That finally seemed to snap the eel to wakefulness It released its own mental pulse I have heard about these trees Dreadful frightful wooden gargoyles They use their digging fingers to find the hidden water in the world and then suck it all up for themselves
The twenty crabs collectively shuddered at such a horrifying entity Truly ruled as the land was by these trees it was no wonder that the surface dwellers had gone insane
The Crushgrip Crab leader scuttled back and forth clicking its claw in its agitation and confusion I no that is not the edifice you lie There is no way that this is true You conspire against
Did you not hear what I said about trees The eel unhinged its jaw and unleashed a boom mental release that forced all of the crabs and pufferfish to float a small distance backward In this projection it could be clearly felt that this ancient eel which had lived through the great awakening possessed more power than the entire colony of Crushgrip Crabs It might even have the ferocity to fight against Deapsea Horror situated nearby Yet you dare doubt me The trees are a scourge I hate them
The critic crab feeling a heady rush of adrenaline from the way the situation was proceeding released a mental pulse indicating it wanted to speak For whatever reason the lies flowed freely into its mind now The edifice also provided a prophecy to me before it left Although the grip of our current leader grows weak we must not waiver
Wick cleared his throat and spoke with a ritualistic cadence I Commandant Wick have called the accused here today to discuss the flagrant disregard for Military protocol displayed yesterday whereby the inferior officer acted with deliberate violence against the superior From my point of view there were no extenuating circumstances
Wick paused Yet as before the Ghosthound just looked up at him Most obnoxiously despite the clear lighting on the front of his face shadows seemed to be creeping around the young manÆs eyes
Inwardly Wick remained puzzled He could clearly feel the words affect the target The GhosthoundÆs emotions seemed to be curdling inside his body otherwise there wouldnÆt be such a reaction through their connection Yet why did he maintain such a stoic exterior Especially after his aggressiveness while Wick was restricted by Alymian
The thought of that embarrassment sent a jet of hot shame down WickÆs spine Fury rose in a wave through him and he raised his hand to strike at the Ghosthound before he caught himself His gaze cleared He released a hissing breath through his nose and lowered his hand He brought the hammer of his Willpower down to smash away the seductive emotions that tried to influence him
His mind churned forward chewing up foreign influences Perhaps he has come to realize what a mistake he has made by antagonizing me But then he should be aware of why we are here at least generally Despite the danger he came willingly
Ah WickÆs eyes narrowed He definitely knows And therefore he knows that all of this is simply a pretext He is saving himself for the conflict Certainly the Ghosthound can be said to possess some animal cunning But if you think this needling has no purpose you are mistaken
Do you know Wick boomed out in a more typical tone He steepled his fingers again What has always annoyed me about you Randidly Ghosthound
Of course the Ghosthound just looked at him his expression that of a dead fish But the tension in his shoulders betrayed him
It is that you have never understood the distance between us Wick said with relish I tried to warn you show you how meaningless it was to stand against me by eviscerating your little squeeze There again was a satisfying burst of emotion from Randidly Wick leaned forward but as soon as we were in a very unique situation where I was restricted your base instincts overpowered your reason You attacked me Of course you couldnÆt help yourself you possess no self discipline You are a beast a victim of your own primal roots
Which is why you will always be under my thumb Wick felt his lips curling back as he examined the distant form of the Ghosthound The shadows around his eyes continued to spread across his face Why I could kill any of your friends and subordinates and you will never be able to do anything about it Because I have risen above those influences and you have not You are not enough to protect them from me
The Ghosthound burned through their connection His emotions seemed to be whirling in a tightly compressed storm generating pressure within the Ghsothound in preparation for a massive eruption It was slightly impressive that his body hadnÆt yet ruptured underneath that force
Now Wick grinned and activated the methods His framework split open and revealed his own howling core a hundred times more intense and vigorous than the churning emotions Randidly possessed When comparing the emotions between them one dwarfed the other without question So Wick seized upon their connection and activated the horrifying ritual of communion Devick had taught him That connection became nearly physical existing between them
Wick yanked with all that emotional force
and was immediately stunned when rather than the Ghosthound being pulled helplessly toward him WickÆs pull had smashed himself forward ripping apart the heavy desk and sending him tumbling toward the lower level He landed on all fours on top of several chairs they cracked and collapsed leaving Wick trembling with confused indignation
The Ghosthound who hadnÆt moved at all did not continue to watch Wick with a blank expression
The corner of his mouth curled up into a deliberate look of condescension Randidly GhosthoundÆs smirk flicked a match onto the kindling of WickÆs suppressed emotions
Chapter 1880
The two faced off for a brief moment emotions swelling to fill the distance between them And if anything the darkness and the wide remote amphitheater ceiling above them only served to give that intensity breeding ground to spread
At every turn you take the opportunity to pay up petty cash to inflicted inconveniences against me Wick swiped his hand and obliterated a few other nearby wooden chairs Yet even that small movement left him feeling stifled after his failure to shift the Ghosthound His chest heaved with rage Even for his tight control he began having difficulty parsing apart which part of the anger was his own and which came from the howling madhouse he contained
Strike rend break own The voices whispered He sucked in a tight breath and spoke quickly before the words could be warped by the dangerous violence he contained You insolent whelp Today I will teach you a lesson you will never forget
Wick jabbed a finger forward and unleashed some of that madness The more they fought the more they clashed the stronger DevickÆs bond between them would grow tightening around them like a Chinese finger trap until they were pasted squeezed into the confines of a single body For now as the connection dug its way into their souls it couldnÆt do much But it could convey a scalding blast of emotions
Wick watched the smirk on the GhosthoundÆs face for the moment it faltered and those emotions ripped through his psyche Yet after seconds nothing had changed If anything the shadows only swirled more actively around the GhosthoundÆs left eye despite the fire lit directly in front of him
You Wick growled but he cut himself off both disgusted with the situation and the Ghosthound Some part of him acknowledged that the Ghosthound likely wouldnÆt have been able to survive this long if such a petty trick could dislodge him Still Wick teetered on the edge of madness struggling to remain detached and figure out what to do next
A word circled around his mind using rotten teeth to gingering gnaw at the edges of his self control Impotent The Ghosthound time and time again had made Wick feel impotent The tricks forced upon Wick by Devick seemed somehow useless against him