Sultan santai dan yakin sambil mempelajari Chosen berwajah tertutup dari Order of Malefic Viper. Seorang pria hebat yang layak diajak bekerja. Ia telah melakukan riset sebelum datang dan percaya memahami pria itu.
Sebagai seorang Chosen, ia tentu saja menjadi cerminan dari Patronnya. Dengan informasi yang terbatas tentang Progenitor itu sendiri, ia malah mempelajari dewa dan Order dari dewa itu. Ia mempelajari adat istiadat dan etos Order. Logo dan — meskipun kurangnya — pathos dasar mereka. Sebaliknya, tampaknya ada fokus pada setiap makhluk yang bertanggung jawab atas takdir sendiri, dengan moral dihakaskan berdasarkan seberapa kuat seseorang. Melakukan keburukan kepada mereka yang lebih lemah bukanlah dosa, tetapi hak. Bagi Sultan untuk menemukan mitra yang layak dan kompatibel di dunia baru ini akan sulit, namun ia percaya Chosen itu adalah peluang terbaiknya.
Masuk dengan kejujuran pasti merupakan strategi terbaik. Bohong akan akhirnya dilonggak, dan setengah kebenaran hanya akan menyinggung. Viper dikenal sebagai jenis dewa yang lurus ke depan, dan Order-nya juga menilai tidak membelah-belah.
Sultan sedikit terkejut mendengar pertanyaan tentang perbudakan. Menurut pengetahuannya, itu hal biasa di Order. Bagi Chosen tidak memiliki beberapa budak atau setidaknya hamba yang mirip budak akan konyol. Dengan demikian, ia akan meletakkan semua kartu di meja dan bernegosiasi dari sana. Jika tidak ada hal lain, ia yakin Chosen akan mengutamakan keuntungan daripada perselisihan kecil.
Meskipun seharusnya tidak menjadi masalah. Sejauh yang diketahui Sultan, Order of Malefic Viper cukup banyak sadis dalam diri mereka, dan apakah Chosen-nya bukan yang terburuk dari mereka semua? Namun, Sultan meremehkan kebosanan menonton.
Karena Sultan tahu ia suka menonton.
Jake menatap wanita itu dan kembali ke Sultan. Saat ini, dalam kepalanya ia ragu-ragu 50-50 untuk mempercayai pria ini. Ada bukti yang mendukung klaimnya.
Jenis racun yang Jake minum bukanlah hal yang mudah dibuat. Jauh dari itu. Ia akan mengambil banyak latihan dan banyak waktu. Tentu saja, sama sekali mungkin Sultan telah membuatnya belajar untuk mencampurnya untuk keperluan lain, yang membuatnya menempatkannya sebagai 50-50.
Jadi, mari kita katakan cerita itu benar. Brengsek Gabi. Jake akan membunuhnya, tapi ia juga memahami bahwa penjajakan atau bahkan perbudakan lebih disukai oleh beberapa orang dibandingkan itu. Tapi tidak untuk Jake.
Akhirnya, Jake memutuskan untuk mengasumsikan pria itu jujur, bukan karena ia mempercayainya secara khusus, tetapi karena itu hal termudah untuk dilakukan sekarang. Ia tidak kehilangan apa-apa dengan melakukannya, dan ia selalu akan mengambil pendekatan yang lebih mematikan jika pria itu ternyata bohong.
Tapi… ada satu hal.
Jake menatap langsung ke mata Sultan sambil berkata: "Aku tidak suka kamu."
Jika pria itu ingin percakapan yang jujur… Jake akan jujur.
"Dan aku tidak hanya sedikit tidak suka. Aku sedang memikirkan apakah harus membunuhmu sekarang atau mendengarkan apa yang mungkin tidak benar. Tapi, aku akan menghiburimu untuk sekarang. Biarkan kujelaskan; aku tidak menyukai perbudakan. Aku tahu, mengejutkan. Jadi apa alasan yang kamu berikan untuk tidak membunuhmu di sini dan sekarang? Apa tujuan yang kamu lihat dalam memiliki budak? Kenapa tidak sekadar membunuh mereka dan selesai? Apakah kamu lemah hingga perlu memaksakan banyak budak untuk melindungimu?"
