The Tinkerer urged the Champion to attack.
Julian Winter was dangerous!
He was a trickster!
He played all of them!
They had to deal with him!
"I know what I'm doing," the Champion transmitted to the Tinkerer.
The Tinkerer became silent and just accepted the Champion's decision.
The Champion was the leader of Aegis, and they all had to follow him.
"What deal?" the Champion asked.
"I have Envy's Specter Core right here," Nick said. "I know how dangerous it is, and I know that you do not want to suppress it. You want it to die."
"I am willing to kill it right in front of you. Naturally, I want something in return."
The Champion just looked at Nick for a while.
"What if I don't accept?" he asked.
"Then, I will let Envy go. Envy is not a danger to me, but it is a danger to you. I suppressed Envy on my own. I didn't kill it. I suppressed it. This should tell you enough about my power," Nick transmitted.
"Except for the Null, there is nothing in this world better at staying hidden than me."
"Humanity does not have that luxury."
By now, two more Shields had appeared.
"What do you want?" the Champion asked after a while.
"500 suppressed Demons," Nick said. "Dump them into the middle of the ocean. After you've done that, I will kill Envy right in front of your eyes."
The Shields became surprised.
500 Demons?
Why would Julian want 500 Demons?!
"Why do you want so many Demons? What use do you have for them?" the Champion asked.
"You know how Specters grow," Nick transmitted. "You also know how I grow. I am the purest Specter because I grow from suffering."
"The Crimson Sea grows stronger by consuming Specters. I might not be able to grow stronger by consuming them, but I can kill them."
"I will take 500 Specters that produce a lot of Zephyx and distribute their Zephyx across the world. Millions of Hatchlings will be born and will cause suffering across the world."
"If I ask for ten Protectors,you wouldn't accept that trade, but I think you're fine with 500 Demons."
The Champion narrowed his eyes.
He could tell that Julian was speaking the truth.
Creating so many new Specters would cause quite a bit of suffering.
There was a good reason why humans rarely killed Specters.
Julian would not feed on a couple of cities or on Aegis.
No, he would feed on all of humanity.
And as hard as it was to admit, the Champion also knew that Julian was right.
500 Demons in exchange for Envy's death would be worth it.
The Champion talked to the other Shields for a while.
"We accept, but we will only hand the Specters over after you've killed Envy," the Champion said.
"That does not work anymore," Nick transmitted. "You betrayed me. You tried to kill me. You have broken our agreement. I have not. You are not the trustworthy one. I am the trustworthy one. I have never broken our agreement, and the day I do will be the last time I can work with Aegis."
"If I break my word now, how will I become an Early Adversary in the future? How will I become a Mid Adversary?"
"You do this trade on my terms, or there will be no trade."
Only the Champion heard Nick's words.
He remained silent for several seconds.
"Fine, we'll bring you your Demons," the Champion said.
"Good," Nick said. "Then, are you willing to consider another trade?"
"Another trade?" the Champion asked with furrowed brows.
"Another 500 Demons, but this time, I am willing to give you an Adversary that is easy to work with," Nick transmitted.
"We need more details," the Champion said.
"Just ready the Demons," Nick transmitted. "We will do one trade at a time. You put 500 Demons into the ocean. Then, I will kill Envy. After that, we can talk more about the trade. Just keep the Demons prepared for the second trade. I will be back in a week. That should be enough time."
Then, Nick shot into the water and vanished.
The Champion just looked at the place where Nick had just been.
"Prepare 1,000 Demons," he ordered.
The Politician furrowed his brows.
"That won't be easy."
"If he didn't lie, this will be worth it," the Champion said. "Our Heroes might grow slower, but we get a dead Adversary and a living Adversary in return."
"Also, if Julian breaks his word, we do not need to give him anything. Just prepare the Demons."
"As you command," the Politician said.
Over the next week, Aegis gathered Demons from all over the world in exchange for waiving several years of tributes.
A week later, a mountain of Containment Units was prepared in front of Aegis' headquarters.
Nick reappeared on time.
The Champion looked at the Protectors and Heroes gathered below him.
"Dump them in the ocean," he commanded.
They followed their orders and did just that.
"A deal's a deal," Nick said. "I don't think you cheated me, which is why I will only check the contents after I've killed Envy."
Then, Nick broke the Specter Core in his hands into pieces.
In an instant, a humongous amount of Zephyx scattered across the world.
This proved that Nick had just killed an Adversary.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much Zephyx.
"Now, I am going to check the contents of the Containment Units. Our second deal can happen after that," Nick said.
Aegis just waited.
Nick went to the Containment Units and broke them easily with his power.
He killed one Demon after the other.
In the end, he killed 300 Demons and suppressed the 200 remaining ones.
Aegis couldn't see what Nick was doing since the Salt Trident kept him hidden.
Nick rapidly transported the Demons to a secure location, making sure that there were no markers or trackers on them.
"You kept your word," Nick said as he reappeared.
"Now, for the second deal."
"I am willing to hand you a Mid Adversary that is easy to work with for the other 500 Demons."
Then, Nick pulled a Containment Unit out of the ground.
When the Tinkerer saw the Containment Unit, she became shocked.
How did Julian get his hands on such a strong Containment Unit?!
The Champion and Nick ironed out the details.
Eventually, Aegis dumped the other 500 Containment Units into the ocean.
In response, Nick threw the Containment Unit onto dry land.
"Happy to do business with you!" Nick transmitted before he rapidly dealt with the Containment Units inside the ocean.
Aegis went over to the Containment Unit and tried to open it.
However, it didn't have an employee entrance.
They needed to open the main door.
They did just that, and after five minutes, the door opened.
The Champion was ready to suppress the Specter inside.
Yet, when the door opened, there was nothing inside.
For a moment, the Champion believed that Julian had cheated them.
But then, he saw a piece of paper in the middle of the Containment Unit.
"The Salt Trident is willing to capitulate. As long as it stays alive and gets food, it is willing to work with you. It won't attack any humans anymore. You can go to it and directly suppress it."
When the Champion saw that, his eyes widened.
Then, he clenched his teeth in anger.
Technically, Julian had kept his word.
However, he hadn't actually put in any effort.
He simply forwarded a message.
In exchange for 500 Demons.
On this day, Nick's Specter name was born.
Referring to him with a human name didn't seem fitting anymore.
He was a fully fledged Specter now, and his existence was added to Aegis' new database.
He was no longer a confidential existence.
His title?
The Trickster.
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