"First, he’d have a link with our deadliest enemy, using part of its powers in addition to a myriad of other powers. Second, he’ll know lots of unknown secrets and knowledge that’ll make him quite impossible for even the oldest elders to understand or fathom.
And third—and foremost, the most important thing—is that he’ll be the sole person my force will et after falling in that trap, and he’ll do everything in his power to save us, for reasons he alone is aware of!"
Thinking about all these points made any other guess impossible. It was William, without a shadow of a doubt. The fox-shaped spirit, the lightning and light elents, the foreknowledge of the Blue Spore Origin, and the fact that he was the only human being in this entire God-forsaken realm.
"Did that man give any hint about how such a youngster was able to amass all this knowledge?" the old master asked, leaning in. "How could a boy from a world of thin spirit power learn about the deep chanisms of the upper realm’s wars?"
"This part..." The face of the leader contorted with a flicker of regret when he heard his best friend’s question.
"Back then, I took the words of that man as the rambling of a lunatic. I was young, arrogant, and I didn’t want to hear about traps or the death of my kin. I dashed outside and didn’t continue the eting.
Later on, when I lost my family exactly as he described and ended up leading the Blue Purgators, I tried my absolute best to locate him. I wanted to finish our talk, to find out the ’how’ and the ’why.’ But there wasn’t a single trace of him anywhere in the upper realm. It’s like that man never existed.
No one had ever heard of him. Even the building where I t him... When I went back, it was a ruin. It had been abandoned for centuries, looking like it hadn’t seen a living soul since the last era, even though it was a thriving, bustling shop when I entered it twenty years ago."
"This... This is quite weird," the old master finally sighed, rubbing his temples. The supernatural nature of the story was enough to make his head ache, but it finally allowed him to give up any lingering suspicion about William’s intentions.
"At least for the parts we can confirm ourselves, he is a formidable enemy to monsters and dark masters. He is clearly planning things beforehand in the upper realm through Becky and others, and he swore a spirit-bound oath to Anna. That, at least, we can trust."
"Not to ntion he is sincerely working to help us even now," the leader added, gesturing toward the horizon. "Since your departure to his world, he hasn’t rested for a single mont. He moved on and continued laying down those formations and those normal-looking needles and spears throughout the world."
"He is a hard-working genius, I’ll give him that," the old master recalled the grand force William had established in his world—the Fox Guild and its efficiently organised masters. He couldn’t help but admire the kid’s tactics and sheer determination.
"Even when his own world is on the brink of getting ruined, he is here, working hard to help us survive. He must have his own reasons, as that man once told you."
"Indeed," the leader’s eyes glead with a fierce, cold light that seed to pierce through the hall walls into the world around.
"And sothing tells that whatever these reasons are, they are aligned in one way or another with our grand goal: taking down that bastard who killed my family once and for all! If this boy is the sword fate has forged to strike at the Fox, then I will be the whetstone to make it sharp enough to kill that bastard."
"There is nothing to stand against that," the old master nodded, his posture straightening as a new sense of purpose infused his ageing bones. "Ok, it’s settled then, I guess." He stood up, looking more eager to work and know William more than ever.
The suspicion that had clouded his mind was gone, replaced by imnse curiosity. "As the kid wants to save our lives, regardless of what his ultimate endga might be, we cannot say no to such a tily, life-saving gesture. We owe him that much."
"I’ve already sent my orders to support him," the leader stood as well, walking toward the grand balcony that overlooked the valley. "Right now, almost everyone is out there helping him lay down these formations and arrays.
The kid has all the specialised spears and needles he needs to perform his trick. He’s doing the work; we are providing the protection. We just need to keep the monsters away until he is done, and then the gates will be shut down for good."
"That’s good to hear," the old master replied. The subtle aning of his old friend’s words was clear: the leader was fully committing the Purgators to William’s vision.
The old man couldn’t help but inwardly sigh. Part of him wanted to stay behind, to be with William and watch the miracle with his own eyes. Yet, he knew his duty.
The leader had entrusted Anna to him, and from the short period he had spent in the lower realm, he could tell the situation in William’s world wasn’t stable at all.
He stole a glimpse at the different maps spread across the many tables in the war room. They told a story of a world falling into the deepest abyss, sward by the ferocious tides of Scarlet Bears. He had his curiosity about the boy, yet he worried more for Anna and her safety in such a chaotic world.
So, he made his decision. He would go back and remain by her side, acting as a shield against any unforeseen danger. As for his lifelong friend, the Blue Purgators’ leader, he stayed in his grand palace, receiving updated reports now and then, hoping against hope for the miracle sent to them to succeed.
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