Chapter 490: From Captors to Protectors

Hestia sat behind her desk in the Crimson Spire, with Adrian's report open beside the recording of the two brothers surrendering. The news had already spread across Andromeda, and messages continued arriving from sect leaders who had watched it themselves.

She moved those aside and returned to the image of Adrian standing beneath the two Anchors. Only a short time had passed in the outside universe since she had watched him struggle to hold Orveth and his allies back long enough for them to escape. And now he faced two seasoned Anchors together and gave neither a chance to fight back.

"This is still unbelievable," Hestia murmured.

She now knew more of Adrian's secrets than almost anyone, including the truth of the Source itself. She knew about his unusual foundation, the Crown of the Source, the Will hidden within his power, and the countless years of training he had accumulated under Origin headquarters' accelerated time. Yet even that knowledge did little to make what she had just watched feel ordinary.

It was especially the ease of Adrian's victory that surprised her more.

Then Hestia thought about the way Adrian had always improved and found the progression becoming easier to understand. She knew how much time he had spent training throughout the previous century inside Origin headquarters. On more than one occasion, he had left her with an unreasonable amount of administrative work before disappearing into a training chamber for years of subjective time.

A small smile appeared as she watched the recording again, pleased despite remembering how worried she had been when he left.

WHIZZ!

Suddenly, Adrian materialized beside the table, and Hestia looked up as his feet settled upon the floor. "I didn't expect you to be that much stronger than both of them. You could have told me before leaving, instead of making me worry about how you were going to face them alone."

"Ahem, actually, even I didn't know either," Adrian replied with a chuckle. "I knew I had grown stronger, but I spent most of that time training by myself. This was my first chance since then to test what I had learned against experienced Anchors. I, too, didn't expect the difference to be this large."

The crimson-gold doors opened before Hestia could answer. Lara entered with Rethan and Oskel following her, both brothers walking more carefully than they had during their first visit. Oskel briefly pressed his fingers against his temple, while Rethan paused beside him before they continued toward the table. The strain left by Adrian's attack had followed them back from the station.

Hestia dismissed the recording and rose. Her gaze moved between the two brothers as Lara stopped beside the table. "You came here asking us to help your sister. Even after we offered to meet her and see what we could do, you answered by threatening us, and then you went and took our disciples hostage."

Rethan kept his eyes on her. "We did not intend to harm your disciples."

"Huh." Hestia's expression hardened. "Nothing happened to them because Adrian stopped you. If things had gone the other way and we kept refusing whatever you wanted, what would you have done?"

Rethan's gaze shifted briefly toward Adrian before returning to her. He remained silent for several moments, and Hestia waited for his answer.

"We believed you had something that could help Mireth," he said finally. "We have spent years trying to find what she needs. When we saw how many of your disciples were advancing, we thought we had finally found something useful. But the guidance you offered sounded like what we had already tried." He paused, then continued more quietly. "Holding the station was my decision. I thought it would bring you back to the discussion."

"We were already willing to discuss helping her," Hestia said as she shook her head. "You decided that our answer was not enough, so you took people who had nothing to do with it. If a battle had broken out there, they would have been the first ones in danger."

Rethan glanced at his brother. Oskel stood with his arms lowered, his attention moving from Hestia to Adrian, but he offered no objection. After a moment, Rethan faced her again. "Yes. We put them in danger, and we had no right to do that."

Hestia remained standing while Adrian took out his node and opened the UNI-OS. He selected the UNI-Contract System, and a blue projection appeared above the table. After entering the terms, he turned the interface toward the brothers.

"You will serve as protectors under Crimson Vital for one hundred standard UNI-Years," he said. "You will defend our people and our holdings in Andromeda, along with the communities under our protection. During that time, you will answer to the sect for those duties. That is the settlement I am offering for what you did."

Rethan looked toward the projection, then back at Adrian. "You intend to station us here for the entire term?"

"Your duties will be here," Adrian replied. "We will assign where you are needed and arrange any absence through the sect. You cannot leave Andromeda whenever another assignment interests you and return when it suits you."

The official page where the author publishes the story has this chapter, while this copy was reproduced without approval.

Hestia read the opening terms before looking at the brothers. Earlier that day, she had promised Nightshade that smaller sects would have someone to call when powerful outsiders threatened them. Their newly advanced Astrals could handle many problems, but two experienced Anchors would provide reinforcements against threats those disciples could not yet face.

"We are preparing defensive bases across Andromeda," she said. "You will support them where stronger cultivators are needed, and you will respond when we call upon you. Until the bases are ready, your assignments will come through headquarters."

She brought the duty section closer and continued. "The local sects will keep control of their own affairs. Your appointment will not give you the right to demand their resources or interfere in their business. You will be there to protect them and uphold the peace."

