Chapter 101 - Returning
Nimir's eyes were full of anxiety and unwillingness as he could not believe what has just happened.
Originally his mission was extremely simple, he only needed to ignore Heinz's order of protecting Zatiel, and do nothing when he was attacked by Feiner.
Although the repercussions for disobeying the order of a superior, especially a Soul Forging existence, would not be small, Nimir though that as he long he founded a good enough excuse, the punishment will not be too hard, after all, he was someone at the Master level of Rank 2 with a great chance of entering Rank 3, while the other party was only at Rank 1.
But all the plan crumble to the ground, the moment that Zatiel displayed his amazing power and talent, and he understood that the value of this seemly insignificant Rank 1 will be much greater than his own in Heinz's eyes.
Luckily, he did not lose calm as he was informed that someone will be sent to take care of Zatiel, and there will be no possibility of failure this time. And when that was done, he will no longer need to be under Heinz orders anymore.
When Lun arrived displaying the might of a Rank 4 life form, Nimir could almost not control the happiness he was felling for being under someone capable of making a Soul Forging existence, do his bidding.
But just when the situation was reaching the climax and he was waiting to see Zatiel's soul destroyed, Heinz appeared.
Initially, Nimir had the hope that Heinz will only reach a settlement with Lun, but not even on his wildest fantasy could have he imagine that the cultivator was powerful enough to disintegrate Lun's body and soul with a single attack.
Although the cost of using a power capable of annihilating the life on a planet was immense and Heinz was badly injured, Nimir knew that the cultivator was still capable of killing him without even moving a finger.
When the dark flames appeared and stop him from seeing what was happening inside the dome, fear began to take control over his mind.
Escaping was not really an option, since they were so deep into the Endless Forest, that if he were to try to run, he will surely end up eaten alive by some magic creature, and of course, there is no way that Grigori would dare to help him.
As the hours passed, the fear in Nimir's heart grew without control, and the moment the flames disappeared he immediately focused on the dome, but to his surprise the only ones present in it where Zatiel, Sophia and Ezequiel.
But instead of relaxing by the absence of Heinz, the fear on Nimir only grew and when he saw the smile that Zatiel was sending on his direction he knew that something horrible was going to happen.
The next thing Nimir felt was a palm grabbing his shoulder, freezing his energy and even his consciousness.
"Are you looking for me, little rat."
Although he could not see him, Nimir recognized the voice and knew that the individual responsible for his current condition was Heinz.
The only reason for doing this, was if they wanted to stop him from doing something drastic and the Magus understood that whatever was going to happen next, will make him want to die.
But now that he was under Heinz's control, even killing himself will be impossible and the last feeling on Nimir's mind was absolute terror before he passes out.
There wasn't a member of the empire that did not understand how horrible the fate of those that offended Soul Forging existences could be, as they were powerful enough to literally extract someone's soul and subdue it to the worst imaginable pain.
The Magi World may give the illusion of a lawful place, but the truth was that it was a cruel and dangerous land, and no one would say a word against Heinz no matter what he may do to Nimir.
And of course, the ones present in the platform were not an exception, so despite whatever they thought of what was happening, not a single one of them dare to look directly at the cultivator.
Heinz could not care less what was happening through those people's minds, and he originally intended to soul search Nimir right here and now, to learn who was the individual that dare to put a traitor among his subordinates and act against his people.
But was convinced otherwise by Zatiel, and he was assured by the Neo-Demon, that he could make Nimir spill all of his secrets without the need to destroy his soul.
Zatiel told him that he had a use for the Magus, and since there was no really a difference for him if he obtained the information now or in a couple of days, he accepted.
Heinz made Nimir's unconscious body disappear, before waving his hand and taking from his personal storage space the core of the platform.
Just as Heinz was about to send his consciousness into the core, a humanoid figure made of light materialized on top of the statue of the empire and flew down.
When he landed on the platform, he scanned Heinz for a second, and when he saw his healthy condition his eyes narrowed, but without delay, he performed a polite bow.
"Your Highness, I am the Rank 4 Magus Nate. It will be better if you hand over the core to me, my body will reach this place in less than a day and will handle the platform. It will be easier this way, or else it could give the impression that you killed Lun to alter the spoil obtained during this expedition."
Nate's speech was very polite and give the idea that the Magus really wanted to help Heinz out of a difficult situation.
Unlike when he first appeared, he now adopted a humble and reserved attitude. He knew that those sorts of displays he had performed before could wonder some people but if he were to do it in front of Heinz he will only embarrass himself.
But even after hearing the man, Heinz did not stop and without even looking at him, he sends his consciousness in the core and took control over the platform.
When Nate saw the complete disregard that Heinz was showing to him, he started to become angry, but the man understood that even if his body were to be here, a fight against the cultivator could only result in defeat.
So without letting his emotions appear on his face, he prepares to continue his speech when Heinz looks at him.
"The Star Heart is so precious that even if all the rest of the fallen star that it was collected where to be put together, it could not equal his worth. It would be very troublesome if some people were to try to claim it, due to some losses."
When he heard this, Nate immediately try to explain his intentions but before he could speak, Heinz spoke again and this time his eyes were cold.
"I do not care about your goal, I will take this platform and those that want to collect the fallen star they own, can go to my tower and reclaim what the register says the people under them obtained. As for Lun's death, he would not have acted the way he did, if you had done your job."
Technically Nate's responsibility was to secure the safety of the members of the empire, but that was against magic creatures, not a Rank 4 Magus, so if one were to look at the situation with an objective mind, one would find that he didn't do anything wrong.
But since when people were objective, they judge other actions according to what they believe is right and Heinz was not different.
A trace of anger was shown on Nate's face, but he did not say anything and his body of energy transformed into dots of light before flying away.
Heinz did not bother with the Magus, and once he got control over the platform, he shrinks it until it was the size of a fist before making it disappear.
Since everything he needed to do here was done, Heinz did not delay any longer his departure.
He released his consciousness and started to embrace every member of the empire inside it.
"Brace yourself." An amused expression appeared on the face of Heinz as he pictures what was going to happen next.
Once all the people were cover by his consciousness, Heinz used his control over the Law of Space and teleport along the rest.