Even Jael stood up as his aura clashed with Temur; bloodlust made the air tremble. "Say that again?"
Ryker signed and his eyes glowed. Then he slammed his aura against theirs, and they flinched and were pushed down. Their backs bent as it descended like an iron weight on their necks. "Kids these days..."
"Her life and death is nothing but a flick of a finger," He repeated coldly as if he was commenting on the weather. "Why are you angry? Those you killed...."
"All we've killed is for self-defense!" Jael shouted. "I've not killed for the pleasure of it or because I want to rob them. We don't kill just because we want to! Her life is precious to us!"
Ryker smirked. "And that makes the death so much easier...? Anyway," He released his aura and they sagged. "You must have cooled down enough. You are clouding your head with emotions. If you do that again, I'll send you out, and that's the end."
Jael rubbed his neck; he couldn't believe only aura pressure did this to them. Just how powerful are silver ranks? And the way the Captain spoke now, he knew he would do just that. He looked at Temur, and it looked like he was also the reason for it.
"Good," Ryker nodded. "Let's continue. Imagine when you keep climbing; how many Awakeners will you kill on each floor? The higher you climb, the less you begin to feel about death. This Tower twists you like that.
"Life is one of the least precious things here. It's even less than gold. Unless you have power, of course or you become very useful to your Guild, then you'll be something to them." He smiled. "But at a level like this, you are all unless."
Jael was annoyed, more so because he knew the captain was telling the truth. "But what does that have to do with Litha?"
"It means it's easy to sweep her case under the rug, she's not someone special enough for the Tower Guards to go all out. Hundreds die every day on each floor." He shrugged.
"But your organization was made to act as a force of order within the Tower!" Temur said stiffly.
Ryker blinked at him. "Not really. The real reason there are Tower Guards is to act like a neutral force between the all-powerful ones. To create a balance of power, but you are right, maintaining and enforcing the laws are part of our jobs."
The smile on the Captain's face was wiped clean with what Jael said and his eyes narrowed. "You are right. I'm considering if I should help you. If it's worth it and if it won't come back to bite me."
Jael rested his hand on Temur's shoulder. 'Of course she's worth it' he said with his eyes. "What do you want us to do." He said with all the lack of emotions he could muster.
"There's something peculiar about Tower Guards and organizations like ours. The crimes and the rot within it will be swept away and overlooked if it isn't brought out.
"Do you get me? If an external person draws out those crimes for the public, then the...."
"Tower Guards won't be able to ignore it!" Jael finished.
Ryker smiled. "And that's only possible because there are different cliques in the Guards. Those who are corrupt and those who are not. It's a delicate balance."
"What about you, Captain Ryker? What clique do you belong to?"
"Let's say there's always a grey area to all these things."
Jael rubbed his face. "Alright. Let me guess, you'll feed us crumbs of information that can't be tracked back to you, then we'll do all the work as the 'external force,' then you will sweep in to take all the credit." Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e'-novelhall.net
A chuckle. "Oh my, you are learning faster and faster! That's it! If you can manage to give me hard evidence then I know just where to send it. I'll get my promotion and you'll get your friend. Win-Win."
'Hard evidence. Something to pin the chaos Cult? What about that....?'
So Jael asked. "What about what happened on floor 102?"