Disclaimer: English is not my first language. I'm using Grammarly to check the Grammar and using Word to write it.
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We approach the Palanquin.
There's a bouncer sitting in the front door, messing around with his cellphone.
Mia and I stop in front of him.
"We're closed," The bouncer said, not looking away from the cellphone.
"I can see that. Here's the thing, we need to get inside," I said.
"Then come back later," the bouncer said.
"Can't do that. We won't have much free time in the next few days," I said.
"Look, pal, the Palanquin is closed. So yo-" The bouncer freezes when he looks up.
Mia and I aren't in our full costumes, so it would attract too much attention. Instead, we're dressed in casual clothes, with me wearing a red mask and Mia a blue one.
The bouncer swallows hard, his eyes fixed on us as he struggles to find the right words.
"We aren't here to cause any trouble. We came to, hopefully, talk with Faultline. Is she here?" I asked calmly.
The bouncer keeps staring at us in silence.
Mia and I glanced at each other.
God, I hope this doesn't happen every time we talk to a civilian.
The front door opens, and a person walks out.
He's a hairless, pale man with skin so translucent that his skeleton and organs show through. Small, hardened spiral growths are spread all over his body.
That's Gregor the Snail, one of the case 53 members of the Faultline Crew.
This is my first time meeting you face-to-face.
Looking at his appearance, so many questions come to mind.
The entire existence of Case 53 is shrouded in mystery.
Something to look into later.
"Steve, why don't you go inside and help the other? They could use an extra pair of hands," Gregor said, not looking away from us.
Steve quickly entered the Palanquin.
"Didn't mean to scare him," I said.
"Well, he's still learning the ropes around here. This isn't the first time that we have capes paying a visit. Normally, they give a heads up before coming," Gregor said bluntly.
"I tried to schedule a meeting but never got an answer," Mia said.
Gregor hums, "Ah, yes. You sent a message in PHO to Faultline some time ago. Unfortunately, we were unavailable at the time. I'm sure you understand."
"Trust me, I get it. Trying to reach some mercenary groups without having a way to directly contact them can be a nightmare," Mia said, annoyed. "Which is why I was surprised to discover that Faultline has an account in PHO."
Gregor shrugs, "It's normal for capes to have an account. It's a good place to keep up with the news, and for possible clients to contact us."
"Aren't you worried that the Protectorate/PRT would use PHO to track your movements?" I asked.
"There's nothing to track as we make sure not to share any critical information. Newter is the one who uses PHO the most, and all he does is post memes," Gregor shrugs.
"Honestly, I still find it weird that a mercenary group has a social media page," Mia admits.
"It's free marketing," Gregor said with a chuckle.
"Oh, I didn't think of that," Mia rubs her chin.
Okay then.
"So...can we talk with Faultline?" I asked.
"What do you wish to discuss with her?" Gregor asked.
"We want to buy information. Before you say anything, it has nothing to do with the Empire or the ABB. It's about something that isn't even related to what is happening in Brockton Bay at all," I said.
"I see," Gregor hums. "Excuse me for a moment."
Gregor enters the Palanquin.
Okay, now that we're alone.
"How many times have you hired mercenaries?" I whispered curiously.
"A few times. It's an excellent way to get a temporary workforce, but always keep an eye on them. After all, they work for the highest bidder," Mia whispered.
"You were betrayed?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Not me. Remember when I mentioned those rogue magi hunts?" I nodded. "One of them had hired guns on his payroll. We offered them more money, and they didn't hesitate to sell their boss out," Mia whispered.
"I will keep that in mind," I whispered.
The front door opens, and Gregor motions us to come inside.
"Faultline will meet you two," he said.
Mia and I nod and enter the Palanquin.
I glance around the place.
They are tidying up the place before customers arrive later.
Some glanced at Mia and me for a moment before returning to work.
"Follow me," Gregor said.
He leads us up to the second floor and into a room with an 'Employees Only' sign on the door.
Fautline is sitting behind a desk with her fingers intertwined. And the rest of her crew is in the room.
Newter is relaxing on the couch, looking carefree, yet his gaze never leaves Mia and me. Sitting beside him is Labyrinth, hugging her knees to her chest. She hums a tune softly, looks around the room, and giggles to herself every now and then.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
Is she even paying attention to what is happening?
