Gyou fought to suppress another shudder
and was mostly successful. There wasn’t any way, not a single
way that this Zoalord could know about the Remover. And there
was even less of a chance that he would know about Murakami’s
son. It was just not possible.
"I’ve no idea what you’re talking
about," Gyou said, as calmly as he was able.
"Don’t try to lie to
me,
Reholt. I know you found it here," the other Zoalord said with a
great deal more calmness than Gyou felt at the moment. "And I
also know that only you would be foolish enough to try and use
the device for your own ends. Now, tell me where the Unit
Remover is, and I will perhaps reconsider my judgment of you."
It took a great amount of Gyou’s
vaunted self-control to keep his face from revealing how utterly
shocked he was. That this Zoalord already knew all about the
Remover and what Gyou had planed to do with it, it was no small
thing. But I suppose I should
be thankful that my other little project is still a secret. But
still, how could he have even known about the Remover? I
remember that Balkus once told me about another Zoalord, one who
had greater power than… No, no it couldn’t be… Is
this
Alkanphel?
"I truly do not know what you are
talking about," Gyou lied with increasing desperation. A bead of
sweat trickled down the back of his neck.
"I warn you, Reholt," Alkanphel said,
seeming only slightly annoyed. "I will not tolerate betrayal
from one of my own."
"Betrayal?"
Gyou asked, feigning hurt. Behind him, Gyou sensed Balkus
teleporting away and wondered just why the other Zoalord had
even bothered coming in the first place. "From
me?
I would never do anything that was not in the best interests of
Chronos."
"I’m sure you wouldn’t," and
Alkanphel actually sounded
sarcastic as he said that.
"And, if you would just hand over the Remover like a good boy, I
would be willing to overlook your recent deeds at this time.
Since I do in fact require all twelve Zoalords for my plan."
Gyou’s first reaction was rage, that
anyone would patronize him in such a way was an affront to his
pride. Then Gyou remembered just what kind of creature he was
dealing with: a Zoalord that would easily be able to both defeat
and annihilate the other twelve Overlords with ease. If Balkus’
stories were to be believed, of course. But with what he was
feeling now from Alkanphel, Gyou was more inclined to believe
them.
It was not something that Gyou
liked to have to admit, but he was at least practical enough to
acknowledge when an adversary outmatched him. It was one of the
reasons that he had survived for so long.
I can’t believe that, after all I
went through to obtain the Remover, he just comes along and
decides to take it from me. Well, I suppose I should be thankful
for small favors. He still doesn’t know about my other project,
at least.
"What other project are you referring
to, Reholt?" Alkanphel asked.
Gyou nearly swallowed his tongue. "Other
project? Where did you ever get the idea that I had another
project aside from the Remover?" Gyou asked, trying to keep his
voice from giving away the fact that he was lying.
Alkanphel’s felinoid eyes narrowed
still further, and Gyou realized at last that it hadn’t been
anything in his face or voice that had given him away.
Alkanphel, of course, possessed the same kind of telepathic
powers that all Zoalords had; only his were enhanced to the
nth
degree. Gyou, who had been too distracted by surprise to erect a
proper mental barrier, knew that it was most likely too late for
him to convince Alkanphel that there was nothing unfavorable
going on.
But still Gyou had to make at least one
last attempt, doomed as it may very well have been.
"Tell me, Reholt," Alkanphel
ordered, and there was no mistaking the fact that it
was
an order this time. "What is this other project of yours?"
"I have already told you, Lord
Alkanphel, that I have no projects other than the Remover," Gyou
lied, trying to subtly put up a strong enough mental shield that
Alkanphel wouldn’t be able to tell that he was still lying.
Even with his enhanced eyesight,
Gyou could barely see what happened next. All he knew was that
Alkanphel had been standing in front of him one second, and in
the next Gyou had found his head in the powerful grip of the
First Zoalord. He could see Alkanphel’s golden eyes start to
glow, and the next thing that Gyou knew he was…
Standing in the forest looking down at
Murakami’s son… carrying the boy down to the disused laboratory
at the lowest level of Mt. Minakami… leaving the child in the
care of his two loyal scientists and giving them specific
instructions about what to do with him… planning what to do once
he had both the Remover and Murakami’s son fully prepared…
Gyou gasped for air once the connection
was severed, feeling as if he had just been violated. He
supposed that that was in a way just what had happened.
"A
child,
Reholt?" Alkanphel sounded supremely disgusted. "You were low
enough to use a human who has existed for barely seven years as
your warrior?"
Gyou could just
feel
the waves of Alkanphel’s anger radiating to fill the space. The
entire hallway, even with as large as it was, seemed barely
adequate to contain the pure fury that the First Zoalord was
giving off in abundance.
-I am claiming this Kenji Murakami
as my own,- Alkanphel’s rage
was all the more potent for being controlled.
-You are not to try and influence the
boy in any way. Do I make myself clear, Reholt?-
-Yes, Lord Alkanphel. Perfectly
clear,- Gyou fumed. There was
nothing he could do about it, of course, since Alkanphel would
overpower him in a heartbeat. But it still rankled Gyou to have
to admit that.
"Now, Reholt. There is still the matter
of the Remover," Alkanphel said, with such calm that one might
think that Gyou’s and his conversation of the past few minutes
had never happened. "Will you hand it over to me quietly, or…"
Gyou’s own rage, less controlled than
Alkanphel’s but no less potent, erupted then. He was tired of
being treated like a Zoanoid. He was not just some expendable
piece of cannon fodder to be tossed aside like such at the
slightest whim. He was the Twelfth Zoalord, and if he had to
kill the First to prove his own worth, then so be it.
"Just hand over the Remover to you?
After all I went through to get it?" Gyou chuckled coldly.
"Never."
Gyou’s Control Zoacrystal lit up, as he
transformed into his well nigh invulnerable Zoalord form. The
blast of pressure and energy that heralded the transformation
caved a large hole in the floor and blew an equal-sized hole in
the ceiling. Falling more than leaping through the hole in the
floor, Gyou landed in front of a very surprised Zoanoid. Paying
no mind to the queries of the lower soldier, Gyou ran as fast as
he was able.
He had to get to the basement before
Alkanphel did, and Gyou could only hope that Alkanphel did not
know his way around Mt. Minakami. After all, Gyou himself had
only just managed to memorize enough teleport points to be able
to comfortably get around inside the base. Hopefully Alkanphel,
who had presumably never been to Mt. Minakami before, would not
be able to follow him.