Madeline's dilemma

"What?!" Ambrose bellowed as he shot up from his seat.

Seated on the other side of the table was Natasha with a complicated expression.

"I know it sounds crazy but I need you to settle down and listen to me."

"I should listen to you?" Ambrose glared at her. "You should be thankful that I've not sent you to the cleansing chamber yet. How could you hold a conversation with an evil god and come back here to blab nonsense?"

"The Hunter is not an evil god!"

"Natasha!" Ambrose scowled. "Are you telling me your mind has been manipulated by that evil god?... I can't believe this, I trusted you to handle the case and you do this?... How could you!"

"I need you to calm down!" Natasha suddenly spoke up in a loud voice causing Ambrose to back away.

Taking a moment to breathe, none spoke as they stared at one another.

After more than a minute had passed, Ambrose gritted his teeth as he remarked. "Fine then, tell me what you discussed with the Hunter, and after that, you will head over to the cleansing chamber."

"Before anything, take a moment to consider why an evil god would make use of gestures to use their Miracles."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Hunter… he uses gestures when utilizing his Abilities."

"You are saying he is a Mystic of the Human Wheel instead of the Apostle of an Evil god?" Ambrose revealed a thoughtful gaze but still didn't budge as he shook his head.

"He may not be an Apostle but he surely has connections with one, what with his strong Inclination to yin, and apart from that, he is an unregistered Mystic, a potential menace to society!"

Natasha nodded in agreement. "He does have relations with an evil god…"

"And you let him get away?" Ambrose's voice had already gone up a notch.

"Don't worry, he promised to end the relations once he solves the problems plaguing the western district."

"And you believed him?"

"He was born because of the suffering the western district has experienced at the hands of the nobles. He has every right to harbor a grudge against them."

"So we should allow him to exert his revenge?"

Natasha shook her head. "That won't happen."

"And what makes you so sure?" Ambrose raised a brow.

"He wants to cooperate with us to capture the rebels threatening BoneHaven."

"Oh?"

Knowing the kind of person Ambrose was, Natasha didn't respond to his questioning gaze as she went ahead to share what Alex had told her.

From Basar's identity to the role of the Evil Eye brotherhood in the rebel attack planned on the city.

"So this… Basar guy is most likely the one that helped the rebels pass through the underground tunnels to reach BoneHaven?" Ambrose inquired.

Natasha nodded. "His ability to see all things allowed him to find the tunnels and quickly traverse them."

"Hmm." Ambrose pondered for a while as he sat down on his chair, revealing a thoughtful gaze while going over what he had learned.

"If it's as Hunter said, then it would be troublesome to face such a guy, after all, he'd see us coming from a mile away."

"He can't actively use it as he wishes. Just like Lady Ana, he can only see when he stares directly at a person… or at least that's what the Hunter deduced."

"We can't place all our understanding on what the Hunter said. Even if he is sincere, there's no way he would share everything he knows. For all we know, he could be trying to take out a competitor using our might."

"I don't think so, sir," Natasha replied.

Ambrose sighed. "I know… the aura he exuded at uncle's place was on par if not greater than Lady Ana's own. He is a powerhouse in his own right which makes me wonder why he truly needs our help."

"Did you arrest a group of commoners recently?"

Ambrose furrowed his brows. "The Hunter is willing to work with us for their sake?"

"... I know I don't have the power to change the dynamics of our world but sir… those people are innocent and treating them that way… it's not right."

"Hah, I understand." Ambrose sighed again as he massaged his temples. "I will order for them to be released, but…"

"But?"

"They will have to be under surveillance until the Evil Eye brotherhood is destroyed."

"I understand."

"Good," Ambrose remarked before adding. "So what did he have to say about the tunnels?... Now that we have the blueprints from the Maple family, we can go down now. So, will he help us when we do so?"

Natasha nodded. "He said that going into the tunnels would be dangerous. According to his words, Basar must have used some sort of enchantment based on his ability to distort the environment there."

"So they are down there."

"But it won't be easy to get them."

