Chapter 2694: Collateral
Date: Unspecified
Time: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters
I simply stared at Petra, letting my silence answer her. However, she had a thicker skin than most, as expected of the Stone Supreme. "Iāll take your silence as agreementā"
"Not so fast," I cut in. "Thatās never going to happen. Besides your words, thereās no proof that you truly are Bloodetteās friend. Youāre the Stone Supreme. Blood rule rocks should be an exotic delicacy to you. And come to think of it, after the dungeon seal broke, you were the one who brought up the blood rule rock vein. Iām not accusing you of anything, but the circumstances donāt exactly cast you in a favorable light."
Petra glared at me, keeping her turbulent emotions firmly in check. She pointed at me as she defended herself. "You are my evidence that I am Bloodetteās friend."
"How so?" I asked, trying to figure out what she was pulling here.
"If you didnāt believe I was Bloodetteās friend, you wouldnāt have brought me, the Stone Supreme, into the Card Apprentice regions and allowed me to meet Bloodette in her dungeon seal. Unless you brought me here to assassinate Bloodette, thinking I would kill her because of the feud I told you existed between us. If anything, youāre the one we should be careful of," Petra exclaimed, neatly explaining and turning the accusation back on me.
For a moment, I wondered if this was the same Petra who had supposedly grown dull after losing the aid of her Petruth Rune.
"Sure, genius. Why would I do that? What would I possibly gain by assassinating Bloodette?" I shot back, pointing out that no matter how neatly Petra spun her story, without a solid motive it was nothing more than hearsay.
"Itās because youāve been eyeing Bloodetteās blood rule rock vein from the very beginning," Petra retorted, jabbing a finger at me. "Once Bloodette is killed, the seal would break, and the vein would be yours for the taking. And to prove my point, you were the one who took the blood rule rock vein while the rest of us were still out of it."
She spoke with growing excitement, eagerly picking apart what had happened and stitching the pieces together in a way that made me look unmistakably guilty.
"Damn it. How did you figure it out?" I shouted with exaggerated indignation. "I was careful and meticulous in my planning. I wouldāve gotten away with it too, if it werenāt for your meddling!" I then added sarcastically, "So how did you figure it out? Donāt tell me you, the Stone Supreme, moonlight as a part-time genius detective?"
"I donāt know what that means," Petra replied smugly, completely missing the sarcasm, "But if it means Iām smarter than you, then yes. I am a part-time genius detective."
"Petra, heās being sarcastic," Corey said, while still on shove duty as she cleaned the blood flooding into the basement through the cracks in space. She pointed it out with a hint of sympathy, her expression softening as Petraās behavior reminded her of her own former, brazenly naĆÆve self.
"How dare you mock me, you lowly Card Apprentice?" Petra went fully ballistic. Before she could continue her outburst, Cortney snapped at both of us, "You two get out of here before I kick you out."
In truth, Cortney didnāt mean any of it. She wasnāt angry with us, only frustrated with herself for being unable to help Bloodette, who just slipped from her embrace and pushed herself forward to roll across the basement, through the inch-deep pool of blood covering the floor, before clinging to a column like a koala bear. All while she wept as if there were no tomorrow.
Cortney felt that frustration all the more sharply because Bloodette wouldnāt let her come close to console her. Even though Cortney had long understood that Bloodette didnāt want to be comforted and that she simply wanted to cry, it still hurt to stand there watching her weep and do nothing.
"Cortney, if Bloodette wanted to be consoled, she would have been within the first few minutes of her crying and been a little sad for a moment. But right now, she clearly doesnāt want comfort. She just wants to vent. Let her be. Sheāll be fine in a few days. This happens to every supreme being every few decades. We all go through it. Thereās no cure and no comfort for it. Stop stressing yourself over what is simply our natural way of processing accumulated emotional toll. Think of it as the price we pay for our immortal lives in this world," Petra said, trying to console Cortney, seeing her weighed down by guilt, unable to help Bloodette. When it was no oneās fault and it simply was what it was.
Cortney only nodded weakly at Petraās words. Even if this was natural for supreme beings to cry for days, she couldnāt help but ache for her best friend and sister. Unlike the others, Cortney felt Bloodetteās anguish far more keenly because of the innate blood rule rune they shared. She couldnāt simply ignore Bloodetteās sobbing the way the others did.
Seeing Cortney lost in a daze, Petra shook her head and turned to the anti-Petruth Card Apprentice. "So itās decided, then. Weāll be laying the blood rule rock vein in my home."
"Yes, and Bloodette will abandon us for you and come live with you too," I replied sarcastically. This time, Petra caught it and immediately shot me a warning glare and said, "You donāt want me going crazy."
"As if you arenāt already crazy to think Iād let you lay the blood rule rock vein in your home," I said bluntly. Then I proposed, "Instead, weāll divide the vein into equal branches and plant them in both subterranean fields. And youāll lay a stone rule ore vein of equal size in the subterranean field beneath the city as collateral. Proving to us that you are truly Bloodetteās friend as you claim. That way, we both get what we want, and everyone ends up happy."
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