive hard-on for blood supremacy and the other was a wimp that wanted to be left alone.
"I trust you have something you called me here for?" Karmagliph Meluastea Deluc seemed unamused, probing his surroundings with his eyes... carpet covered floors, open windows letting in a gentle breeze and nothing else beside the table in the centre and the chairs they were sitting on... There couldn't be a trap here.
"I trust YOU have something I called you here for.." Roman slightly tilted his head, closing his one eye, "You have something to say about our conflict don't you?" If there was one person who'd object to something like this, it'd be the brown haired magus in front of him.
"Something to.... say? Are you kidding me?" Karmagliph sighed, his previously clenched fists losing their strength, "You know we can't afford this.. The Church.. has more operatives, more influence, and you two attacked the Vatican, as in, the pope was there! Our previous conflicts were hidden but do you think they're going to care now?" His points were understandable, "In a drawn out conflict, the Catholic Church, aided by the people, will ultimately outdo us."
"True, their whole agenda revolves around buying your way into heaven." Roman snickered sarcastically, clearly unamused, or rather, uncaring of a very real problem. The Holy Church had theoretically infinite resources to throw into an actual war... they wouldn't wage one though, not when it risked their very hypocritical idea of keeping the magical world hidden from the public as it would reveal 'heresy'.
"You sound like you are unsure of the mage's association's collective wealth." Lorelei Barthomeloi's lips were slightly upturned, the woman was entertained by Karmagliph's behaviour... The Meluastea were supposed to be an old lineage commanding power and respect, what was this?
"Whatever it is, it's nowhere near the Church's." The Lord of the Neutral Faction answered calmly, pressing his hands together to stop himself from shuddering...
Both Lords were staring at him right now and while he was certain they thought it was a normal stare, it really wasn't... How was anyone supposed to meet such intense gazes?
"....." Staring at him blankly, Roman reached into his coat and threw a fat wad of cash in his face, "Money's the problem?"
"...This is supposed to fund a war? Have you two learned nothing from your predecessors?... Sorry."
Karmagliph's words were answered with another wad of cash colliding with his face, "....."
And another one.
"...."
And another.
"I don't think you're going to do anything, Roman."
"Oh I know, it's just funny."
"....Are you two looking down on me?"
Karmagliph facepalmed, reaching for his briefcase with his other hand, "And besides, the Lords will never agree to such a thing."
"The Democrats are all for it."
"The Aristocratic Faction would be upset if we didn't answer." Lorelei slightly smiled, while Roman threw a fit....
Of course the two were laughing at the fact that the individual in front of them thought the opinions of 'Lords' mattered.. Karmagliph failed to grasp that and was only left mildly confused..., "The Neutral Faction will stay neutral then, do not expect our aid."
"Duuumbass~" Roman mocked him again, showing him his middle finger and gazing out a window before snapping his fingers, "The Neutral Faction is already falling apart, you've been losing lords the whole night..."
"They're changing allegiances?"
"No, you're losing them literally."
"Very well then, I'm all ears.. What would you have us do, Lord Meluastea?" Lorelei leaned forward, staring directly into the nervous' magus' eyes, they were about to do something she didn't quite like for the reparations it would have.
"Talk, we can have the Church pay a fine for showing hostility and breaking the pact. Our retaliation can be just that, retaliation born of emotion and hastiness. That way we can maintain the peace we've had for decades.."
It was a good proposal, one that many would consider quite appropriate... Unfortunately, Roman and Lorelei were rather ambitious individuals, each hot-blooded in their own right and, this proposal wasn't as good as their current operation.
"....I am disappointed." A barely noticeable scowl appeared on Lorelei's face and she stood up to leave, "Roman, you may do as you proposed."
"I like how you think I wasn't going to if you didn't agree."
Roman Trambelio snapped his fingers and as soon as he did, a red dot appeared on Karmagliph Meluastea Deluc's forehead. The Magician then made a pistol like gesture with his hand and pointed it at the Lord of the Neutral Faction, his grin widening to insane proportions, "I announce the dissolution of the Neutral Faction."
"What..? .... Do you.. have any idea what that means? Do you have any idea what it would lose you?!" Karmagliph shot up, kicking open his briefcase and pulling out a gatling gun which made Roman whistle in surprise.
