In the courtyard of the old manor, the white-haired witcher stopped in his tracks, because a portal opened beside him, and a red-haired sorceress stepped out of it.
Geralt approached and kissed both her cheeks. "Triss, why are you here? Didn't you say earlier that certain political factors prevented you from leaving the palace?"
The sorceress hugged him with a sweet smile. "The situation changed, because an outstanding witcher, Victor, saved Adda. Hey! Don't be like that, he's just a younger brother to me. In my heart, you're still the best! In short, the princess's explanation changed the king's mind, so now I'm free to move around. And I guessed that you would need help against Azar Javed!"
Geralt smiled and nodded. "I may never like portals, but I'm glad you made it. Come on! We need to move quickly. Victor is inside."
Passing through the blasted-open gate, the witcher and the sorceress entered the old manor.
...
In the underground cavern beneath the old manor, inside the laboratory, the conversation between Jacques and Victor continued.
Facing the witcher's accusation, the Order's grand master remained unmoved. "The suffering happening before your eyes, is that why you killed Azar? Because you felt his actions were too cruel? And yet, Handsome Guy by the Sea, were you not the one who enthusiastically wrote down conjectures and allowed their research to advance by leaps and bounds?"
"Please! You were the one who had them rob my notes, and they were the ones who performed the experiments. Trying to pin the blame on me is changing the concept. Don't try to shift responsibility!
"Now that I think back, when I left Vizima last year, the Records on the Effects of Herbal Reagents on the Human Body I left in my room were probably stolen by someone you sent too! So this is what the Order is?" Victor retorted.
Jacques answered without the slightest hesitation. "It was indeed I who sent someone to take it. That document saved us a great deal of time, so I must thank you for your help. And from that point onward, I paid even more attention to you.
"At first, I still could not be completely certain of your talent. But that glowing rainbow alchemy you performed just now, I know very clearly that there was not a trace of magical fluctuation in it. And yet that wondrous halo contained an unbelievable power. The instant it swept past, it could even suppress my magic. That is an unknown beyond everything currently known to exist! The beam of light that pierced heaven and earth over Sapopan for three whole days must have been a transformation of that halo."
Victor remained silent. Since it had been seen, there was nothing to explain.
The candlelight in the laboratory flickered, shining over Jacques's full plate armor, making the flaming rose glimmer.
"Perhaps this is destiny's arrangement. I originally came because I sensed Azar's betrayal and wanted to intercept him, yet by fortune I met you instead!
"With my power and your alchemy, we can save the world. This is not only my fortune, it is yours as well, and the fortune of everyone in the world!
"So I sincerely invite you, young man. This is the third time I have invited you. Will you join the Order of the Flaming Rose?"
Listening to the wails and roars from the cage area, and watching the serious Jacques, Victor sighed softly. If Jacques really was like Ciri, crossing time and space countless times in search of hope to save the world from the White Frost, then of course he would not care about a few sacrifices.
History had many such people. They carried all sorts of noble goals and ideals, and so they could commit every crime against humanity with a clear conscience.
Victor combed his left hand through his hair, pushing his parted hair back into a slicked-back style. "Thank you for your invitation... In my homeland, Bell Town, east of Zerrikania, there is a story about a king who rode three times to the cottage of a reclusive sage.
"It tells of a hermit whose wisdom was of great help to the nation, so the ruler personally visited the sage's humble cottage three times to invite him into service. From then on, three personal visits became the highest courtesy paid when seeking talent.
"I am moved by your sincerity, and I also thank you for your past kindness and help, but I refuse!" The young man's tone was firm and decisive, allowing no doubt.
Closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, Jacques opened them and shook his head. "What a pity. I must refuse your refusal!"
Then he walked toward Victor step by step, his iron boots striking the ground with dull, steady clacks.
The witcher knew perfectly well that the other party intended to capture him. In the worst case, he might even be turned into an Artifact Compression statue by magic.
He could only try whatever might still work. The instant the Order's grand master stepped within sword range, Victor attempted to activate Axii. At the same time, he drew Lightning Cutter from his herbal satchel and thrust it toward Jacques's heart.
Just as it seemed about to succeed, time stopped!
Then he realized, No... it hasn't stopped. I just can't move...
Was the Order's grand master truly this terrifyingly powerful!?
The witcher's heart was filled with shock. It was understandable that Axii had failed, but at this moment, not only was his whole body bound in the air by magic, maintaining this assassin-striking-at-the-king posture, what was even more terrifying was that even Lightning Cutter had been fixed in his hand by magic. That was anti-magic metal!