Hm?
There's someone else here.
She's wearing a red and black fireproof suit, her face concealed by a modified gas mask with reflective lenses and a nozzle at the base. She's sitting close to a window.
Is she a new member?
Gregor goes and sits next to her.
Mia and I take seats in front of Faultline.
"It's not every day that I get a visit from heroes. So, Gregor told me you two want information." Faultline goes straight to the point.
"That's correct," I said. "How much?"
"Depends on what you want to know, Red," Faultline said.
"We want to contact the Number Man," Mia said.
Faultline stays silent for a few seconds.
"That is it?" Faultline asked.
"Well, yeah," I raised an eyebrow.
"Were you expecting something else?" Mia asked, curious.
"The Empire and the ABB are gunning for both of you, and the smart move would be to leave the city for a while," Faultline said. "I figured you two would hire us to smuggle you out of Brockton Bay."
Oh.
Yeah, I can see why she would think that.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body. 'Flesh Focus' gives me knowledge about alchemy that focuses on altering organic material. I know how to modify my body and how to create new lifeforms such as homunculi and chimeras.
Damn, the things I can do with this. And this speeds up a lot of my training.
I wasn't even close to starting to work with organic material.
"Out of curiosity, how much would that cost?" Mia asked.
Oops, lost focus for a moment there.
"Depends. Do you want to just get out of the city or have a destination in mind, Blue?" Faultline asked.
Mia hums, "Let's say I want to go to Boston."
"Hundred thousand dollars," Faultline said casually.
"Hm, that isn't a bad price. Is there a way to add a safehouse and forged documents in this deal?" Mia asked.
Faultline rubs her chin, calculating the new additions.
"Hold on. Are you guys leaving the city or not? I'm starting to get confused," Newter blinks in confusion.
"We aren't going to leave. We are just checking out options that are available," I said.
"Who knows what is going to happen in the future?" Mia shrugged.
That's especially true for us.
"Aren't you two heroes? Can't you go to the Protectorate/PRT for help?" The girl wearing the fireproof suit asked.
"Sorry, what's your name?" I asked.
"Spitfire," Spitfire said.
"Yes, Spitfire, we're heroes, and while we could reach out to the Protectorate if needed, such help comes with strings attached. And that is something we want to avoid," I explained.
"Nothing in this world is free," Gregor nods in agreement.
Exactly.
"So pretty," Labyrinth giggles to herself as she looks at a wall.
"Is she okay?" Mia asked.
"Ah, it's nothing. She's just feeling a little under the weather," Gregor said casually. "Spitfire, could you take Labyrinth to her room?"
Spitfire nods before taking Labyrinth to another room.
"I would have to make a few calls, but it's doable. And it won't come cheap," Fautline said.
"That's more than fine. Do you have paper and a pen? I'm going to write down my number so we can discuss more later," Mia asked.
"Write mine too, just for precaution," I said.
"Here you go," Faultline hands it to Mia. "You know, if anyone saw this, it wouldn't end well for you guys."
"One of the good things about being an indie. We don't have to answer to anyone," I said.
Mia finishes writing and gives the paper to Faultline.
"Try telling that to the Protectorate/PRT," Fautline snorts. "Any hero group, really. They don't like it when indies interact with villains."
"Then let's keep this on the down low," I said.
"Fine with me," Fautline leans back on her chair. "Let's get back to business. It will cost ten grand for the information."
I grab two rolled stacks of money and drop them onto the table.
Faultline counts the money before nodding. She grabs a piece of paper and writes how to contact the Number Man.
"Here you go. Call this number and say you want to open an account. You will meet with one of his underlings to hash things out." Faultline hands the paper to me.
"Thanks," I put the paper inside my pocket.
"Anything else?" Fautline asked.
Mia and I glance at each other.
"No, we got what we wanted. Maybe in the future we will contact you again," Mia said, getting up. "Oh, please don't forget to text me about what I asked before."
"Will do," Fautline said.
"One more thing. If the Empire or ABB come here to cause problems, you can call us for help," I said, getting up.
"Think they will do that?" Newter asked.
"Maybe. Honestly, I'm concerned about the other people who work at the nightclub. I don't think that they will sell us out, but people talk," I said.
