Chapter 84: What Must Be Done

-----

After listening carefully to Riven, Elisa’s eyes grew sharper as she began to fully grasp the scale of his plans. "Your plan is to overtake the greatest family in the world, yours," said Elisa, her voice steady but edged with quiet intensity. "And... you want to do it by abusing your incredible authorities, I see."

"Technically, I have five," he said. "I made a pact with Fenrir. Noir over there is Fenrir’s son, technically."

"Huh?!" Elisa looked at Noir, who cutely tilted his head and wagged his fluffy tail with innocent curiosity. "Really?! So our dog is a demigod?!"

"Hahah... I guess so?" Riven laughed as he scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "Anyway, there are many things that’ll happen in the future. It won’t be an easy path ahead, and it won’t be a direct one. Along the way, we’ll have to take many turns. There are many bastards that’ll try to ruin humanity, and I believe it wasn’t just our families, but these bastards who also helped at ruining Humanity’s chance for Ascension."

Elisa nodded slowly, beginning to understand more about the deeper meaning behind his words. "Like the Cult of Fenrir?"

"Yes," nodded Riven. "And, talking about that... there’s someone I want you to meet. He is my slav- I mean, a subordinate I recruited. Someone from the Fenrir Cult that could help us a lot."

The door opened at that moment. Someone had arrived earlier that morning, a person Riven could already speak to through their bond as master and servant. The newcomer had waited patiently outside the entire time and had mostly stayed out of sight for a whole week, giving both of them space to adjust to their new lives.

As the door swung open, a handsome young man with long red hair, a prominent scar running across his face, and simple black clothes stepped forward into the room. He was not wearing any cult-like black robe or ceremonial garments. Instead, he wore ordinary everyday clothing: black leather pants, a plain white shirt, and a black jacket with a hoodie that covered half of his face in shadow.

"Who is this delinquent?!" Elisa gasped, clearly horrified by his rough appearance.

"C-Calm down, he’s a new ally I guess? He’ll be joining our guild anyway," said Riven with a cocky smile. "He’s my slave- I mean, my subordinate. A bastard that tried to kidnap me the first time I went to the dungeon, alongside his little group of cultists. Unfortunately, he had no idea how the dungeon worked or how its monsters could be manipulated. His name is Vladimir."

Vladimir remained in complete silence as he glared around the house, both hands shoved deep inside his pockets. Then his expression twisted into an annoyed and furious scowl the moment he noticed Riven walking toward him.

"He’s just a good puppy now, aren’t you?" Riven smiled, the teasing edge in his voice unmistakable. "You’ll be coming with us to the gate I got. I’ll be working you to death... and then reviving you with healing potions."

"Tsk...! Nnngg...!" Vladimir gritted his teeth angrily, flashing his sharp canines, but he was completely unable to speak.

After all, Riven had given him a firm order to shut the fuck up, so Vladimir was not going to utter a single word unless he was allowed to.

"Um, okay?" Elisa tilted her head, still processing the sudden introduction. "I guess... a lot happened. You almost got kidnapped?!" The full weight of what she had just heard finally sank in, and her eyes widened with fresh concern.

"It would have never happened, don’t worry," Riven said with a reassuring smile as he casually patted Vladimir’s head. "And that’s about what has happened so far. I’ve told you everything."

Elisa nodded, her eyes growing even sharper as she revealed a smart and highly calculative side of herself that she had not shown much before. "I see. Well, I suppose your next step is recruiting these ’incredible people’ you talked about earlier, right?"

"That’s right," Riven said. "The dreams from the future revealed special ’twinkling stars,’ incredible people with amazing talents and abilities that were never able to develop due to the pressure of Claymore Enterprises and the other Families. I will gather them under the same roof, and we will create the strongest guild. We will not just take national problems. We will become the first world-wide guild, capable of functioning all around the world."

"W-What? How do you hope to even do that?" she asked, genuine shock mixing with growing curiosity.

"I’ve discovered a pretty handy ability," said Riven. "From what I’ve investigated, it is possible to teleport between the Gates I’ve conquered. Right now, I can’t do anything, but once I conquer more, then I can set them up in certain areas of the world..."

"!!!" Elisa gasped in pure astonishment. Even Vladimir looked shocked, his eyes widening as he silently wondered what kind of nonsense this bastard was talking about. "Y-You can...! Do that?! World-wide teleportation! It has always been theorized, but not even Claymore nor my Family had been able to find a way. So by conquering Gates... it becomes possible."

"Yes," Riven nodded firmly. "Now, my next goal is going to a C Rank Gate. There, I will gather some ingredients I need, conquer it, and grind even more loot for our capital growth."

Silence settled over the room for a moment.

But Elisa seemed both angered and sad at the same time as she listened to the full scope of Riven’s plans. Her hands tightened slightly on the arms of her wheelchair.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, noticing the shift in her expression. "I... I know you’re worried but-"

"Is it really okay? To shoulder everything yourself?" she asked, her voice quiet yet filled with genuine emotion. "I want to help too, Riven."

"Right now the best way you could help is by resting," said Riven gently. "Right now, our Vitality is connected. The higher my Vitality stat grows, so does yours. If we continue like this, eventually you’ll regain more of your strength. However, that poison... I have another way to heal it. I cannot extract it directly, or your body might be unable to take on the pain, so I will gather certain ingredients around the world to create the ultimate elixir, a healing antidote that that person in the future created for me. I have the recipe memorized."

After hearing everything Riven was willing to do for her, Elisa felt even more moved than before. At the same time, a heavy wave of guilt settled in her chest at the thought that he was pushing himself so far for someone who still felt as useless as she did.

-----