[Corruption Wielder] Chapter 107: Good to See You Again

Not one day into the summit and Will was already getting a headache. After system integration, he had learned that he was exceptionally good at killing things and fighting against individuals that were far greater than him. What he was significantly less skilled at was dealing with fucking politics, which appeared to be the theme of these few days.

He had wanted to stay completely uninvolved in it, but Will didn’t want to go into the next stage of the apocalypse without knowing what was going on. With an alien planet acting as a second moon in the sky and the monster surges increasing in intensity, not to mention the potential for another demon to appear from the abyss, Will did not want to miss out on any information that might be critical to keeping the world intact.

Unfortunately, he’d been noticed. Although he wasn’t at the level where he was notorious amongst everyone on the street, there were quite a few high-level representatives of countries across the world that both knew who he was and had borne witness towards the complete and utter mess that had been the end of the trial of the champion. Those people were reaching out him either to offer alliances or threaten enmity, and they’d become aware of each other, which only spurred them on to make further offers to him.

Basically, whether he liked it or not, he’d been dragged into the mess of political interplay that looked like it was going to define the summit.

Meeting with Yui had just been the beginning. She had told him about a plot that involved the sabotage and subjugation of the suppression field as well as some of the malicious interests at play, but she was still gathering information.

For the time being, she knew little more than the fact that there were gods involved, their followers moving to infiltrate and subvert the summit, but she wasn’t sure which gods yet.

Will had agreed to meet her again when they both had more information, but he was on edge now. He suspected that Fate might have something to do with the plots Yui was uncovering, since the Contractor was almost certainly going to get his grubby fingers all over a meeting full of world leaders.

The summit was meant to start in two days, and he’d already agreed to far too many meetings. He wasn’t looking forward to any of them, but that was the nature of the world, wasn’t it? People were stronger in groups than they were alone, and groups that came into conflict would inevitably need to have diplomatic resolutions like this.

Right now, Will was with Natalie, Hua, and Liam, all four of them in a small repurposed conference room that had been stocked with bronze-rank potions and foodstuffs to make use of. It was a relatively casual setting, and they were all wearing streetclothes, but he did not discount the importance of this.

The last time he’d properly spoken with all of them in person had been before the fateful end of the trial of the champion, and that had been as fellow competitors who were aware of an immediate and common enemy that they had to band against lest they all be lost.

Now, however, they represented two factions—one British, one Australian—that were aligned with each other and had their own agendas. Will couldn’t forget that. His affiliations were to himself and the people he could help, but he didn’t represent an organized group at all. Natalie, Hua, and Liam all had interests that they’d been somewhat detached from while in the trial that they were now connected to again.

They were still on friendly terms, though, which was nice. Less nice was the evidence that they’d been through the wringer. 

One of Natalie’s hands had been replaced by a silver-rank prosthetic. Will didn’t want to spend the mana to check how recent that replacement had been, but he could guess. Liam’s eyes were hidden behind thick sunglasses that, to be fair, did look pretty sick on him. He had a cane that had a dulled silver-rank aura which he was using to get around.

Hua was the one who’d suffered the least physically, but what she’d lost could never be restored. With enough healing magic at higher ranks, it was possible that Natalie could regain her lost hand and Liam the use of his eyes. Haoyu Fang had died in the defense against the corruption cultists when the mid-tier demon that now lived in Will’s eye had simply eaten an entire asteroid, taking hundreds of lives with it.

Of the three of them, her demeanor was the most changed. Natalie still looked like she was watching her back even when making eye contact with him and Liam’s body language had remained that of a cheery drinking buddy, but Hua moved like she was being remote controlled. Her expression was flat and unreadable.

“G’day,” Liam said. “It’s good to see you again, mate. Well, I can’t see you, but you know what I mean.”

“Good to see you too, dude,” Will said. “Glad you’ve been holding up okay.”

“So am I,” Liam said. “Thank god for crafters. It was a huge pain in the arse clearing dungeons when I only had aura senses, but now I’ve got this nice stick here that helps me have a general idea of what’s in front of me.”

“Will,” Natalie said, acknowledging him with a nod. “A lot has happened while we were gone. How much of it have you kept up with?”

“Natalie,” Will replied, nodding in kind. “Not much at all, I’m afraid. I saved a couple cities in the eastern states and got into trouble with the Contractor. Plus, I’m generally aware that the ESNA and Pacific Alliance don’t like each other much. Apart from that, I’m pretty behind. I remember we chatted a bit about our respective factions while we were in deep space, but I don’t know much more than the fact that Liam and Hua here are with Australia and you’re with the UK.”

“I am not with the core English faction,” Natalie said. “I am the leader and primary representative of New London. We coexist with the core faction, but we reach more isolated areas than they do.”

“We have working relationships with both official England and New London,” Hua said, barely audible. “But we know New London more. They actually talk to outsiders, unlike some.”