"Yes, they do," Faultline grunted, studying me more closely. "Offering to help villains, trying to make us indebted to you?" she asked without any heat.
I snort, "Not even close. I don't like it when others get caught up in my troubles. And I wouldn't make this offer to anyone."
"If you say so," Faultline shrugs. "I will hold you to that."
Faultline makes a gesture to Gregor, and he gets up.
He escorts us to the exit.
Once outside, I put my arm around Mia's shoulder and use shunpo.
We appear in an alley, twenty blocks away from the Palanquin.
"So, what do you think of them, Ben?" Mia takes off her mask and puts it away.
"They are professional, that's for sure. It would be a good idea to become allies with them or at least have a good relationship with them," I take off my mask and put it away.
"I think the same," Mia said.
We leave the alley and start walking in a random direction.
There aren't many people in the streets.
"How do we do that?" I asked, tucking my hands into my pockets.
"We can think of that later. First, let's go home. We have a meeting to schedule," Mia said.
"Yep," I said. "By the way, I got a perk related to alchemy."
"That's good, what is it?" Mia asked, curious.
"It's called 'Flesh Focus'. Basically, it's alchemy focused on altering organic matter. I know how to modify my body and create new lifeforms like homunculi," I said.
"I'll admit I don't know much about that side of alchemy," Mia said.
"This is going to require a lot of experimentation before we decide to do any modifications to our bodies," I said.
"And you are okay with that?" Mia asked.
"...eventually, yes," I said after hesitating for a second.
Can't pass up any chance to get stronger.
"One step at a time, Ben. There are other methods that can get the same result. There's no need to make any rash decisions," Mia reminded me gently.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right," I rub my temples.
Let's think of something else.
"Wanna grab something to eat before we go home?" I asked.
"Hm, is there anything good around here?" Mia asked.
"Let's find out," I said.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Once we got home, Mia quickly scheduled a meeting with one of the Number Man's underlings for tomorrow morning.
They want to meet at the Bastion Grand.
That's one of the best hotels in Brockton Bay.
Only the rich and powerful go there.
Gotta prepare for this meeting.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"How is it going?" I asked the terminals while tying my tie.
They set up the computers in one corner of the workshop, and have been working nonstop since yesterday.
"Right now, we're focusing on developing Ingrid. Once we have servers, we will start working on SAO. Nice suit, by the way," T7 glances my way for a second before returning to work.
"Thanks," I said.
I'm wearing a grey three-piece suit complemented by a crisp white shirt and a red tie.
The NFF Wardrobe came in clutch.
"And how is her development going?" I asked, looking at T7 code.
Hm, not bad.
"She's getting better by the minute. It's only a matter of time before she becomes the best AI in the world," T4 said, typing at a furious pace.
"Why stop there? We can turn her into a true AI," T6 said, typing just as fast as T4.
"What is a true AI?" Mia asked, standing behind me.
The terminals and I turned to her in surprise.
"What?" Mia raised an eyebrow.
"You're wearing heels, how are you walking so silently?" T10 asked.
"You guys were too focused on working. I just walked," Mia shrugged. "So, what's a true AI?"
"It's a hypothetical AI with human-level intelligence, capable of learning and reasoning across many fields like any human being. Even the most sophisticated AI today can only follow its program," I explained.
"If we do this, Ingrid would be the first," T3 said.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body. 'Grand Circuits' upgrades my magical circuits to ridiculous levels. My capacity and efficiency per magic circuit is greater any other magus, and even magus from the Age of Gods would be shocked.
I grunt in discomfort at the process.
Thankfully, it only lasted for a few seconds, but it was painful.
Even the terminals groaned in discomfort before returning to work.
"What just happened? Did you get a perk, Ben?" Mia asked.
"I got an upgrade to my magical circuits and, apparently, so did the terminals," I rolled my shoulder.
Great, now I'm sore all over my body.
"Fascinating. You don't have to keep creating new terminals every time you gain a new perk," Mia hums.
That saves a lot of time.
"How much did it improve?" Mia asked.
"Magi from the Age of Gods would be shocked at how much power I have," I said drily.
"Oh my," Mia whispered, shocked.
"That isn't all. I can also feel that my reiryoku has dramatically increased," I said.
