Cecilia flew back to the fortress and saw the horrifying scene of their soldiers wearing powered exosuits and Vulcans that were ready for a sky drop. From the looks of it they were hoping to make a parameter around the city, and bunk down. Containers of supplies and heavy machinery were ready to be deployed.

Cecilia hurried to the interior of the flying fortress of the Tomas Family and entered the interior. Then headed to the inner hangar after being directed by the crew who wore hard faces.

She entered the interior. She saw the Mavin Tomas arming himself with an exoskeleton suit reinforced with black-iron. He also wore a light-machine gun and a webbing of magazines on him. It was enough to say that he was ready to tear through everyone.

“Cecil, here to persuade us?”

He pulled on the bolt-lever of his LMG. He carried it like it was weightless. Cecilia stopped in front of him.

“No need to arm yourself with this. We agree.”

Mavin blinked. He eyed Cecilia as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. He blinked again and let the LMG hang on his side.

“Is that right?”

“Yes. We are going to allow this. It’s better if no blood is shed. Hah, you get what you want but in exchange you evacuate the city, let us retrieve our books and artifacts. Your wife will listen to you. Tell her what we want.”

Mavin studied her. The crew took a step back and he sat on the metal crate. The dynamo motors of his exoskeleton groaning. He makes wearing it so easy.

“We want confidentiality then.”

“W-what?”

Mavin raised his metal-clad finger. “I want every Archmagi who knows the situation to swear an oath that no one will hear what has happened here. This shall be classified as secret, and any flow of information coming from here will be cut off.”

“You are going too far.”

“Oh, I am. I’m willing to fight either way. I’m not doing this to bully you or this city. I can somewhat guess what will happen if we start mowing down Magi and people alike. I could become a terrorist who butchered Haymouth. You bring good news, but we also demand that this becomes a secret.”

”Do you think it will be?”

“It wouldn’t be. But I can at least demand confidentiality from the Archmagi who are in-charge of the city. What happens in Haymouth, stays in Haymouth.”

His tone remained firm and unmoving. Cecilia could only dig her nails on her palm and swallow the anger rising from the pit of her stomach.

“Tell me, is what you are trying to do worth it?”

“It is. I cannot tell you the details because the truths will demand no answer. The vow of silence demands that I shall not speak the words.”

He placed a hand on his knee. There was not a single trace of change in his eyes. Not a flinch. Cecilia crossed her arms, thinking she truly didn’t know who this person was.

“Hundreds will die if you have continued. Families will be torn apart, the people that will be displaced here will cause untold damages.”

“We are taking the vitality of the land. The water of life will flow somewhere. But Haymouth will be a wasteland where no plant would grow. Water and air will flow, and perhaps after years it will recover. What I’m taking is the current vitality of the basin, the conjunction ritual will be the container. I’m emptying it out. I won’t speak pretty words, you are all wise enough to understand what Lazon can do. But do you know? I was rather sure that you would fight it out.”

“And let us be slaughtered? We are politically lacking compared to what Lazon could do. It would be suicidal for us. This isn’t the past where we would gather banners and generals to fight. Most battles these days are won by who has the best artillery or air support. The grunts take care of the struggle.”

She looked at the exosuit with a downtrodden gaze. “And when the inftary wears armor like that, that can take on even some of our ‘deadly’ spells. Do you think we can win? And thanks to someone, we aren’t able to conjure magnetic fields and wide-area spells without exhausting ourselves to death.”

It was awful.

They have a way to fight using the artifacts, but weighing the options? The cost and the benefit of such actions was not ideal to them. How it hurt their pride.

“So will you sign the confidentiality contract? I believe Natalya can handle it.”

“We demand compensation. We want the thousands of civilians here in this city to be moved and cared for. Lazon and the Angelus Company will provide the following,” she showed a rough draft of what they wanted from them in exchange for doing this.

Mavin took the draft but only scanned it once. “Show it to Natalya, you understand that I have no control over our assets.”

Cecilia took the draft back and placed it in her satchel. The interior was empty and aside from the few who were walking back and forth readying their equipment. There was no one to disturb them.

“Is this all a bluff?”

“Half. I was hoping to win without fighting. But I am also willing to fight it out. There is no middle ground to be found here. Capitulate or we attack. Natalya’s in her office, waiting for your final answer.”

Cecilia nodded solemnly. She stopped. “Haymouth has been my home for years. More than Arkadia will ever be. But you know what? I don’t want to see it burn like what happened fifty-seven years ago in Athesia. I have no right, knowing that in my younger days, I’d caused many deaths because of how the civil war played out. Maybe I could have done something, but never did. I have no right to speak of good and bad. I only hope that what you are doing here will not be wasted.”

“I cannot guarantee anything.”

“Very well, I shall talk to Natalya about our terms.”

Mavin said nothing, but Cecilia felt his stare as she walks away.