Celes fell asleep in my arms. I looked at the streaks of tears on her face and at the numerous blood-stained cloths wrapped around her body. My heartbeat intensified. I felt a paroxysm of animosity blossoming in my chest, anger unlike any I have felt before in either of my lives. Anger at the Magistrate, at the Gold city and at the ignorance of this world.

[Kill them. End them. Break them all. Make them all pay. Set the world on fire. Consume their power. You know how it can be done. Bind them to your will as you have with this human fool.]

The shadows of the echo of death danced in the back of my mind, singing of a thousand ways to destroy the world and for once... I listened to them. I let them sing to me. I let them show me my own memories. I knew how to weaponize basic chemical concoctions. I knew how to set people on fire with their own Qi. I knew how to break my enemies psychologically. I knew how to make Dantian contracts. I knew how to get engaged to someone.

I wanted to heal this world, but at every turn I was betrayed, again and again.

I have had quite enough. I was done being nice. I was done playing around, resting and laughing. My enemies and even the people close to me had given me no quarter, surrendered ground only if offered no choice other than death. The people of this world understood only one thing - power. I would show them. I would give them plenty of both. No longer would I offer people an empty hand.

I stood up, sliding out from under Celes. The Kitsune Tardigrada curled up into a ball on the large couch with a small whimper.

“Ludj - protect Celes,” I ordered to the tall ghost. He nodded in response.

I looked at the hurt, worn-out kitsune girl on the couch. I looked at my left arm, the place where she had drank my blood to repair the holes in her body. There was barely any Dantian left there. I had sacrificed a lot of my life-force to save my friend. The arm was still feeling tingly and numb and responded poorly, slowly when I tried to open and close my fist. Everything had a price. This price was worth paying.

I nearly lost the only person in this unjust world that cared for me. I nearly lost my only, real friend. Qi flared in my eyes, casting a blue glow on my nose. I squeezed my hand until my knuckles turned white. My newest acquisition - the Manning family ring cut into my thumb. I stared at the emerald ring on my hand with my world-scanning sight.

[Manning Family Head Ring]

[Primary weapon - Qi repulsor]

[Secondary weapon - Magisterium Citadel Master-Key]

I looked at Arianna who also stood up.

“Yes?” She arched an eyebrow and inhaled. She paled a little as she did, taking a small step back from me. She must have felt the waves of murderous rage emanating from me.

“You… seem quite angry, Sparks.” My fiancee tilted her head. “I would prefer it if you didn’t set the Manning estate on fire. If you like, we can go to the armoury and beat up some servitor-inhabited dummies. They’re good for letting out steam.”

“I don’t have time for games, Ari,” I said, my voice filled with steel. “Is this castle the Magisterium Citadel?”

“It hasn’t been called that for hundreds of years,” Arianna replied. “It’s only labelled as such in the family archives. It was indeed called 'the Citadel' during the Warring Clans era. How did you…”

“What do you know about the wards in this place?” I asked, ignoring her question. “The large circle rune bullshit Lord Manning used to hold down Celes?”

“Not too much. Grandfather’s the one in charge of the Winter palace - the wards are tied to him. My parents live in the Summer palace, closer to the edge. There’s probably a ward book in the library if you’d like to read up on…”

I looked at her sternly.

“I can help you find the book and read it to you.” She melted under my conflagrant gaze.

“A bit later,” I replied. “First - do you know how many people reside in this castle? How big is the garrison?”

“There are seven servants and thirty-three warrior-cultivators. Twenty archers, thirteen swordsmen - one of them the Captain of the Guard.” Arianna replied. “I normally hide out here during Convergence.”

“Do the servants and the warriors answer to you, or only your grandfather?”

“Grandfather is in charge of the warriors. Their contracts are bound to him,” Arianna clarified. “I can only boss my bodyguard and the servants.”

“What happened during the last Deathstorm Convergence?” I asked.

“Grandfather triggered the Deathstorm Defence Ward. It activates every servitor in the place for the entire day. Very bright and noisy.”

“Gotcha,” I nodded.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see the armoury?” She suggested once again. “You really look like you want to murder someone.”

"Not right now. I have some other dummy to smack first," I said coldly.

“Copperpenny!” I barked, turning around. “I know you’re standing in the hallway. Get your ass over here, now.”

Avidius stepped into the room, bowing his bald head slightly.

I lifted my right hand with the emerald ring, pointing it at the Reaper.

"Repeat after me, Avidius. My name is Avidius Copperpenny."

"Umm…"

"Obey my fiancee, Copperpenny!" Ariana ordered.

"My name is Avidius Copperpenny," he repeated with his dull, tired voice.

"I serve the Magistrate and Arianna Manning…" I said.

"I serve the Magistrate and Arianna Manning," he mumbled.

"One hundred percent. With my entire heart. I serve no-one else."