"Your magical energy and reiryoku are connected, so it makes sense it would also increase in size," Mia rubs her chin.
"Now I can use higher-level kido spells," I said with a smirk.
Mia checks her wristwatch.
"This is interesting and all that, but we got get going, Ben. The meeting is in ten minutes," Mia said.
"Right," I nodded.
"How do I look?" Mia asked.
She's dressed in a black suit featuring a pencil skirt, paired with a white shirt and a blue tie.
"Very professional. You got everything?" I asked.
"Yep," Mia pats her suitcase. "Thadeus gathered all the gold and silver ingots that I asked for."
"How much did you ask for?" I asked curiously.
"About my weight in gold and silver," Mia said casually.
"Isn't that amount going to raise questions?" I scratch my beard.
Large quantities of gold and silver aren't something that you can get anywhere.
"That's one of the beautiful things about meeting like this. Nobody cares where you got it. They just care if it's the real thing," Mia said with a smirk.
"Okay," I shrug.
That makes things easier for us.
I turn to leave the workshop before remembering something.
"Almost forgot this. Where's T1?" I asked.
"Here," T1 said, stopping typing.
"Did you finish it?" I asked.
"Yes. T2 and I had to pull an all-nighter to do it," T1 said as he tossed me a click pen.
I catch the click pen, look it over, and nod.
"Is that what I think it is?" Mia asked.
"Yeah. Here you go," I give the click pen to Mia.
"Thanks, T1 and T2," Mia said, grateful. "Sorry for the trouble."
T1 waves off Mia's apology.
"Don't worry about it. It was actually quite interesting to build that," T1 said.
"Thanks again. How do I use it?" Mia asked, looking at the click pen.
"Click it," T1 said.
She clicks the pen, and in an instant, it expands and transforms into a rapier.
Mia laughs softly in amazement, swinging the rapier a few times to test its balance before nodding, clearly pleased.
"I can't believe my pen idea. I said that as a joke," Mia said, turning the rapier into a pen with another click, and put it inside her jacket.
"I know, but I found the idea too interesting not give it a try," T1 said before returning to his code.
"Is it a good idea to take a weapon?" I asked.
"Technically, no, it isn't. But, trust me, they'll bring some kind of weapon. You don't go to a meeting like this unarmed," Mia said from experience.
"...one of these days, you have to tell me those stories," I said.
"Sorry, but a girl gotta keep her secrets," Mia said with a giggle. "Seriously, let's get going."
Mia puts on her mask, and I do the same.
We exit the workshop into a narrow alley, and across the street is the Bastion Grand.
Never thought I would ever go there.
Shame we aren't going to use the front doors.
"Penthouse, right?" I asked.
Mia nods.
I put my arm around her shoulder and use shunpo.
A few seconds later, we appear on the penthouse balcony.
Someone is there to greet us.
It's a man wearing a black suit, a white shirt paired with a black tie, gloves, and a full-head mask.
"Mr. Red and Mrs. Blue, welcome to the Bastion Grand," the man said politely.
"It's our pleasure to be here," I said politely.
"Are you Nova?" Mia asked.
The man shakes his head, "She's waiting inside. I'm one of her bodyguards. Call me Vox." He slips a tinker tech scanner from his jacket. "Before you two meet her, I'll need to check for bugs. Standard procedure," he said, his tone calm and practiced.
Okay, looks like we're going to find out if that click pen was a bad idea to bring.
Mai steps forward and sets her suitcase down at her side.
Vox scans her with the device from head to toe for a few seconds before nodding.
Looks like we're in the clear.
He turns to me.
I nod, and Vox does the same to me.
"Everything is in order," Vox tucks the scanner into his jacket. "Right this way," he said as he walked to a door and opened it.
Entering the penthouse, we're greeted by a wide room filled with lavish furniture.
Seated on a couch, a woman dressed in a tailored suit and a mask that hides the top half of her face, with her arms folded calmly in her lap. A man stands behind her, dressed the same way as Vox, his arms folded behind his back.
Vox moves to stand beside the man.
We sit on the couch across from them.
"Welcome," Nova said with a polite smile. "Would you like anything to drink or eat?"
"No, thank you. We're good," Mia said.
Nova nods, "Mrs. Blue, you spoke of wanting to exchange gold and silver for cash, yes?"