“Oh, don’t get me started on the Asian countries,” Liam said, chuckling. “Yeah, and we represent urban Australia. Our country’s population was mostly concentrated on the eastern coast, so when everything went to shit, our government re-established there. There’s another organization in the outback, but they’re all disparate. We like them, but we don’t need their territory and can’t manage them, so we’re basically two countries.”

“Technically, we’re Sydney Human Defense Force, but that city doesn’t exist anymore,” Hua finished, still not looking up.

“Fantastic. Well, are you trying to get something out of me?” Will asked bluntly. “If you are, I’d prefer you be up front with it. I’m good at fighting monsters, not juggling politics.”

“Yes,” Hua replied quietly. “The higher-ups want us to confirm an alliance with you and be assured that you won’t go against them.”

“You have higher-ups?” Will asked. “You were leaderboard last I checked.”

“Raw power doesn’t necessarily mean leadership,” Natalie said. “It helps, but even before the apocalypse, it was never the people who drove nuclear submarines running the world. The higher-ups are strong, but their real power comes from controlling numbers.”

“Ugh, that makes sense,” Will said. “Real annoying, though.”

“We talked about it some and we agreed that we don’t particularly care about what they have to say,” Liam said. “You saved the world. That makes you alright in our books. We’ll report back and say we tried.”

“I’m here as an act of self-interest,” Natalie said. “You’re probably the most powerful human who hasn’t been sent to another world for several years. Of course I want to confirm that you’re not going to snap and kill me.”

“Lovely,” Will said. “Do you know anything about interests from the nations going in? I met with one of the otherworlders, and she seems to be pretty convinced that someone is going to try to upend the event.”

“We would be here all day if we just talked about who hates who,” Natalie said. “Suffice it to say that old rivalries are still here, and giving everyone magic spawned a bunch of new ones.”

“Lovely,” Will sighed. “You lot seem pretty sane, so I’ll probably throw in with you if necessary. I’ll have to wait and see what the actual summit is like.”

“There’s a lot of hurry up and wait going on,” Liam admitted. “I’ve been training and hitting the bars, but I’m going to have to go outside the city to recharge my cane before all is said and done.”

“Me too,” Natalie said. “This hand is very mana hungry, and potions can only go so far.”

Will nodded understandingly. He’d stored his items away to keep them from losing charge as well.

“Different topic,” he said. “How have things been with the otherworlders and the monster surge? I kind of left off before you guys started dealing with that.”

“Manageable,” Hua replied. “Devastating but manageable. We’ve killed a few gold-rankers. Have one on our side as well. Mounting casualties, but we’re making the most out of it and leveling fast.”

That much was evident. Hua had leveled even faster than Will, though that made sense given his relatively low affinity towards leveling. She was leaderboard rank 91 right now, four behind Natalie.

“There’s still a horrifically powerful necromancer stuck in Sydney,” Liam said. “Or what’s left of it, at least. We’re working on containment now, mostly. I don’t think he was invited.”

“No, he was,” Hua said. “He just didn’t come.”

“We have a nightmare threat in Birmingham that’s attending,” Natalie said. “World ranker 8. Henry. He’s an ice specialist, but he hasn’t been as violent after killing his first ten thousand.”

Will grimaced. “I see. So when Nathan said this place was going to get messie…”

“There’s almost definitely going to be bloodshed,” Natalie said. “It’s a summit with thousands of monsters. I intend to get out of this alive, and I’m not going to be shy in saying I’ll do whatever it takes to do that.”

“Entirely fair,” Will said. “So you’re planning on there being a fight?”

“This is a perfect environment to eliminate other people, what with them not being able to defend themselves after a fight,” Natalie said. “Others are going to try to kill us—China and the Pacific Alliance especially. If I had the choice to, I wouldn’t have come.”

“But you did.”

“Because there are monsters wearing human skin here,” Hua said, her voice taking on real emotion for the first time this conversation. “Once one of them slips up and exhausts their skills, we can make the world a better place, one body at a time.”

“Jesus, you got vindictive,” Will said. “Not that I disagree with the logic. It’s sound.”

She would make a good candidate for Dread Executor, he thought.

“We know you don’t disagree with it,” Natalie said. “Do you think we would have come to you otherwise?”

“Fair point.”

“I won’t send you a list for obvious reasons, but do stay in touch.”

“Will do.”

They broke off into an uneasy silence, during which Will took the opportunity to eat the snacks presented on the table.

“These are pretty good,” he said. “Where’d you get them from?”

“Haoyu connected us to a supplier before the tournament,” Hua said, looking like she’d bit into a lemon. “She’s part of the team doing catering for the event. They grant minor increases to your attributes or health. Haoyu liked them a lot before… before.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Will said.

She waved him off. “I’m dealing. Everyone’s lost someone. He would’ve called it a badass way to go out.”

Hua’s breath wavered, but she shed no tears. Her expression was one of someone with none more left to cry.

“We’re going to be okay,” she said. “I’m going to be okay. For the time being, we need to find the people like the cultists and eliminate them before they can hurt more people.”

“I’m not killing anyone that doesn’t try to kill me first,” Will said. “Not unless I know exactly who they are and why. Vigilante justice is all we have in the absence of real nations, but I would much rather not search and destroy someone innocent on accident.”