"One hundred percent…” Avidius paused, sweating more than usually.

"What?! You are lying!" Arianna gasped.

The emerald ring on my thumb flashed, and Avidius slammed into the wall with a loud thump.

"Tell me who you are really working for, you bastard, or I'll have my Level 200 servitor bite you in half!" I growled. “Ludj! Show him how big your teeth are!”

The head of Ludj turned to the Reaper and opened up like an enormous flower petal. Hundreds of rows upon rows of teeth shimmered inside with a silver glow.

“Ppp… please, Lady Sss-sparks, spare my worthless life,” Avidius croaked as the Magistrate’s Qi disruptor ring squeezed the life out of him, crushing him against the wall with the force of ten gales.

“Talk, you pitiful man! Confess or die,” I threatened. “I won’t have another treasonous knave at my back!”

“I… I’m working for the Barbers!”

I released the pressure of the ring a little.

“They’ve placed a servitor under my sister’s house! It will kill her and her family if I don’t comply…”

“Comply with what?” I demanded.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t given any further instructions,” he whined. "I was told it's just a precaution if the Magisterium makes a move against the Guilds!"

I let the disruptor ring release him and he slumped into the floor.

Arianna’s foot connected with his head in a swift kick.

“I’m going to break your neck next, you Qi-ssing snake,” she hissed.

Avidius fell to the side, clutching the side of his head and whimpering.

“Wait,” I commanded her. “I have use of him yet.”

“Right.” My fiance turned to me, her chest heaving angrily. “How did you know?”

“I didn’t know shit! I was just testing him with your lie-detector skill! I am tired of being betrayed by everyone here!” I roared, feeling like a very hungry aardvark. “It’s time to purge this roach infestation from MY Citadel!”

“I’m with you,” Arianna nodded.

“How the Qi-ss did you avoid my grandfather’s future-sense, Copperpenny?” She demanded, glaring at the man on the floor. “How did you get out of your bodyguard oath? How did you lie to him and me for all of these years?!"

Avidius showed her a gold bracelet on his arm with a glimmering beast core in it. “This is a Morakum-Hozhi servitor. It disrupts all future-seeing senses, showing its future-seeing prey only what it wants to see. The Guilders repointed the Qi bodyguard oath that I had with the Magistrate to one of their life-debtors! They had also taught me how to use my servitor as a shield against truth-sensing, how to redirect my thoughts through it so that the Magistrate won't smell the lies."

“Qi-ssing sons of bitches!” Arianna swore. “I’ve had a serpent right under my nose all this time!”

“Of course,” I sighed. “There’s a hammer for every nail. Clever Barbers! This idiot only got caught by your truth-sense because his servitor died yesterday!"

“Damnation!” Arianna stewed. “I still can’t believe that my personal bodyguard was really serving someone else!”

“He’s a quadruple agent,” I muttered. “If a man betrays the trust of another you can be sure that he will betray you too, sooner or later.”

My fiancee growled, kicking the bodyguard again in the shin.

“Avidius.” I leaned down. “I can’t trust you for the life of me. You have two choices. Either I let Arianna break your neck right now, or…”

“Or what?” He whimpered.

“You and I are... going to make a little merchant pact and then get engaged.”

Arianna choked.

The mercantile pact made between [Avion-Carrier Decisively Hunts Each Copper Penny] and me was fairly simple. His heart would stop if he didn’t obey me. Also, it would stop if he obeyed anyone other than me, Celes or Ari. I, on the other hand, promised not to let Arianna break his neck. Quite fair terms, if anyone asks. Arianna reinforced the contract with her Qi, glaring daggers at him all the while.

He refused to get engaged to me, unless his sister was safe. I promised him that I would protect his sister’s family by relocating them into the Citadel. Arianna pointed out that I couldn't just invite people into the Winter palace without the Magistrate’s permission, to which I simply told her that I had the Master Key to the castle, tapping at my emerald ring.

The engagement pact was also heavily modified by me. Avidius crouched on the ground as Arianna pointed her disruptor ring at his head in case he said something wrong.

“I… [Avion-Carrier Decisively Hunts Each Copper Penny] do hereby gift my Dantian to [Ash Sparks at the Convergence of Deathstorm].” The lime-skinned man sang.

“I, [Ash Sparks at the Convergence of Deathstorm] do hereby gift this shiny copper penny to [Avion-Carrier Decisively Hunts Each Copper Penny],” I sang back, placing a copper into his sweaty palm.

I got the copper in question from Arianna. She had also written the engagement pact lines down for Avidius to memorise.

“I reinforce this vow with all of my Qi, until death do us part...” Avidius choked. “Let me be bound to you, let my Dantian fill yours, support and give power to you in need.”

“I reinforce this vow with all of my Qi, until death do us part.” I repeated. “Let us be bound, let your Dantian fill mine and give power to me in need!”