"That's correct,"Mia asked.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body, and nothing happens.
"How much did you bring?" Nova asked.
"A considerable amount. Is there a problem?" Mia asked cautiously.
"There's a limit of how much precious metal we're willing to purchase, as flooding the market could devalue it," Nova explains. "Before we continue, I do have to ask: were they created artificially?"
"No, they weren't," Mia said seriously.
Nova hums in response, giving no indication of whether she believes Mia.
"What would happen if they were?" I asked.
"We would have to refuse this exchange," Nova said frankly.
Good thing we have the Cidhna Mine.
This could have gone a lot worse.
"Where can I place it?" Mia asked.
"Ion," Nova said.
Ion, standing next to Vox, waves his hand and opens a small portal beside Mia.
Mia opens her suitcase and starts placing the gold and silver ingots inside the portal.
It takes about three minutes for her to put everything inside.
Ion dismisses the portal with another wave of his hand.
"You certainly brought a lot," Nova raised an eyebrow.
"I take that we reached our limit on precious metals," I said with a smirk.
"You got close," Nova said with a smile.
Ion walks to another room.
I give him a quick glance, then return my attention to Nova.
"He's going to deposit the cash into your accounts," Nova said, easily guessing what I was thinking. "No need to be nervous, Mr. Red."
"Sorry. First time doing something like this," I said with a weak chuckle.
"That's allright. Anything else I can help with?" Nova asked.
"Ah, yes. I would like to buy a large quantity of servers. Hold on, I have a list of the server specs that I want," I grab a piece of paper from my jacket and give it to Nova.
Nova reads the list before putting insed her breast pocket.
"How many would you like to buy?" Nova asked.
"Two hundred," I said.
It's tempting to ask for a thousand, but the workshop doesn't have the space for that many.
Two hundred is already pushing it.
"When would you like them to be delivered?" Nova asked.
"As soon as possible," I said.
Nova nods.
"We also would like to buy exotic resources," Mia said.
"Is that mundane or magical in nature?" Nova said with a knowing smile.
Wow, she just went and said like it was nothing.
"Oh, you know about the moonlit world. That makes things easier," Mia said, pleased. "Out of curiosity: what gave us away?"
"I have seen some of your fights against the gangs. Your gauntlets have transmutation circles," Nova explains calmly. "You're very talented with alchemy."
"Thank you," Mia said, forcing a note of happiness into her voice.
This could be a problem.
"So, what do you need?" Nova asked.
"We want to buy magical reagents in bulk," Mia asked.
"In bulk, you say," Nova crosses her arms. "It would be better to contact the Hordweardens Guild."
"Who is that?" I asked, confused.
"Magical organization from the British Isles. They control the market when it comes to buying and selling magical reagents. Among other things," Nova explains.
The British Isles?
Isn't the Mage Association supposed to be the only magical organization there?
Then again, we never checked if that was true in my world.
"Is that the magical branch of the Number Man services?" I asked, confused.
Nova chuckles, "Unfortunately, no, it isn't. It's a separate organization that we have some ties to."
"Okay. How do we contact them?" I asked.
"You could use their website," Nova said.
There's a website now?
"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Mia said in a dazed voice.
"Are you alright?" Nova asked.
"Sorry. It's been a while since we had contact with the moonlit world. I wasn't aware that you could buy magical reagents online...or that magi started using the internet," I said.
"It's the new generation that starts using it. From what I heard, it started with some forums, and it's just grown from there," Nova said.
That raises so many questions.
"How do I get access to these forums and the website from the Hordweardens Guild?" I asked.
Vox hands Nova a piece of paper.
"Thank you, Vox," Nova writes something on the paper. "Use this password to access this site. There you're going to find everything that you want."
I reach for the paper, but Mia snatched it away first.
She stares intently at the paper, as if demanding it reveal all its secrets.
Yep, that's the reaction I was expecting.
I nudge Mia, and she snaps out of it.
Mia coughs into her hand. "Sorry about this," she said, tucking the paper into her jacket.
Ion enters the room, walks toward us, and hands us two credit cards along with a piece of paper. After that, he goes back to his position behind Nova.
Let's see what-holy, that's a lot of zeroes.
"Those are your credit cards and your bank statement. You can use them anywhere you want," Nova said. "Is there anything else that you two want to discuss?"