"Hey, would you look at that, guess you're not all wimp. And ja, I know.. More than know, painfully so." Roman sighed, not moving from his seat.... It took a lot of research and investigation to make this action a viable and acceptable one.
In the end though, it appeared the neutral faction wasn't as integral to magi society as many believed, "The few positions you useless fence-sitting fucks occupy will be divided between more than willing people from either faction... I'm sure I'll receive sanctions but..." A flash momentarily blinded Karmagliph and his vision cleared up to reveal a camera in Roman's hand.
"The great venerable leader of the neutral faction attacked poor old me unprovoked so I retaliated.." The Evil God tilted his head to the side, grinning, "His loyalist faction members, blinded by rage and loyalty, still declared hostilities and had to be put down lest they threaten the peace and progress of the magical world."
His grin widened further,
"But to lessen the stigma of their oh so sad deaths, the family crests were parsed and their research was made public to aid the world collectively." Roman rose to his full height, towering over the sweating Meluastea who would swear he saw horns on the Trambelio in that moment.
The Magician pointed the finger gun at his own head, "You see the one thing I absolutely fucking loathe, is indecisiveness. Be sacrifices for progress, at least that way your useless life would have had purpose." A massive feat considering the Trambelio hated next to nothing.
The gun in Karmagliph's hands started spinning, ready to release a hail..no, storm of bullets,
"Of course I'm joking." Roman smiled warmly, his eye closed, "Sike, boom."
Karmagliph Meluastea Deluc's head exploded into a gory mess spraying into the surroundings, ruining the room.
Unperturbed and calm, Roman only fixed his collars and tie before turning to leave, not a hint of emotion on his face...
This was probably born out of his dislike for the Neutral Faction's indecisive ideologies but hey who cared, certainly not him. They were going to be a problem in the long run and it was better to remove them right now, their stupid traits were luxuries the Mage's Association couldn't afford during a war.
He'd do exactly what he'd described to the Meluastea.
As he walked down the halls of the Clock Tower, humming to himself, gunfire erupted all around him followed by shouts of indignance and chants to powerful spells that were more often than not cut off.
Apparently, the 'Enforcers' Karmagliph had noticed had been no more than machine-like humans in disguise, armed with combat spells as was the norm for homunculi as well as high end weaponry... If he'd paid enough attention, maybe he would have noticed a striking lack of faculty and students.
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Some time later,
In that one instance, in different locations all over the world.
In calm lakesides, in snowy mountain ranges, in dense forests, on open plains, structures that could only be described as marvels of architecture and technological progress came under assault by unidentified yet heavily armed forces.
Combat suits, anti material weaponry and explosives that the world had never seen and never would see. Their gear carried the insignia of the newly renamed Trambelio Corps and they moved not like humans but like machinery with a fixed task and goal programmed into them.
The members of the Neutral Faction were gunned down or blown to high heaven with a variety of weapons and those too strong faced equally strong, or perhaps stronger individuals employing a plethora of thaumaturgies.
The element of surprise had helped a lot because even if armed with nature bending magecraft, without it, most magi were nothing but slightly stronger humans. They needed their limbs to move and organs to sustain their living... most of the time.
Within a day, the Neutral Faction was swept away under a wave of pure destruction. Their Family Crests were retrieved by the units assigned to them and sent towards Roman Trambelio.. Then, as suddenly as they'd come, these forces vanished into thin air. Leaving behind only ruined landscapes and unidentifiable corpses.
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Share thoughts mfs.
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Karmagliph visualising massive horns wasn't just me being edgy, it was the Beast Crown. Massive horns that are the sign of a matured Beast.
Roman entered an alliance with the Aristocrats and annihilated the Neutralists because he hates them. They were magi, cold ones, human research types. I actually foreshadowed this in the chapter Roman was told Karmagliph had Kayneth murdered.
The fact of the matter is no one can actually force him to pay for this with the explanation he has for his actions.
The actions here also portray a part of his nature that gives him the right to be a Beast/Evil of Man.
He hates indecisiveness and stagnation and loves how humanity can reach greater and greater heights. This ideology, combined with the rest of his personality, becomes so intense that it might just see them in a state of near-destruction.
The entire Neutral Faction hasn't been destroyed yet btw, the Clock Tower's Acting Director Brishisan is a Neutral Lord.
As always, if you find any flaw, be sure to point it out so I can rectify it immediately.
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