Jacques smiled calmly and leisurely. He reached out, took Lightning Cutter from him, and tried it. Discovering that it could only be placed into the outer layer of the herbal satchel, and that he could not open the space inside, his expression grew even more interested.
"What an interesting herbal satchel. It has no magical fluctuations, yet possesses a space-folding function, and can even store anti-magic weapons. Used properly, it could produce wondrous effects. Could this also be something you made with alchemy? You truly are a treasure of a young man!"
Victor was pinned in midair with nothing to say, both physically and psychologically. However, his eyes hinted to the person behind the Order's grand master that he should run quickly and not stay here.
That person was the School of the Wolf witcher, Berengar. Although Victor did not know why he was here, it was clear that he intended to ambush Jacques, and Victor did not have much hope.
Even if Berengar could throw a dozen dimeritium bombs in a row and fill the air with the fragrance of anti-magic metal, this grand master would probably still be able to blink away and escape danger.
Sure enough, Jacques waved his hand next. With a thunderous boom, Berengar, who had pounced at him, was blasted away by a shockwave, slammed into the wall, and collapsed weakly to the ground.
His strength was indeed overwhelming, but this display actually gave Victor hope. If the knightly grand master had just frozen Berengar in place as well, then there would truly have been no way to fight. Yet the result was that he used a shockwave to repel him. Perhaps Jacques had used this overwhelmingly dominant method to hold Victor in place in order to crush his will to resist, and it was not actually as effortless as it seemed.
Jacques glanced at Berengar and recognized him as the Wolf School witcher who had once been involved in Salamandra's affairs. Then he glanced at Victor.
He raised a gauntleted fist as large as a sand pot. "Vic, on your account, I will pardon his attack! But you are far too special. Who knows what other strange weapons you have? Perhaps you can even pull bombs out of your herbal satchel. So it would be better if you rested for a while first!"
In the corner, the injured Berengar could only widen his eyes and watch as Jacques threw punch after punch, striking left and right, beating Victor unconscious in midair. Then, with a wave of his hand, he opened a golden portal and disappeared from the dim underground cavern while carrying the young man.
Not long after.
Berengar recovered his breath and got to his feet with his sword as support. Suddenly, amid the wailing from the cage area, he recognized familiar voices.
"I didn't expect Azar to actually die here!? A clean beheading, a beautiful cut, but it doesn't look like it was made with a hand-and-a-half sword. Could Victor have done it?"
A bright female voice replied, "Just investigate and find out! You witchers and your ancestral skills. Since Azar is already dead, I'll go to the laboratory first. There might still be something valuable there!"
A mellow male voice said, "...I'd better go with you. Who knows what other dangers Salamandra's lair might still hold? Look at these cages. This evil place must be destroyed completely."
The bright female voice said, "I could not agree more."
Not wanting to cause a misunderstanding, Berengar, having evened out his breathing, struck the wall with the hilt of his sword to make a sound. "White Wolf, come over here quickly. It's me. I have something very important to tell you! It's about Victor."
...
Vizima, the Order of the Flaming Rose headquarters, the grand master's office.
Seeing Grand Master Jacques de Aldersberg walk out of the roaring portal, Rose Knight Siegfried approached in great agitation.
"Grand Master, something very serious has happened. The city guards suddenly declared us rebels. By the king's order, they launched an attack on us and demanded that we lay down our weapons and surrender! Many knights who refuse to accept it have already begun fighting!"
After speaking, he noticed the person the Order's grand master was carrying in his hand. It was, astonishingly, his witcher friend, Victor of Bell Town. "This... Grand Master, what is going on? Victor, he..."
Without answering the Rose Knight's question, the knightly grand master put the witcher down, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes in thought.
Releasing his magic, Jacques could sense that many knights around the perimeter of the headquarters had fallen into chaos after receiving the order. Only the few completed Tyrants, fully armed, stood unmoving, worthy of being called pillars in the flood.
In addition, space-anchoring interference devices had already been set up all around the Order's headquarters. Entry was allowed, but exit was not. Clearly, King Foltest was determined to catch him this time.
I never expected... that all these constant accidents would ultimately lead to an unprecedented result. This time, I have truly been trapped.
Siegfried, standing before Jacques, did not know what had happened. He could only wait silently. The things he had encountered over the past half month were all unprecedented.