“I give you this copper as a token and pledge and reminder of our eternal binding.” I closed his fingers over the penny with my left hand. His Dantian ripped through his hand to mine, rebuilding the massive gray hole in my left arm that was left by the bite of Celes, the Kitsune Tardigrada. This was basically a brutal, one side-empowering pact. Like I said, I was done being nice. Avidius had nearly killed my Celes.

“You have declared your consent before me! I witness and bind your vows with my Qi!” Arianna sang, taking on the role of the priest. “By virtue of the authority vested in me under the scionship of the Magisterium, I now pronounce you...” She paused haughtily. “Baroness and… Peon!” She finished, replacing the usual words ‘Husband and Wife.’

Arianna and I had discussed making me a regal title beforehand and settled on 'the Baroness', since I wanted to place myself above the Magistrate. My fiancee knew her noble titles from old library books. According to her, the Gold city indeed had a Baron about six and a half centuries ago, but the title had faded away with time as the Barony was split between the Baron's many children. Arianna also told me about the existence of noble binding oaths in the archives. However, she didn't know the exact details or the words. With her aid I had modified the engagement vow into a noble oath.

Emerald Qi flowed from Arianna through her Manning ring, binding the pact between me and Avidius, winding around our hands. Whatever extra power poured into me from his Dantian I added to the fractal labyrinthine engine in my head, improving the complexity and power of my weapons, growing in strength.

“Keep the penny as a reminder of our engagement.” I smirked at him.

He sighed sadly from the floor, sliding the penny into his pocket. “Lord Magistrate won’t be happy about this arrangement.”

“Really, Copperpenny?!” Arianna snapped. “My grandfather would simply execute you for your treachery!”

“I’m not sure that a life like this is better than an execution,” he muttered.

“I’ll be a nice Master and... batteries don't get to complain,” I said, adjusting the future-vision disrupting bracelet I took from him on my hand. “Follow. Be silent. Don’t be seen.”

Avidius stepped into the shadow and vanished from my sight.

“Ash. That… that was absolutely vicious.” Arianna looked at me with new, adoring eyes. She looked quite impressed with my brutality. “Nobody had mutilated an engagement pact in such a manner before as far as I’m aware.”

I looked down at myself. Something new was there...

[Ash Sparks-Manning]

[Observer LV 8]

[Dantian Devourer LV 1]

[Human female spawn] - [Age - 16.48 years old]

[1st weapon - Ocular Scanning LV 14]

[2nd weapon - Death Filter LV 5]

[3rd weapon - Servitor Phantom Pharmacist LV 5]

By taking Dantians from other people without giving anything in return I had gained something unique - a new job title! The rest of my stats were experiencing rapid growth too. It was time to pick up the pace.

“Take me to the quarters of the castle personnel,” I asked Arianna.

There were seven servants who took care of the Magisterium Citadel. In theory it could have been a lot more, but this castle was full of servitor lanterns who did all of the actual work and Lord Manning didn’t trust servants since the death of his mother. These servants weren't warriors - they were chefs, butlers, gardeners and maids.

Six of them turned out to be wearing the future-disruptors. Six were coerced by the Barbers into obedience either through threats, money or murder. The seventh was a young girl named Alyssa Ioanna who had no family and nothing to her name - she was a new maid in training and the Barbers probably saw no reason to recruit her yet.

Arrianna and I interviewed each of the servants in their personal rooms and cajoled them into an obedience contract and a one-sided marriage pact with me under duress of death as the stick, while offering their families a hiding place in the Citadel as the carrot. All of them had surrendered their Dantians to reinforce mine in exchange for a shiny copper, silver or gold. I offered them the option because it provided a small illusion of choice.

The young Ioanna was the only one I didn’t bind with total obedience, since she didn’t betray the Manning family. I cajoled her into a Dantian oath in exchange for a small stack of gold coins. She didn’t seem to understand what exactly it implied, but was eager to serve the ‘fiancee of princess Arianna’.

My Dantian was now a mixture of colors, filled with power to the brim. I was still way below Arianna in terms of strength, but I no longer felt like a scrawny flake that could be pushed over by the wind at any moment.

I checked my System status again.

[Ash Sparks]

[Observer LV 14]

[Dantian Devourer LV 3]

[Human female spawn] - [Age - 16.48 years old]

[1st weapon - Ocular Scanning LV 17]

[2nd weapon - Death Filter LV 7]

[3rd weapon - Servitor Phantom Pharmacist LV 7]

“What now?” Arianna inquired.

“Now I want to grab some stuff from the armory and then… we will go talk to the Magistrate,” I said.

“Are you going to get one-way-engaged with him too?” She blanched. “This is getting a little ridiculous!”

“We’ll see.” I smirked. “... are you feeling jealous or something?”