Sultan memandang Jake, jelas agak terkejut dengan responsinya. Itu adalah pertama kalinya ia menampilkan kebingungan, seolah-olah reaksi Jake tidak sama sekali seperti yang ia harapkan. Jake benar-benar ingin tahu apa argumentasi pria itu.
"... Itu… bukanlah respons yang diharapkan. Aku sepertinya membuat perhitungan yang serius," kata Sultan sambil mengeluarkan sebuah botol ramuan dan memberikannya kepada wanita itu. Ia langsung mencengkeram dan meminum, dan sejenak kemudian ia tenang dan tarik napas perlahan. Ia mundur dan memberi tatapan aneh saat bergabung dengan tiga wanita lainnya.
"Untuk suatu alasan, kupikir kamu akan menikmati ini. Apakah informasi mengenai Order of Malefic Viper dan Primordial itu sendiri begitu tidak akurat?" bertanya ia, dan bukan pertanyaan retoris.
"Aku tidak terlibat secara resmi dengan Order, dan aku bukanlah Malefic Viper. Aku tidak tahu kenapa kamu mengaitkan kepercayaanku dengan mereka. Aku adalah aku; mereka adalah mereka," jawab Jake dengan pendek. Ia tahu mengapa Sultan melakukannya, itu masuk akal, tapi ia juga menikmati menertawakan egoisme pria ini.
"Mengerikan," akui Sultan sambil membuka tombol teratas jaket tuxedohnya. Ia sedikit berkeringat, dan para wanita juga tegang mendengar Jake menatap kepada pemilik mereka.
"Aku tidak secara eksplisit membutuhkan mereka, tapi aku tidak melihat nilainya jika mereka mati. Membunuh mereka akan membuat nilainya menjadi nol, kecuali beberapa poin pengalaman. Ini juga menghilangkan nilai masa depan mereka. Bahkan jika kita mengabaikan kemampuan tempur mereka, hanya memiliki mereka sebagai pencraft adalah lebih baik, bukan? Aku tidak mengatakan ini solusi sempurna untuk mempertahankan mereka sebagai budak, tetapi akan kukatakan adalah pilihan yang lebih disukai dibandingkan hanya membunuh secara langsung. Bahkan jika mereka mungkin layak," beralasan Sultan.
Jake harus mengakui, kebanyakan orang mundur. Tapi Sultan jelas belum mencapai levelnya dengan mundur dan lemah. Ia memilih untuk menghadapi Jake langsung.
"Benar, krueang itu tentu saja bagian dari aksi yang adil dalam hukuman yang baik, kan? Aku yakin ini tidak ada hubungannya denganmu yang royal bastard," pintanya dengan sindiran.
"Aku memahami penghakimanmu. Kita sebagai manusia cenderung menilai diri kita berdasarkan niat dan orang lain berdasarkan perilaku. Kata-katuku atau pembelaanku tidak berarti apa-apa bagimu, jadi aku tidak akan repot-repot meyakinkanmu bahwa aku benar. Anggap saja aku monster maniak yang menikmati menyiksa orang lain, pahlawan keadilan, atau apa saja di antaranya. Yang kuduga adalah, aku tidak punya niat jahat terhadapmu atau rekan-rekanku, dan aku sangat selektif dalam orang yang kujadikan di bawaku," menjawab Sultan.
"Segala macam kata-kata indah untuk seseorang yang menentukan kehidupan orang lain hanya karena dia adalah seorang brengsek sadis. Kayaknya kamu tidak punya alasan yang baik, kamu hanya suka mengendalikan orang lain. Apakah itu satu-satunya cara agar kamu merasakan kekuatan sejati?" sindir Jake.