"What about your anti-magic?" Ambrose inquired with a look of frustration.

The fact that he knew where the enemy was and how to get there but couldn't, bothered him greatly, especially when the capabilities of said individual were troublesome with unknown goals to boot.

Natasha could only shake her head in response. "Basar is on par with the Hunter and I'm merely still an Apprentice. I can use anti-magic but our exploration progress would be exceedingly slow since we have no idea where to start."

"We can't just sit and wait…" Ambrose muttered, pondering for a moment before revealing a troubled gaze. "We might have to empty the treasury."

"Sir?"

"Our only hope is getting large amounts of Quillion and destroying the distortion in one fell swoop. The only problem is based on how large the underground tunnels are… we'd need a lot of Quillion."

"That… is correct." Natasha trailed off. "Do you think this is why the Hunter came to us?"

Ambrose facepalmed. "That bastard is leeching off of us."

Natasha hadn't really considered it before but thinking now, it seemed the Hunter wasn't as all-powerful as she thought.

During her encounter with him last night, he had an unfathomable presence but realizing now that money was a problem for him, helped to humanize him, albeit slightly.

"Oh my, I forgot." Natasha lightly tapped her forehead while also gaining Ambrose's attention.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah… that he might be coming to see you later."

"..."

***

As Natasha and Ambrose sorted out the details in his office, Madeline stood outside the door, her hand on the knob but not attempting to turn it.

She had heard most of everything that Natasha and Ambrose had discussed, causing her immense worry.

After the incident at Gordon's Manor, Madeline hadn't been able to think properly.

On one hand, she saw that the powerful figure promising salvation to the city was not as powerful as she thought and secondly, Basar was no longer so lofty of a figure after wiping out the Gordon family.

There was no need for it and if not for the Hunter's actions, Basar would have gotten away with it.

Sure, Melvin and his father might have deserved it but what about the maids, the cleaners, the cooks, and even the pets?

Basar had switched from a savior and a father in her eyes to a cold-blooded killer but unfortunately… she didn't dare to break ties with him.

Unsure of what to do, she decided to warn Basar.

Maybe if he found out that the D.O.D. and The Hunter were working together to bring him down, he would be scared off.

Sighing heavily, she decided to meet with the High Priest tonight.

***

"You had something important to tell me?" Basar remarked as he sat in a carriage, opposite Madeline.

Madeline gulped audibly as she muttered. "I thought you'd come tonight?"

"I don't see the need any longer… in fact, it might be more dangerous with that bastard Hunter running around." Basar frankly replied.

Madeline pursed her lips to ponder for a moment before she asked. "Why did you do it?"

"Hmm?" If his face was visible, a brow would be raised.

"The Gordon family… I understand the nobles but their servants did nothing wrong, so why did you kill them as well?"

Basar didn't immediately respond as he slowly leaned forward to take a better look at Madeline.

"Your faith wavers."

"I…"

"They were already tainted by the nobles. Their eyes were blinded to the sins of the nobles as they wished to be like them, so… they had to be cleansed."

"Is that the way you want to save mankind?... By killing everyone and everything related to the nobles?"

"... I was right, your faith wavers." Basar sighed as he slowly reached out to stroke Madeline's cheeks. "My sweet child… you have made a terrible mistake."

Before Madeline could say anything, Basar grabbed her neck and squeezed it causing her to gasp for breath.

"You forget that I picked you up and made you who you are. You have no right to question my decisions. Only follow me blindly and do what I ask. Do you think if the world was black and white, everything would be this bad?... No!... It's a gray area and so you have to accept that to cleanse it, people will have to die."

"...You promised not to kill the innocent," Madeline said in a strained voice while trying to free herself.

Basar replied. "And I won't. But that doesn't mean you will question me any longer. I have had my patience with you so within the next 10 days, you will bring me to the catacombs… Do you understand, Madeline?"

"Please… don't do this."

"No, Madeline…. Please, don't make me do this."

With no chance of getting away, Madeline was forced to make her decision amidst tears.