“None of us are innocent,” Natalie said. “Pick any random person on the street, even the ones that look like a lost tourist. I’d put great odds on there being human blood on their hands.”

“Doesn’t mean we should fire and forget,” Will said. “I’d rather not be a straight-up murderer.”

“If I have to put down an innocent life but take a dozen monsters with them, I will,” Natalie replied. “If killing one of the few here that have done nothing wrong to save a hundred thousand makes me a murderer, I’ll see them all in hell.”

Will eyed her. Natalie had held some rather strong views on the morality of the Users involved in the trial of the champion, and it seemed like they hadn’t gotten any weaker.

“I’ll fight to capture,” Liam offered, “but we all know how battles between us go.”

“True.” Will grimaced. “Do what you have to. I’ll fight your battles with you if I think they’re justified.”

“Just please don’t fight against us trying to make a stand for a mass murderer,” Natalie said. “Not because I’ll kill you, but because the Chinese and the Americans and the other Brits and half the fucking world will once we’ve worn you down.”

Will nodded. “The same to you.”

“Of course.”

“This is all hypothetical, still,” Hua added softly. “There is a chance that there is no bloodshed and we never have the opportunity to take any of them down.”

They looked at each other for a solid five seconds before all four of them broke out into laughter simultaneously, the strange tension that had developed between them snapping in an instant.

“I’ll see you at the summit,” Will said, making to leave. “Or hit me up to get coffee or something, do a spot of killing, you know the deal.”

Liam snorted. “Will do. See you soon, mate.”

“No you won’t.”

William grinned as Liam gasped in mock offense, holding a hand to his heart.

“Betrayal!” the Aussie cried. “Betrayal of the highest order! I’ll have you know that I’m working on getting a replacement. Though to be honest, it’s been pretty great for improving my aura senses. I might not need eyes at this rate.”

“We’ll see about that,” Will said.

“Hey!”

Hua laughed. “Easy there. I look forward to working with you again, Will.”

Looking at Hua was like looking at a mirror. She wasn’t much younger than him, but both of them had been forced to mature fast in order to survive their roles. Hua in particular had gone through more than most people could be expected to.

The world had tested them all, but they had yet to break. Their trials were yet to end, of course, so that could change, but Will could see the pride in Hua’s stance as if to say that despite everything, she was still standing because she had to.

He could take a little pride in that too.

Will said his last goodbyes and left the building. There were other tasks to attend to.

After all, he still had two skill tablets to affix.

#

Lu Jie had once considered himself an honorable man. He had known his place in society, treated his workers well, and never sought to break too far beyond his station.

The world had tested him, and he had failed.

Now, as he observed Geneva from five thousand meters in the sky, he thought about the man he had once been.

Would he have been disappointed in himself? Lu Jie still followed the command of others who eclipsed him in seniority, and he did not rock the boat. There was order in that yet.

But there was something about this assassination that felt dirty for the soul. Yes, their target was one who had wronged the Sichuan faction he now co-led with a returner from another world, but this was not how he would have preferred to deal with William Li-Brown.

As much as he wanted to hate the boy who’d killed Fan Yang, there was a dangerous power and a deep desire to better the world within the corruption wielder that Lu Jie could respect. Did a man like that deserve to die like this?

He decided that the answer was no.

In this world where up was down and wrong was right, however, there were very few people that got what they deserved.

“Go,” he commanded, preparing a portal on the floor of the plane.

With a gold-rank portal ability combined with one of his sigil skills, he could open small portals up to five kilometers away, which was just enough to reach shortly above the ground.

By staying so high up, his plane just barely avoided the suppression field that covered Geneva. Though dropping any magical ordnance would result in it losing effectivity and breaking up thanks to the power of the field, he could teleport it to the ground.

During the trial of the champion, Will had demonstrated an ability to see at long distances, but thanks to the suppression field, he would be forced to keep his surveillance closer. By being this far above, their strike force would go completely unnoticed.

The plan was simple. Portal one would be open for less than a quarter of a second, during which several kilograms of silver-rank contact explosive and magical grenades would be poured through. Portal two would follow shortly after and open the path for four silver-rankers at maximum power to jump through and finish Will off if the explosives didn’t.

It was a perfect plan.

#

Will called upon Aza as he walked outside, Sen’s eyes flicking to and fro with intensity. Keeping his familiars active was one of the few magical effects he could use without spending mana, so he made good use of it.

“Hey, Aza,” Will said. “I think I’m going to need you in a moment. How much damage can you take before dying?”

“Quite a bit,” Aza said. “I can hang onto life through nigh anything, though depending on the intensity, you may have to replenish me afterwards.”

“Fantastic.”

A dozen of Sen’s eyes, still hidden through time-lock, converged on a particular plane that had been hovering over the suppression field for quite some time.

Will looked up straight at those eyes.

“Hey, Lu Jie,” he said. “Do you think I’m a fucking idiot?”

As if to answer him, a portal opened.