"Ah, di situlah kita berbeda. Aku memberi mereka pilihan. Satu pilihan yang kamu tampaknya enggan memberikan. Menarik, bukan? Apa yang lebih baik, memberikan seseorang pilihan antara kematian atau perbudakan? Atau kamu hanya membunuh mereka langsung, tanpa alternatif?" ia tertawu. "Selain itu, pilihan itu tetap ada. Aku tidak mencegah mereka menyakiti aku; hanya bahwa menyakiti aku akan memulai proses kematian mereka. Itu akan memulai timer. Jika mereka bisa membunuhku dalam jangka waktu yang ditentukan, mereka semua akan selamat. Jika tidak, mereka akan mati. Menarik, bukan? Ini membantu membuatku tetap waspada. Sayangnya, keempatnya terlalu coward untuk mencobanya. Siapa tahu, mereka bisa mencoba jika menyerang semuanya sekaligus?"
Jake mengerutkan kening, semakin tidak yakin apakah pria ini benar. Tapi… sesuatu memberi sinyal bahwa ia benar. Ya, ia adalah seorang brengsek sadis, tapi setidaknya jujur. Ini tidak membuatnya tidak suka pria itu, hanya membuatnya melanjutkan percakapan. Ia punya satu pertanyaan mendesak.
"Kamu berbicara tentang melepas mereka… kamu bisa melakukannya? Sejauh yang kudengar, saat seseorang diperbudakkan, mereka pada dasarnya menjadi Soulbound kepada seseorang, dan kematian pemilik akan berarti kematian bagi budak-budak itu," tanya Jake.
Ia melihat para wanita di sampingnya bergeming. Mereka mungkin belum mendengar percakapan ini sebelumnya dan takut Sultan telah bohong padanya tentang kemungkinan untuk melepas mereka. Jika begitu… Jake tahu siapa yang akan mati.
"Metode yang kamu gambarkan adalah cara paling kuat untuk mengikat seseorang. Kuat, tapi juga terbatas, seperti yang kamu katakan. Ini adalah ikatan satu arah yang ideal bagi mereka yang kuat, tetapi juga terbatas. Salah satunya adalah ketidakmampuan untuk melepas orang lain selamanya. Itu bukan metodeku. Sebaliknya, aku menggunakan metode yang lebih umum dengan menggunakan media. Aku menggunakan ini," kata Sultan sambil mengeluarkan buku catatan dari saku dada jaketnya sambil menjelaskan.
"Buku ini berisi kontrak dan adalah barang yang Soulbound kepadaku. Jika aku mati, barang ini akan musnah, dan mereka akan bebas. Atau, aku bisa memilih untuk membatalkan kontrak, yang juga akan melepaskan orang tersebut."
Jake mengangkat tangan dan mengambil buku itu tanpa diminta. Sultan tidak sekali-kali bereaksi, sementara para wanita sedikit bertegang. Mereka mungkin mencari kesempatan untuk melakukan sesuatu. Jake tahu ia akan mencoba membunuh Sultan jauh dulu jika ia berada di posisinya. Namun, pada akhirnya, kontrak budak selalunya harus dimasukkan secara sukarela. Ia tidak akan pernah memasukkannya langsung.
Ia membuka buku dan melihat semua halaman kosong. Ia mencabut satu halaman untuk mencoba, dan halaman itu lepas dengan lancar. Selanjutnya, Jake hanya melirik Sultan sebelum membakar halaman itu dengan Api Alkemis. Palsu? Tidak… hanya bukan barang 'sejati'.
Sultan mengeluarkan buku identik lainnya dan meletakkannya di meja. Tanpa diminta, ia membalik satu halaman dan sebuah kontrak terungkaplang.
"Silakan, ini kontrak yang mereka jalani," kata Sultan sambil mundarbek untuk memberi Jake ruang.
Membaca cepat, Jake langsung melihat kontrak ini mendukung banyak klaim Sultan. Kontrak menyatakan mereka tidak diizinkan secara sadar membunuh siapa pun tanpa izinnya, harus melindunginya dari bahaya dan tinggal dekat dengannya kecuali mendapat izin untuk pergi, dan akhirnya, mereka bisa mempertahankan diri sendiri selama tidak bertentangan dengan dua aturan sebelumnya. Tidak ada ketentuan untuk pelepasan atau hal lain — bahkan tidak ada aturan yang menyatakan mereka harus mengikuti semua perintahnya.