"Yeah,huh, how do we deposit funds to buy the magical reagents?" I asked.
"You just need to enter your bank account," Nova said.
That makes things easier.
"Anything else?" Nova asked.
"Ah, no. That would be all. We got everything that we want for now. Thank you for meeting us, Nova. You were very helpful," Mia said, rising a little too fast.
"It was my pleasure. Mr. Red, I will inform you where you can pick up the servers later," Nova said.
"Thanks," I get up.
Mia and I walk to the balcony. I wrap my arma round her shoulders and use shunpo.
We appear in an alley on the other side of the city.
Mia takes off her mask and covers her face with a groan.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body. 'Self – Domination' makes that I have complety control over myself. My physical needs are almost non-existent, have a tigher control over my emotions, can mute my pain receptors at will. And, no external influences, like mind control or curses, can affect me unless I allow it.
That's an interesting one.
I will tell her later about this one.
"So, magus do use the internet," I take off my mask.
"Don't start, Ben," Mia said, massaging her temples.
"Okay. What's the problem? Is the idea of magus using the internet that shocking?" I raised an eyebrow.
"What? No, I know plenty of magus that use the internet," Mia said with a frown. "Look, I been hoping that whatever equivalents of the magical organization that I know, like the Mage Association, would function more or less the same way. There's nothing like the Hordweardens Guild in my old world. What else is different around here?" she asked, anxiety creeping into her voice.
"Calm down," I place my hand on her shoulder. "No one has come to silence us. We still have time to prepare for the worst."
At least, I hope so.
Mia takes a deep breath to calm herself.
"Right, right. Someone would have already come for us if they thought mystics were in danger of being exposed. We still have time," Mia said.
She offers me a reassuring smile, but her hands are still trembling just a little.
I pretend not see and smile in return.
"We need to get on top of this. We are going ho-"
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.
"-What is that noise?" Mia asked, looking around.
"It's my phone," I grab my phone. "I created a program that sends me news about gang activity."
Oh, that is not good.
"Hookwolf is attacking the Wards," I said grimly.
Mia pinches her nose in frustration before sighing.
"Let's go," Mia said.
/////////////////
Please leave a review. It helps me to stay motivated.
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If you like my stories and wish to support me, you can find me over at pa-tre-on (slash) Regulareader.
Or at Ko-fi.com/regulareader
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CP points: 200.
Flesh Focus (Generic Nasuverse) 200:
Alchemy that focuses on altering organic material. Usually living material at that. Specifically, this allows a person to modify their own body using alchemical processes or to create new lifeforms, such as homunculi or chimera, using alchemy.
Grand Circuits (Fate/Revelation Online) 100:
As a Lesser Grail, you were designed to be able to handle the power of seven heroic spirits. As a result, you have a ridiculous ability to channel Prana. Your capacity and efficiency per magic circuit is greater than any other magus including the greats like Barthomeloi Lorelei. Even Magi during the Age of the Gods would be shocked at how much raw power you have. Of course, you also have the ability to fill your circuits from your own power as well, so you are capable of safely producing enough Od to fill all of your circuits several times a day, although you will likely be relying on the Mana in the air more. You certainly will not be lacking in power if you ever need it.
To be clear, Ben didn't became a Lesser Grail. Only his magical circuits changed to match one.
Self – Domination (Fate/Strange Fake) 200:
For magi, hypnosis is one of the most common techniques that they learn. Not only to use against non-magic users to conceal their mysteries, but also in order to reign over themselves in the painful practices of magecraft. Yet while this is common, your technique is anything but ordinary. Much like the Cordelion's family magecraft, you are a master of the Domination magecraft. This technique is not meant to control others, but instead gives the user a perfect control over oneself. First, your physical needs become almost non-existent, allowing you to survive for months without any ingest of food, and your daily sleep needs are reduced to a few seconds of closing your eyes. Both any of your emotions, as well as any other receptions of pain or discomfort, can be completely muted at will, also allowing you to increase your willpower off the charts. And not only that, but your grasp over yourself is so powerful, that almost no other external influence is able to control or corrupt you, regardless of their potency. From mind control, to curses at the level of the Age of the Gods, taking over your mind or body is almost impossible as long as you don't let it.