Soverick's eyes narrowed as thoughts whirled through his head. He has noticed a pattern. It is little at best. It can be considered as grasping at straws but it is something. Jarkon asked him to use his title to kill him. Salvini also did the same when it became just the two of them.
It is absurd but it is almost as if she wants him to use his title. That makes him highly suspicious. He knows that something can be gained when he uses his title. But she shouldn't be able to gain it in the competition. After all, he can't die in this competition.
That didn't put him at peace though. Because if anyone can pull something impossible off, it might be Salvini. He himself has managed to kill a competitor despite the respawn and resurrection mechanism of the Arena. It will be an underestimation of Salvini to think she can't pull it off somehow.
He asked her, "What is it like to use the title of the child of the plane?"
She winked at him and replied, "You'll see."
"If you're not going to tell me then say so. Trying to play tricks on me won't work. It only makes you look silly."
"I gave you an answer." She argued.
He said coldly without looking at her. "It is just not the answer that I wanted. You said you will be useful to me. You said you wanted to help me. Was that all a lie?"
She insisted, "I am trying my best. I have tried my best. But some things can't be done."
He didn't say anything anymore. He kept looking around him. He is looking at everything and anyone but not her.
"I guess I should leave." She said quietly.
He maintained his silence. She nodded and made to leave his side but then stopped and turned to him again.
"You know what. You have some blame for all of this. This wouldn't have been so difficult if not for what you did." She said as she gestured to their surrounding.
"I know."
That surprised her. "You do?"
He replied still focused on the horizon. "Yes, I do know. I am not like you people with the bloodline of the sages. I may not be able to see the future but I can see well into the past so I know how all of this happened and I know what part I played in letting it happen."
She moved closer to him and asked. "Would you have done otherwise?"I think you should take a look at
"No. I would have killed all those people again if only to spite them. The fact that I know what they were planning doesn't mean that I have to restrict my actions. It just means that I can beat them in their own game."
"So you do not regret it by a little bit?"
That question made him pause before he answered. "I do regret it. At that time, I didn't know that this competition will be held. If I had known then I wouldn't have caused the calamity of the child of the plane. This competition gave them an opportunity that wouldn't cost them their lives to try and put me down."
He paused and sighed before continuing. "It doesn't matter anyway. From what I know, there's nothing I could have done to curb them. They would have come after me anyways. This competition just granted them an opportunity and they intend to capitalize heavily on my action to give themselves an advantage."
"It is good that you are not clueless."
Her words made him glare at her but she wasn't deterred.
"You can think of the bright side of things. If you achieve a spectacular victory here then it will only empower you. I know that you can eke out a victory on your own but that isn't good enough. That's why I am here. I will help you to achieve a spectacular victory. Then you can turn your situation around and disarm the opposition."
This current adversary that he is about to fight began their work a long time before this competition. Actually, their enmity started even before he was born. Any child of the plane would have faced them just like the first sage faced them.
It is an hatred older than him. Nothing he could have done would have stopped them from being enemies. His action of killing all those people when they came to challenge him didn't cause the problem. It only granted them ammunition in gathering supporters for their cause.
Salvini is right about the opportunity that this problem is granting him. They aim to besmirch him but if he turns the table on them and defeats them soundly then it works in his favor. He just doesn't know what's in it for her. Those with the bloodline of the sages always put the plane first. They will always do what's good for the plane. But that doesn't mean that they can't have selfish reasons for it.
Sages are known to have plans within plans. There's no reason why they can't have two or more aims for their plans. So Salvini might have a selfish reason. He doubts that becoming a lieutenant for the divine crown is reward enough for her helping him.
Sure, his lieutenants will have the same world empowerment as the emperor crowns in the next challenge but Salvini can get an emperor crown if she wants and she can even have her own lieutenants. So what does she really want by helping him?
He is already in one tussle with the first sage. Salvini is an extra burden he can do without. But she stuck to him and offered to help him. She also expects him to believe her actions to be selfless simply because she said it is good for the plane.
He let his thoughts stew in his head for several moments.
Then he said suddenly, "I have a question for you. I am sure you have the answer to it and that you can answer me if you want."
It is a question that he has wanted to ask her right from the moment he saw her message.