The entire Locke Enterprise, consisting of; Brandon, Zed, Deus, Ironaxe, and Matthew, sat on the desk. Across the desk, sat Bellion, who's legs and arms were crossed together, waiting to hear their proposal.
Clap, clap—! Clapping his hands together, Brandon instructed.
"Ironaxe, if you please."
"Aye, aye."
Ironaxe rummaged through his bag, seemingly grabbing something. As soon as he found what he was looking for, he set it on the table for Bellion to see.
"Hm?"
Bellion leaned his head close and scrutinized the items.
"These are...?"
"Artifacts."
As soon as Brandon answered his question, Bellion picked up one of the artifacts and scanned.
"Can I inject mana into it?"
"Go ahead."
Bellion did just that. Injecting mana into the artifact, soon after, Bellion's eyes widened.
"This...."
Bellion raised his head, meeting Brandon's gaze. Brandon couldn't help but smile seeing the expressions Bellion was making.
"Is it the same for the other artifacts?"
"Yes, all of them serve to boost the capabilities of the user. You felt it, didn't you? The way your muscles constrict, your body getting lighter, artificial adrenaline pumping in your veins."
"This is crazy.... To think artifacts like these were being put into auction.... But since all of these are Milis technology, then that means—"
"Weapons of war."
Brandon cut him off nonchalantly, clasping his hands together under his chin.
"But you see, this is where my team specializes in."
Brandon looked at Ironaxe and nodded. Ironaxe nodded back and rummaged his bag once again. Setting the item on the table, Bellion immediately grabbed it.
"A duplicate?"
"An exact replica created by this guy."
Brandon wrapped his arm around Ironaxe's shoulder. Ironaxe held the same stern expression as before.
"I see. So this partnership.... Your team can recreate these artifacts and sell them specifically to the Imperial Army."
"Correct. But if you're still not convinced...."
Giving his signal to Ironaxe, the dwarf set another item on the table. This time, an amulet.
"What's this?"
Bellion asked as he scanned closely.
"Put it on."
"Okay."
The moment he did, Bellion's eyes shot wide open.
"Wha...."
Bellion looked taken aback, astonished even.
Who wouldn't be?
After all....
Crackle....!
"The Ice Affinity...."
It allowed Bellion to harness the [Ice] affinity, despite being a [Fire] affinity mage himself.
"How's this possible...?"
"It will tell you if the user with the same configurations as your ring is still alive or not."
"...."
The mana he felt was Zed's, signaling that Zed was still alive.
Brandon looked at ring and said,
"Looks like it works."
Then, he raised his head and looked at Zed who had a dumbfounded expression, staring at the ring in his finger.
"Now give it back. It isn't for you."
"...."
Zed slid the ring off his finger and tossed it back to Brandon.
"Thanks."
"You don't want to know if I'm still alive?"
"You survived a Wraith. You're not dying anytime soon."
"...."
***
There were a couple more things he had to do for the night.
Sitting on the edge of a rooftop, Brandon dangled his feet and scanned the entire city.
He was quite high up.
And at the moment, he was waiting for someone.
Tak.
And that person had arrived shortly after. His footsteps echoing from behind.
However, despite waiting for quite a while, Brandon didn't look back as he went on to acknowledge the newcomer.
"You're here."
"What's this about, Brandon Locke? I don't know why you called me up here. Heck, do you even have access to this building?"
"I'm sure you're aware of it."
"Aware of what? Why you called for me? If so, no. I have no idea."
"Your Leader's sudden disappearance."
"...."
Their Leader's disappearance.
Or rather, Ciel's disappearance.
"Leader? What are you talking about? Are you saying your sister, Belle, disappeared?"
Brandon finally stood up and turned around, meeting the newcomer's gaze.
The newcomer frowned and crossed his arms.
"This isn't a joke. Why did you call for me? I'm a busy man."
Step—
However, Brandon didn't respond and stepped forward.
The newcomer took a step back. Most probably, keeping his guard up.
Brandon neared him, putting his hand on his shoulder.
Shortly after, Brandon's lips parted open.
"Ivan Millet, an S ranker. Participated in the recent blackmarket raid under General Belle Locke's leadership."
And....
"The Primordial's Tenth Seat."