Manny looked at Overlord Sandpike with a smile, and Overlord Sandpike looked back with furrowed brows.
Overlord Sunlight glanced at Manny, who was standing right beside her, before looking at Overlord Sandpike. She hadn't even considered that there might be Demons amongst the Overlords, but the way Manny had talked made it seem possible.
Yes, the oaths he asked them to swear were strange, but she hadn't seen many issues with them. What surprised her a bit was that Overlord Sandpike didn't have any issues with the first one, but as soon as Manny named the second one, he started finding problems with them.
By itself, the third oath also didn't seem strange. Humanity's territories encompassed the western half of Ayuvar. The only parts that weren't part of Humanity's territories were the middle of the Divide and the Abyss. Everything else belonged to Humanity.
Every human who had been born in Ayuvar was born within Humanity's territories. The only humans who existed outside of Humanity's territories were Spears, whenever they went on a mission, and the strongest Protectors, who defended the very front of the frontlines. No human would ever be outside of Humanity's territories while pregnant.
"Is there a problem with this oath?" Overlord Sunlight asked Overlord Sandpike.
"Yes," Overlord Sandpike answered. "I can't be sure where I was born. Infants don't tend to remember their birth. I can't swear on something like this."
"I swear on my life that I was born in Humanity's territories," Overlord Sunlight said.
The oath was sworn, and as expected, nothing happened.
"I don't see an issue with the oath," Overlord Sunlight said. "There are no humans born in Ayuvar but outside of Humanity's territories. Even if there were some, the chances of you being one of these is lower than one in a quadrillion or quintillion. There is no risk in swearing this oath."
"There is a risk," Overlord Sandpike said. "I refuse to take unnecessary risks."
"Unnecessary?" Overlord Sunlight asked. "Two Ascendants have died, and we finally have the chance to gain some information. I would take this chance, even if the chance of my death is one in a hundred."
"And what would we gain out of this?" Overlord Sandpike asked. "We can't resurrect the dead. What's done is done."
Overlord Sunlight narrowed her eyes as she looked at Overlord Sandpike. He was surprisingly and unusually uncooperative.
"Okay, how about something else?" Manny asked. "What if you repeat the first oath, but with a slight addition? Just swear that you are human, human in this case referring to Humanity's definition of a human."
Overlord Sunlight looked at Overlord Sandpike. She saw no issues in this oath. Once again, it was a one-time oath, not one that would keep restricting them for the remainder of their lives. Even more, Overlord Sandpike had already sworn that he was human. This little addendum at the end wouldn't make a difference.
"This is getting ridiculous," Overlord Sandpike said. "Why are we doing everything this Sage says? If things keep developing like this, we will be doing his bidding. The oaths might seem innocent and harmless at first, but what if there are succeeding oaths that will combine our previous oaths into a restrictive one? This is dangerous!"
"Alright," Manny said with a smile. By now, Overlord Sandpike had developed an aversion towards this Sage, saying things like "okay," "alright," "sure," and so on. Whenever this Sage said something like that, things became worse.
"I swear on my life that my enemies are the Demons and the humans working for the Demons. I swear on my life that Humanity, and humans as a whole, are not my enemy. I swear on my life that I want to repair this world," Manny said. "By the way, I also swear on my life that I'm human."
Nothing happened.
Overlord Sunlight looked at Overlord Sandpike with narrowed eyes. She had known Overlord Sandpike for a long time, and there had never been any issues between them. In fact, she had even considered him a companion. She wanted to trust Overlord Sandpike. She wanted to find reasons as to why he was acting like this.
Yet, her dedication to Humanity was unbreakable. If somebody betrayed Humanity, she would kill them. It wouldn't matter who it was. Her friends, her partner, her mother, her father, her child, anybody. Betraying Humanity represented betraying all humans, and she was human.
"Do you believe I'm on your side?" Manny asked the two of them.
"Yes."
"No."
It was clear which individual gave which answer.
Manny smiled as he looked at Overlord Sunlight. "Then, trust that no humans will come to harm today."
BOOOOOOOM!
20 Ascendants from the group suddenly pulled out their weapons and charged at the three Ascendants and seven Spirit Lords around them. The surrounding Spirit Lords couldn't even react before an Ascendant put their weapon close to their heads. The speed difference was just too great.
At the same time, they were bombarded with voice transmissions.
"We will not hurt you!"
"Do not resist!"
"This is for the good of Humanity!"
"You will understand!"
The three Senior Protectors, who had arrived with Overlord Sandpike, pulled out their weapons to fight back, but it didn't seem good. They were outnumbered.
"Kill the traitors!"
"Do not resist!"
One of these voice transmissions had been sent by Overlord Sandpike, while one had been sent by Overlord Sunlight.
At the same time, Overlord Sandpike pulled out his spear and attacked Manny with his Battle Rite.
Overlord Sunlight summoned a white orb, and a searing star appeared between her and Overlord Sandpike's attack.
Manny couldn't even react. These two Overlords were more than an entire Realm higher than him.
The shockwaves of the attack threw Manny into the distance, destroying parts of his body. If it hadn't been for Overlord Sunlight's defense, he would have been annihilated.
"Overlord Sunlight has betrayed Humanity!" Overlord Sandpike transmitted to all Overlords.
"Overlord Sandpike has betrayed Humanity!" Overlord Sunlight transmitted as well.
These two voice transmissions were instantaneous. There was no pause between Overlord Sandpike's first attack and his next attack.
Overlord Sunlight gritted her teeth. They were in close-quarter combat, but she was not a physical fighter. She specialized in ethereal attacks, launched from far away.
Overlord Sandpike shot forward, launching his Battle Rite again. This time, he aimed directly for Overlord Sunlight. This was a genuine attack, meant to kill her.
Resisting this attack would be troublesome. Most likely, she wouldn't have enough Energy and focus to protect Manny as well.
The attack arrived.
BANG!
A red spear broke through Overlord Sandpike's Battle Rite and kept shooting towards his body.
Overlord Sandpike broke the enemy attack, which had been weakened by his own Battle Rite already, but his stance became unstable.
BANG!
Someone appeared behind Overlord Sandpike as his body turned into bloody mist.
Senior Protector Blooddrought had arrived.
As a One-Infused Ascendant, she was considerably stronger than Overlord Sandpike. Killing him hadn't been difficult.
Everyone stopped moving as they looked at the bloody mist that used to be Overlord Sandpike's body.
It did not turn into a Demon.
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