Chapter 976: Manny's Oaths |
Kyle was brought to the others, who were waiting in a different place.
"All done?" Sebastian asked.
"Yep," Kyle answered.
When the others saw Kyle appear, they felt relieved. The six Sages were the only ones excluded from the oath. If they wanted to, the six Sages could reveal everything without endangering any lives. However, revealing just the right amount was difficult. Because of that, five of the six Sages had been instructed to answer like everyone else.
Moments after Kyle was put with the others, Overlord Sandpike got Manny.
This was the last person they could ask for information.
"You want to know what happened today?" Manny asked before they could ask any questions.
This was the first time during this investigation that anyone had asked them a question. Almost immediately, the two of them felt like this last interrogation would be different.
"Yes, can you give us some answers?" Overlord Sandpike asked.
In just these few sentences, the two Overlords had gained more information than in all the other interrogations combined.
"And? What happened afterward?" Overlord Sunlight asked.
"I can say more, but I won't," Manny answered calmly. "You can ask the others again, but you won't gain any new answers."
"Do you believe you have the power to refuse?" Overlord Sunlight asked with narrowed eyes as she activated her Momentum.
"Yes, I do," Manny answered as if nothing had changed. "That's because I'm not alone. I can share information safely. The only answers you got today are refusals to answer and answers that essentially say that nothing happened. I'm the only one in our little gathering that will tell you more."
"What makes you so sure?" Overlord Sandpike asked.
"I could answer, but why should I?" Manny asked. "I do not need to answer."
"Yes, you do," Overlord Sunlight transmitted. "We have not executed anyone yet, but we also haven't made our judgment yet. If you refuse to cooperate, we will execute you."
"And get rid of your only source of information?" Manny asked. "Sure, you can do that, but what will that achieve? Four Demons, seven Spirit Lords, and two Ascendants died today. You have a way to gain information, and you want to execute the one person who's willing to give you that information? If I were to hear about that as a neutral party, it would sound like you were deliberately trying to hide information instead of gathering it."
The two Overlords conversed with each other for a while. Manny was just a Sage. They had the power and legal rights to execute him on the spot.
They were in a vastly more powerful position. Yet, it didn't feel like they were.
"Why do you keep saying you're the only one who can share information with us?" Overlord Sunlight asked.
"I'm not really the leader, but I'm the closest thing to our leader," Manny transmitted. "If that answers your question."
"Leader?" Overlord Sandpike asked with furrowed brows.
"Kind of," Manny answered.
The two Overlords talked with each other.
"Assuming we believe you, what would we have to do to gain more information?" Overlord Sandpike asked.
"Prove your loyalty," Manny answered. "Not to me, but to Ayuvar and all humans. You've seen the four Demon corpses. When they were still alive, they wore the red of Humanity. How can I tell anything to anyone who could be a traitor or spy?"
"You're doubting our loyalty?" Overlord Sunlight asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, I am," Manny answered. "Overlord Cloudhorn knew about the Demonic spy for a long time, and he also told me that it isn't that uncommon. Some Overlords act like they don't know when there's a spy. How am I supposed to know that you're not one of them?"
"Alternatively, you can also just forget this entire thing, execute me, and keep going. Nobody's stopping you. Nobody's forcing you. You can say that you couldn't gain any information and tell some other Overlords to investigate. They will experience the same thing that you have experienced today. Nobody will blame you after sufficient attempts have been made."
The Overlords talked to each other for a while.
"I am willing to swear an oath," Overlord Sandpike said.
"Great," Manny answered. "So, do we walk outside to swear the oath, or will we deactivate the Heaven Clouding Formation Array?"
The two Overlords looked at Manny with narrowed eyes.
The Heaven Clouding Formation Array was one of the most secret pieces of information in all of Humanity. Only Overlords were allowed to know about it. The Heaven Clouding Formation Array isolated Karmic Luck. Without Karmic Luck, new oaths couldn't be made. Well, they could be sworn, but there would be no consequences to breaking them.
The two Overlords entered another conversation.
"What oath do you want?" Overlord Sandpike asked.
"We can make individual, very simple oaths. For example, the first oath should not be difficult for you to make. Simply swear on your life that you are human," Manny said. "This should not be restrictive, and even if you don't know the following oaths, this oath should not be a problem."
The two Overlords looked at each other before one of them deactivated almost all of the Formation Arrays. "Is that good enough?" Overlord Sandpike asked.
"Yes," Manny answered.
"I swear on my life that I am human," both of them swore.
Nothing happened.
"The next one is also pretty simple," Manny said. "Swear on your life that you will do all in your power to get rid of any enemy that you know has infiltrated Humanity."
"That's too vague," Overlord Sandpike answered. "Based on the wording, the definition of Humanity could shift, and before I know it, I'm forced to kill our own people because they just so happen to loosely fit the definition of an enemy."
Overlord Sunlight frowned, but she didn't say anything.
"Okay, how about this?" Manny asked. "Swear on your life that you will kill any being the current iteration of Humanity considers a Demon that you know has infiltrated Humanity."
"This is strangely worded," Overlord Sandpike said. "Why can't I just say that I can kill every Demon that has infiltrated Humanity?"
Overlord Sunlight's brows furrowed as she glanced at Overlord Sandpike.
"Alright," Manny said. "How about a change then? Do you swear on your life that, as soon as the oath has been spoken, you will try to kill every being that the current iteration of Humanity considers an enemy that you know of? This is a one-time thing. If you don't know of any demonic spies, nothing will change. If you do, you will kill them. Either way, after it's done, you're free from the oath."
"This is too loose again," Overlord Sandpike said. "There are too many words for simple concepts. Make it simpler."
"Fine," Overlord Sunlight suddenly said.
Overlord Sandpike looked at Overlord Sunlight in shock. She was going to swear the oath?
"I swear on my life..." Overlord Sunlight said as she repeated Manny's latest oath, and when she was done...
Nothing happened.
"The moment has passed," Overlord Sunlight said. "This was a one-time thing, and I didn't kill anyone. The oath has passed and no longer restricts me."
Overlord Sunlight looked at Overlord Sandpike. "This was not difficult. Is there a perceived issue with the oath?"
"It might have been easy for you," Overlord Sandpike said, "but you might have been lucky. I can't go through all the memories in my life and perfectly analyze every single person I have seen. You just took an unnecessary risk."
"Okay, then, let's skip this oath," Manny said.
Overlord Sunlight frowned.
"Let's get to the next one, and this one is very easy yet again," Manny said as he slowly moved closer to Overlord Sunlight.
"It's very, very simple," Manny said. "Overlord Sunlight, you will see no problem with this oath. In fact, it's almost identical to the first one."
The two Overlords glared at Manny.
"Just a quick question beforehand," Manny asked. "Are you ascenders or were you born in Ayuvar?"
"Ayuvar," Overlord Sunlight answered.
"Why is that relevant?" Overlord Sandpike asked.
"Why is it so hard to answer this question?" Manny asked. "None of you have committed to anything yet. I have zero control over you. You simply said you're human and that one of you hasn't colluded with the enemy."
"I want to get this over with," Overlord Sunlight said with annoyance as she looked at Overlord Sandpike. "Just answer the question."
"Fine, I was born in Ayuvar," Overlord Sandpike said.
"Alright, then, this oath will be very simple," Manny said.
"Do you swear on your life that you were born inside Humanity's territories?"
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