3017 Not a Hero (Part 1)
"I get your point but you also have to get mine." Vastor replied. "You are the one who refuses treatments that require Forbidden Magic. If you die, none of what you've just mentioned will matter and Jirni will have to face everything by herself.
"Is this what you want?"
"I don't want to but I have to." Orion trembled form head to toe, feeling his stomach churn as he spoke. "That's why I brought you a gift. I had Kigan carry it here under the cover of darkness."
"A gift?" Vastor was puzzled.
"Criminals that I officially failed to capture. Scum of society that if convicted by a tribunal would be sentenced to death." Orion spat the next words like they were poison on his tongue. "Specimens for your experiments."
According to the law of the Griffon Kingdom, death row inmates were dead men walking without any civil rights. They could be used for magical experimentation, tortured, or anything that the judge thought would give their victims relief or make them useful for society.
It was supposed to ease Orion's guilty conscience but it didn't work. His prisoners had not undergone due process. No judge had pondered the issue and no law was involved.
No matter how Orion painted it, he was still going to sacrifice human lives for his own sake. His honor and loyalty to his Kingdom would never allow him to do that if it wasn't for the threat on the lives of Jirni and their unborn daughter.
The Myrok were likely to take the baby girl away and Orion would rather die in shame than lose his wife and another daughter.
"More like food for your life force." Vastor tapped on his desk with his forefinger. "I have no idea what you think I do, but I can assure you that I have no use for a ragtag bunch of criminals.
"And neither have you."
"What do you mean?" Orion asked.
"I mean that you can kill them, arrest them, do with them whatever eases your conscience. We don't need them for the procedure. After our last discussion, I searched for a way to accommodate your request and I found it."
"Really?" Orion sighed in relief, a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders. "Can we start now? How does it work?"
"Yes, yes, and it's easier to show than explain." The Master steepled his fingers. "Yet I can't compromise the position of my facility. We are allies today but tomorrow you might change your mind. Sleep."
"Are you kidding me?" Orion was outraged. "How can you think I would betray you after everything you are putting on the line for-"
He fell to the ground with a thud as his consciousness slipped away.
There was no such thing as sleeping spells but Vastor had been a great healer long before turning himself into a hybrid. His white eye had spotted the stress points in Orion's life force and fixed them for him.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been no different from rejuvenation but there was nothing normal in Orion's condition. His mana core pushed against the impurities surrounding it in an attempt to Awaken.
Yet Vastor and Zoreth had anchored them, making the impurities like large trees with roots that ran deeply in Orion's body and weathered the storm. The process still drained his stamina and his constant training in the use of fusion and true magic made things even worse.
The moment Orion had stepped inside his office, Vastor had noticed that his friend was so tired that he stood only thanks to sheer willpower and stubbornness. Some might have considered it a miracle of love but the Master found it idiotic.
"Kigan, report."
"Yes, Father." The Dark Phoenix grunted, annoyed that his playtime with Orulm had been interrupted.
"See that Orion's guests suffer no harm and remember nothing of their capture." Vastor said. "They must be returned to him intact and ready to stand trial."
"Are you sure? How will your friend survive, then?" Kigan asked.
"We'll use our prisoners. There's no point in dirtying his conscience. Mine will suffice." Vastor replied. "It's a drop in the ocean for me but it would be a mental scar for him. What Orion doesn't know can't hurt him.
"Let's make him believe that miracles do exist so that he can enjoy what time he has left without the guilt of knowing how he managed to live long enough to become a father again."
"I see." Kigan felt proud of Vastor's selflessness and spirit of sacrifice.
"Don't look at me like that." Vastor's stern expression turned into a scowl. "I'm not some valiant hero. I'm not protecting innocents from a cruel enemy.
"I'm preying on the weak who have nothing to offer to society and feeding them to the strong so that they can become even stronger and lead mankind to a better future. It's the reason I founded the Organization, turned you and me into hybrids, and now I'm helping the Ernas."
"What about Orion?" Kigan realized that the Master could glimpse into his feelings through the bond they shared, so he quickly changed the topic.
"The idiot needs to rest." The Master scoffed. "In his current condition, not even Arthan's Madness could save him. Orion needs to be at his peak condition if he has to stand a chance of surviving the procedure.
"If he wakes up, he'd just keep training like a moron. Bring him to the lab, strap him to a comfortable bed, and change the IV bag of nutrients every hour. He's going to need it."
Vastor stuck the needle in Orion's arm after numbing his arm with darkness magic. Then, to make sure that Lord Ernas would keep sleeping, the Master fixed every imperfection of his body and fastened the impurities around the mana core tighter.
Once he was done, Vastor fully rejuvenated Orion to his prime, using his decades of experience and Invigoration to fix his bones, organs, and muscles down to the slightest imperfection.
The strain on Orion's vitality was minimal, but more than enough to make his deep sleep even deeper.
***
Orion woke up after over 24 hours of uninterrupted slumber and only because he was starving. The bags of nutrients gave his body what it needed to rebuild itself but couldn't fill his belly.
He tried to pull his arm from under the blankets and ring the bells to call for the butler.
'Damn, I was so tired that I don't even remember going to bed. Maybe Vastor is right and I need to rest more. I'll grab a bite and go back to sleep. Work can wait.' Orion thought as his arm refused to move. 'What the fuck is happening to me? I'm paralyzed!'
"Help! Someone calls a healer!" Panic washed away the fog in his mind but also made him forget that he could still use true magic.
"Stop yelling. I can hear you just fine." Nelia the Griffon pulled off the blankets, revealing that Orion was still fully dressed and bound hand and feet to the bed. "Gods, how long has it been since you had a good night's rest?"
She undid the straps on his wrists, put a pillow behind his back to make him sit up comfortably, and handed him a tray filled with delicious-smelling steaming food.