Rethan drew the projection closer and began reading the contract. The term would begin upon acceptance and follow universal standard time.

The required work concerned protection and the duties needed to carry it out. They could not attack the sect or its protected communities, assist anyone acting against them, abandon people assigned to their protection, or deliberately refuse the work they had agreed to perform. Information entrusted to them through that service could not be passed to outsiders. In return, Crimson Vital would extend its protection to them against external threats.

Farther down the projection, Rethan found the terms governing the end of their service. The obligation would end after the stated period, and remaining afterward would require another agreement. Nothing granted Adrian control over his mind or a permanent claim over his life. Outside the duties he accepted, his private affairs remained his own.

For a moment, Rethan was truly shocked. After the threat they had made and the defeat that followed, he had expected far harsher terms.

Beside him, Oskel drew his own copy closer. His fingers stopped beside the duration entry, and he looked toward Rethan before returning to the text. Neither brother signed immediately. Their experience had taught them to examine an agreement most carefully when they had the least room to refuse it.

"One hundred UNI-Years," Rethan said at last. "After that, we can leave."

"Yes," Adrian replied. "If you want to stay after that, we can discuss it when the time comes. This agreement gives us your service for the term written there."

Rethan looked at Hestia, whose expression remained stern. She had already explained where their strength would be needed. For a century, neither brother would be free to take outside work or depart without arranging it with Crimson Vital. When a threat came, they would have to face it for people who had every reason to resent them.

The UNI-Sect would serve as its enforcer. Violating the agreement could bring immediate blacklisting, the loss of UNI-OS access, and exclusion from much of the intergalactic trade and work upon which independent cultivators depended. Those consequences already made a registered contract difficult to dismiss, and the man standing across gave Rethan another reason to take every term seriously.

He exchanged a quiet look with Oskel. His brother read the last section once more before giving a small nod, and Rethan extended his hand toward the projection. "I accept these terms."

His mana signature entered the interface, causing the blue text to brighten as the system registered his acceptance. Oskel signed his own agreement a moment later. The two entries settled beside one another, each displaying the accepted duration and confirming that the contract was now active.

Adrian checked the confirmations before sending copies to Hestia and Lara. "Lara will arrange your quarters and the information you need for your duties. Recover first. We will settle your initial assignments with you afterward."

Rethan lowered his hand while Oskel moved his copy aside. The pain behind his eyes made the chance to rest welcome, though he still needed to contact Mireth and explain why they would not be returning for now.

Adrian closed the contract interface, then looked at Rethan again. "As for your sister, you can still bring her here. Our earlier offer stands."

Oskel's hand stopped before he could dismiss the projection beside him. He turned fully toward Adrian, leaving his hand raised beside the display. "You are still willing to see her?"

"Yep," Adrian replied. "We can listen to where she is struggling and see whether our instructors or training facilities can help. But remember, we do not have a comprehension treasure as you imagine, and I cannot promise she will complete her second Divine Concept here. We can look at what she needs and let her try whatever is suitable."

Rethan studied him for several moments. Their service was already owed, and Adrian had made no promise concerning Mireth while setting those terms. He had nothing more to gain from renewing the invitation, yet he was still willing to help her.

"She follows the same inheritance as us," Rethan said. "We can provide the parts she has learned and explain where she has been unable to continue. She will be able to tell you more herself."

"Send what you can to Lara," Hestia replied. "We will examine it before deciding which instructors or facilities might be useful. Bring the records of what you have already tried as well. There is no reason to make her repeat something that has already failed to help."

Oskel glanced toward the contract confirmation, then dismissed it and lowered his hand. When he looked up again, his gaze moved between Hestia and Adrian. "Thank you," he said. "We will send everything we have."

Hestia acknowledged him and turned toward Lara. "Arrange for one of them to bring Mireth while the other remains here."

Lara nodded and gestured toward the doors. Rethan offered a restrained bow before following her, with Oskel beside him. The brothers left the chamber together, carrying copies of their agreements and the same invitation they had refused during their first visit.

…

Later, an official statement from Crimson Vital appeared on Andromeda's local forum, confirming that the station's disciples were safe and the incident had been resolved. It also announced the settlement: Rethan and Oskel had signed UNI-Contracts for one hundred standard UNI-Years of service and would now act as protectors under the sect's authority.

Their duties extended to Crimson Vital's holdings and the communities beneath its protection. The statement closed by making clear that threats against their people would continue to receive the sect's full response.

The announcement spread alongside the earlier recording, and people reading it found the station's captors named as Andromeda's newest protectors. Both remained experienced Anchors with millions of years of cultivation behind them, capable of confronting dangers that most local sects could never face alone.

Adrian's victory had brought that strength under Crimson Vital's command. Anyone considering whether to test his warning would now have to account for two more Anchors, whose duty was to defend the very people they had tried to threaten.