From the moment he had been sent to Sapopan to investigate the mansion incident, the beam of light that pierced heaven and earth for three days had been very strange. After he returned, Keira Metz disappeared first, then Princess Adda's curse suddenly relapsed, throwing the higher ranks into chaos.
Next, the non-humans rioted, and the slums and Temple Quarter fell into disaster. After much difficulty, the king returned and the smoke of battle gradually settled. Yet the Order was suddenly declared rebel, and the city guards turned against them. Finally, the briefly vanished grand master returned, carrying Siegfried's good friend in his hand.
Siegfried had no answers to any of these questions, so the Rose Knight could only wait for the grand master he served loyally to give him an answer.
At last, Jacques opened his eyes. "Listen, Siegfried. I want to know, after so many things have happened, even after being declared rebels by the king, do you still believe in me? Do you still believe in the Order's original purpose?"
"Uh..." Siegfried froze for a moment, but looking at Jacques's firm eyes and serious face, he took a deep breath. "Yes. I still believe, unwaveringly!"
"Then let us silently recite the oath together!" the Order's grand master said.
"The White Frost is coming. From this day forth, I shall take my watch, until death releases me.
"I shall take no wife, hold no land, father no children.
"I shall wear no crown and seek no glory.
"I shall live and die at my post.
"I am the sword in the darkness, the guard before disaster.
"The flame that withstands the cold, the rose at daybreak.
"The horn that awakens glory, the shield that guards the realm.
"I pledge my life and honor to the Flaming Rose, for this day and all the days to come."
If Victor could have heard this oath, he would definitely have sighed that Jacques had not failed his name as a traveler from another world. Unfortunately, there was no such possibility.
And after reciting the oath, Siegfried's face flushed with excitement. "I understand, Grand Master. I am sorry my will was not firm enough. I actually wavered slightly just now. I have thought it through now. I will fight for the Flaming Rose until the final moment!"
After speaking, he turned to leave, but the knightly grand master pressed a hand on his pauldron and pulled him back. "Do not be hasty. I am glad you have such resolve. Only with this can I entrust the most important mission to you!"
Thinking that there was an even more important duty to be entrusted to him, Siegfried bowed deeply without hesitation. "Grand Master, I will not disappoint you. I swear to complete the mission even at the cost of my life!"
"Very good." Jacques raised his boot and lightly kicked the witcher lying on the floor. His voice was dignified. "Then take Victor to the woods outside the city. Protect him until he wakes up! This is my order!"
"W-wait, Grand Master. But there is still fighting here!" The Rose Knight did not understand this order.
"It is precisely because this place will fall into battle that he must be moved away. He cannot be harmed." With no intention of explaining in detail, Jacques raised a hand to stop Siegfried from asking further. "If you still acknowledge me as your grand master, then do this final thing for me!"
Hearing the ominous meaning in those words, Siegfried trembled all over. "Grand... Grand Master, then what happens afterward? What will become of the Flaming Rose? And I... where should I go?"
Jacques suddenly laughed with extraordinary cheer. "Hahahaha, I do not even know where the end of the universe is, so how would I know that?
"When Victor wakes up, tell him that if he truly feels he owes me anything, then he should not let things become worse!"
As soon as he finished speaking, magic surged out and suppressed the Rose Knight. Jacques grabbed Victor with one hand and Siegfried with the other, directly opened a secret passage, threw the two of them inside, and then closed it with a bang.
With no more worries behind him, he walked back to his seat with heavy clacks and sat down. With a thud, he placed his iron boots on the desk, opened a drawer, and took out a dimeritium amulet to play with.
"Every tiny change is a good thing!"
"Although the ending came a little suddenly, this is fine too. I'm tired as well, old friend!"
"I truly want to return to my childhood, to those carefree days..."
He did not stay for long. Jacques soon left the room. As for the dimeritium amulet he had tossed onto the desk, the slanting sunset outside the window shone over it, just enough to reveal the words engraved on the bottom.
For Alvin.
...
Vizima, outside the blockade around the Order of the Flaming Rose headquarters.
A portal opened with a roar, and the White Wolf, Geralt of Rivia, and Triss Merigold walked out.
The white-haired witcher staggered. "Damn it, I still hate portals!"
"But without a portal, who knows how long it would have taken us to get back? And who knows where Victor would have been taken by then?" the sorceress replied playfully.
Seeing the battle inside the blockade, then sensing carefully, Triss said, "The spatial anchors have all been sealed. There is no way to teleport out. Looks like the fighting inside is intense, and Jacques should be in there too!"
Geralt drew his steel sword. "Good. We'll settle this here!"
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