"Jadi, di mana sisa kontraknya?" tanyakan Jake.
"Itu saja. Yang tidak disebutkan hanyalah aturan yang ada hanya karena kontrak ini memiliki sifatnya sendiri. Seperti keampuhanku untuk membunuh mereka kapan saja. Tentu, kematian tersebut bukan instan. Aku perkirakan akan memakan waktu sekitar sepuluh menit, dan selama mereka berhasil membunuhku dalam jangka waktu itu, mereka akan baik-baik saja. Aku juga bisa menyebutkan jika mereka bisa melewati aku dalam level. Itu akan membuatku kehilangan kemampuan untuk mengendalikan mereka. Aku yakin ada cara lain juga. Multiversum memiliki kemungkinan tak terbatas,"
"Jadi, mengapa mereka tidak berbicara?"
"Karena aku memberi tahu mereka tidak boleh. Tidak ada yang mencegah mereka kecuali takut akan tindak balasan. Mereka juga bisa mengabaikan semua perintahku. Itu belum pernah terjadi, kata Sultan sambil tersenyum.
"Sekarang kita kembali ke topik siksa. Katakanlah semua yang kamu lakukan masuk akal — bukan, tapi katakanlah demikian — di mana siksaan itu muncul? Apakah kamu pikir itu bisa mereformasi? Membuat mereka melihat kesalahan mereka? Apa itu pernah bisa bekerja?" tanya Jake sambil berbalik kepada wanita itu dan menunjuk salah satunya. "Kamu, jawab. Jangan dilihat ke sana. Aku yang bertanya."
Wanita yang ditunjuk adalah yang memakai busur. Itu sebabnya ia memilihnya. Saat ditanya, ia melirik ke arah Sultan, tapi Jake segera mengarahkannya kembali ke arahnya.
"Dia mencelah, tapi akhirnya ia berkata: 'Dia bohong! Kami semua tidak melakukan apapun! Kami tidak bersalah, dan dia memaksakan kami untuk bekerja untuknya! Dia membuat kami melakukan hal-hal buruk… menggila… tolong! Aku
Sultan was relaxed and confident as he studied the masked Chosen of the Malefic Viper. A powerful man worth working with. He had done his research before coming and believed he had an understanding of the man.
As a Chosen, he would naturally be a reflection of his Patron, so with the limited information on the Progenitor himself, he instead studied his god and the Order his god was in charge of. He studied customs and the ethos of the Order. Their logos and their - albeit lack of - foundational pathos. Instead, there seemed to be a focus on each being in charge of their own destinies, with morals judged based on how powerful a person is. To do harm upon those weaker than yourself was no sin but a right. For Sultan to find a worthy partner and one compatible with him in this new world would be difficult, but he believed the Chosen would be his best shot.
Going into it with honesty would no doubt be the best strategy. Lies would eventually be picked apart, and half-truths would only serve to offend the Viper’s Chosen. The Viper was known as a straightforward kind of god, and his Order also valued not beating around the bush.
Sultan was a bit surprised at the questioning of slavery. To his knowledge, that was commonplace in the Order. For the Chosen not to have a few slaves or at least slave-like servants would be ludicrous. Thus he would put all his cards on the table and negotiate from there. If nothing else, he was sure the Chosen would prioritize benefits over a slight disagreement.
Though that should not even be a concern. As far as Sultan knew, the Order of the Malefic Viper had quite the number of sadists within, and would their Chosen not be the worst of them all? Nevertheless, Sultan reckoned he enjoyed the show.
Because Sultan knew he did.
Jake looked down at the woman and back at Sultan. At the moment, he was 50-50 in his head if he should believe the guy. There was some evidence to his claims, though.
The kind of poison Jake had consumed wasn’t easy to make. Far from it. It would take a lot of practice to learn and a lot of time. Of course, it was entirely possible Sultan had made her learn to concoct it for other means, which is why he placed it as a 50-50 kind of thing. Also, his lie would be easily disproved just by checking in with Sanctdomo. Someone who was either close to D-grade or D-grade had to have left some records.
