The Nova Ranker - The Sword Almighty

Chapter 20. I wanted a better plan.

It was the day after our victory over Black Reaper and we were in one of the meeting rooms, and this time we weren't using it for breakfast. It was actually an important talk we were supposed to have with Calev. After Avi made their way to the room, not wearing their armor. They sat beside my brother, and I could feel the panic building from inside Andy. He was many things, but subtle, he definitely wasn't. I kicked myself internally and looked away from my brother's mind. I'd promised there'd be no more mind reading and so far I was doing a lousy job of it.

Calev stepped into the room and looked around us. "... Is Carmen not with you guys?"

"She got hurt real bad in the battle. Had a few ugly burns on her abdomen." Franziska piped up from where she sat. "I made her some herbal tea."

"Well, no matter." Calev stepped up to the main screen of the meeting room and looked around us. "We can fill her in on the plan later."

An air of silence and nervousness surrounded us. We hadn't talked about Calev's plan to use himself as bait since he used magic to knock Avi out. I worried that Calev would still go through with the plan. "Are we sure there's no other idea? No other way to draw out the murderer?"

"Avi." Calev looked at them, a sad resignation in his eyes. "... I don't wish to sacrifice any more of our people. And, should I get killed... Well, at least the guild would have a reason to dissolve and stop the bloodshed."

"Don't say that!" I stood up, and slammed my hands on the table. "If we can catch the assassin, then you won't be at risk anymore! You can build up numbers again!"

I saw a sad smile on Calev's face and he nodded a little. I didn't feel like he was precisely nodding at me. Just... trying to reassure the others. When everyone seemed to quiet down and sit back. Calev continued, and what he described started to draw itself into the screen behind him.

"The plan is simple. We're going back to the investigation site. I will use myself as bait to bring out the killer. I will have Carmen and Andres with me. Judging from what happened, water magic will help keep the murderer at bay. With their protection, around me, that'll give ground for Avi and Elias to subdue him, after which, Franziska and Joel will tie them to the ground."

This wasn't so much of a plan as it was a concept. I was half convinced that Calev wanted to die and just made the plan as easy to mess up as possible. He must've been desperate for me to have the stupid sword. I was wondering why that stupid blade was so special in the first place. Could the legendary piece of crap make popcorn or something?

"What do we do if the killer doesn't come alone?" Franziska pointed out.

"Andres and Carmen are already coming with me. Plus, it's not like I'm a weakling. I can fight on my own." Calev looked towards Avi. I could feel discomfort, tension coming from the both of them but I decided to not say anything.

"Elias. You saw the killer last time we were at the murder site. How did you know he was there?"

I stood up and placed my hands on the table. "When we were in the warehouse, I started to read everyone's minds. Just keeping a check on everybody, making sure everyone was there and unhurt." I caught a look of approval coming from the direction of Franziska. "When I was trying to check in on Carmen, I heard the killer's voice inside my head."

"Could you learn something about him?" Calev seemed somewhat impressed.

"Her. I didn't learn much, but I know our killer is a woman. I uh... gave her the nickname Pup."

"What kind of a nickname is Pup?" Joey chuckled at the nickname, raising his eyebrow at me. "Is Pup hot?"

"She's... mentally she sees herself as a she-wolf pup." I explained, looking away from Franziska, who was giving me a raised eyebrow. "I don't know how she looked, I didn't look into her mind long enough before she locked it."