So, let’s say the story was true. Fuck Gabi. Jake would have killed her, but he also understood that imprisonment or even slavery was preferable to that for some people. Not to Jake, though.
Ultimately, Jake chose to assume the man had been honest, not because he thought him particularly trustworthy, but because it was the easiest thing to do for now. He had nothing to lose from doing so, and he would always take another more lethal approach if the man proved to be a liar.
But… there was one thing.
Jake looked straight at Sultan, meeting his eyes as he spoke: “I don’t like you.”
If the man wanted an honest conversation… Jake would be honest.
“And I don’t mean that I dislike you a little. I mean that I am contemplating if I should just kill you or continue listening to what may or may not be bullshit. But I’ll humor you for now. Let me make it clear; I don’t like slavery. I know, shocking. So what reason will you give me for not ending you right here and now? What purpose do you see in keeping slaves? Why not just kill them and be done with it? Are you so weak you need to force a bunch of slaves to protect you?”
Sultan looked at Jake, clearly a bit shocked at his response. It was the first time he showed bewilderment, as if Jake’s reaction wasn’t at all what he had expected. Jake was genuinely curious what the man’s arguments would be.
“That… was not at all the expected response. I appear to have made some serious miscalculations,” Sultan said, taking out a potion bottle and handing it to the woman. She instantly grasped it and drank, and shortly after, she calmed down and began breathing steadily. She backed off and gave Jake a weird look as she joined the other three women.
“For some reason, I was under the impression you would enjoy that. Is my information on the Order of the Malefic Viper and the Primordial himself that inaccurate?” he asked. It wasn’t a rhetorical question either.
“I’m not a part of the Order, at least not officially, and I am not the Malefic Viper. I have no idea why the fuck you would attribute their beliefs to me. I’m me; they are them,” Jake answered back curtly. Well, he knew why Sultan would do it, it made sense, but he also enjoyed making fun of the ego-tripping dude.
“Puzzling,” Sultan admitted as he unbuttoned the top button of his tuxedo. He was sweating a little, and the women were also tense with Jake staring down at their owner.
“I do not explicitly need them, but I do not see the value in them being dead either. To kill them would turn their value to nil besides a few experience points. It removes the values their futures could provide too. Even if we ignore their combat prowess, simply having them be crafters would be preferable, would it not? I am not saying it’s a perfect solution to keep them as slaves, but I would argue it’s the preferred option to simply slaying them outright. Even if they may deserve it,” Sultan argued.
Jake had to hand it to him; most would back down. But Sultan clearly hadn’t reached his level through backing down and being weak. He chose to meet Jake head-on.
“Right, and the torture is, of course, another just action that has to be a part of any good punishment, right? I am sure it has nothing to do with you being a royal bastard,” Jake asked sarcastically.
“I understand your judgment. We as humans tend to judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior. My words or justifications hold little meaning to you, so I won’t even bother trying to convince you I am in the right. Think me a maniacal monster who enjoys torturing others, a hero of justice, or whatever you want in between. Just know that I hold no ill intentions towards you nor any of your comrades, and I am very selective in who I put under my control,” Sultan answered.
“Lots of flowery words for someone dictating the lives of others just because he’s some sadistic fuck. I guess you don’t have a good reason though, you just like controlling others. Is that the only way you can get a true sense of power?” Jake sneered.
“Ah, there we disagree. I did give them a choice. One that you seem unwilling to offer. It’s interesting, is it not? What is better, giving someone the choice of death or slavery? Or you just killing them outright, offering them no alternative?” he laughed. “Besides, it’s a choice that remains. I do not restrict them from harming me; it is just that harming me will begin the process of their deaths. It will start a timer. If they manage to kill me within the period, they will all live. If they fail, they die. Exciting, wouldn’t you agree? It helps keep me on my toes. Sadly, all four of them are too darn cowardly to take a stab at me. Who knows, they might have a shot if they attack all at once?”
Jake frowned, becoming more unsure if the man was telling the truth. But… something was telling him the guy was. Sure, he was a sadistic bastard, but at least he had been honest about it. This didn’t make Jake dislike him any less; it just made him continue the conversation. He did have one burning question, though.
“You talked about releasing them… can you even do that? As far as I know, the moment someone is enslaved, they essentially become Soulbound to a person, and their owner’s death would mean the deaths of the slaves,” Jake asked. This part he was actually curious about.
He saw the women off to the side shuffle a bit. They likely had never heard this conversation before and were afraid Sultan had lied to them at some point about the potential to release them. If he had… well, Jake knew who was about to die.
“The method you speak of is the most potent way of binding others to you. Potent, but also limited, as you just said. It’s a perfect one-way bond that has many benefits but also restrictions. One of those is the inability to release others for good. That is not my method. Instead, I use the far more regular method of using a medium. I use this,” Sultan said as he took out a notebook from his breast pocket as he explained.
“This notebook contains the contracts and is an item Soulbound to me. If I die, the item will cease to exist, and thus they will be released. Alternatively, I can choose to nullify the contract, which will also result in the person being freed.”
Jake leaned over and picked up the notebook without any prompt. Sultan didn’t even react, while the women did a bit as they moved closer. Perhaps looking for a chance to do something. Jake knew that he would have tried to kill Sultan long ago if he were in their shoes. Well, he would never be in their shoes, because in the end, a slave contract always had to be entered voluntarily. He would never have entered it, to begin with.
He opened the notebook and saw all the pages were blank. He ripped one out to see if he could, and it went smoothly. Next, Jake just threw a glance at Sultan before he burned it with Alchemical Flame. Was it fake? No… it just wasn’t a “true” item.
Sultan fished out another identical notebook and placed it on the table. Without any prompt, he turned a single page, and a contract was revealed.
“Please, this is the contract they are under,” Sultan said, leaning back to give Jake space.
Skimming it, Jake quickly saw it corroborated a lot of what Sultan had claimed. The contracts specified they weren’t allowed to willfully kill anyone without his permission, that they had to defend him from harm and stay close to him unless they had permission to leave, and finally, that they could protect themselves as long as it didn’t conflict with any of the previous two rules. There were no terms for release or anything else - not even a rule saying they had to follow all his commands.
“So, wheres the rest of it?” Jake asked after looking it over.
“That’s it. The only things not specified are the rules associated with it simply by it being a contract of this nature. Such as my ability to kill them at any point. Of course, such a death is not instant. I reckon it would take around ten minutes, and as long as they kill me within the period, they would be fine. Ah, also if they get above me in level. That would mean I lose the ability to control them. I am sure there are other ways too. The multiverse has endless possibilities after all, does it not?” Sultan explained with a casual smile. He was still sweating, but he didn’t seem that stressed out anymore.
“So why don’t they speak?”
“I told them not to. Nothing stops them besides their fear of retaliation. They can ignore all my commands too. That has yet to happen, by the way,” Sultan said, his smile growing.
“Now we’re back to the torture. Let’s say everything you do is logical and makes sense – it isn’t, but let’s say it is – where the fuck does the torture come in? Do you think it can reform them? Make them see the errors of their ways? Would that ever work?” Jake curtly said as he turned to the women and pointed to one of them. “You, answer that. No, don’t look at him. I’m the one who asked.”
The woman he pointed at was the one with a bow. It was the reason he picked her. When he asked, she threw a glance at Sultan, but Jake quickly redirected her back to him.
She hesitated to say anything until she finally spat out: “He’s lying! None of us have done anything wrong! We’re innocent, and he’s forcing us to work for him! He makes us do horrible things… tortures us… please! I beg you! Help us!”
Well, that was unhelpful , Jake thought as he heard her pleas. The three women looked slightly shocked as she yelled and had been surprisingly slow to nod in agreement, almost too enthusiastically. He would say it was a 60-40. 60 on her lying about being innocent, 40 on her actually being completely a victim. Either way, it didn’t matter much for Jake; he primarily wanted to confirm if they could speak and think for themselves. Clearly, her outburst was not something Sultan liked or had expected. In fact, he frowned, and the sweat on the back of his neck indicated he had gotten quite nervous again.
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