Hesabeth let out a small huff as she decided to ignore Gina’s disrespect, and she brought out her fan and unfurled it to cover her lower face before she spoke.
"Jason Marc is doing fine. As of now, he is resting from exhaustion and I do not know when he will be waking up."
"Where is he? I want to come see him."
Gina was adamant about going to meet Jason, but Hesabeth snapped her fan closed and waved Gina away.
"Unfortunately, I cannot allow that at this moment. Jason’s body is going through significant changes from the previous encounters, as well as his absorption of the Blood Oath. Until the changes have manifested fully, it is best for him to be isolated from all forms of magic that can interfere with that."
"What!? What are you even talking about!?"
Gina was seeing red! Normally, Gina would never be able to speak to Hesabeth this way because of Hesabeth’s Bias, but at this moment, Gina’s anger over Hesabeth’s recent actions was more than strong enough to suppress her desire to not get on Hesabeth’s bad side! Gina couldn’t believe this woman! Hesabeth was the one who put Jason through the most difficult situation, and now she was talking about him like they were friends!? What gives Hesabeth the damn right to even say his name!?
Farlow put his hand on Gina’s shoulder when he sensed Gina’s magic leaking from her body in angry waves, and Gina turned to him with a glare. But Farlow just motioned for Gina to move aside and calm down, and Gina’s hands squeezed into fists before she turned away and allowed Farlow to move towards the crystal ball. Once Farlow was facing Hesabeth, he asked a simple question.
"The changes you are referring to. Is it the Blood Metamorphosis?"
Hesabeth hummed in response to Farlow’s words before she nodded. Blood Metamorphosis was a phenomenon that every new Dead Apostle went through after receiving their Blood Oath. It was regarded as a sacred rite of passage, and during the Metamorphosis, the complete Blood Oath would fuse itself to the new Dead Apostle and allow them to control their new subordinates and powers easily. Jason was supposed to have gone through the metamorphosis right after he was given the Blood Oath by Gillian, but since Hesabeth had interfered with her Bias, Jason had been forced to use his Vympir powers the way they were. Now that the battle was finally over, Jason’s body was going to need to adapt, so he would have to be isolated for a few days so he could fully accept the Blood Oath. Farlow understood that this was a necessary thing, but he also knew that Hesabeth had some ulterior motive for wanting to help Jason with his Metamorphosis. Hesabeth could have just as easily brought Jason to Farlow’s kingdom to allow him to recuperate, but the fact that Hesabeth took Jason elsewhere was troubling. Farlow’s eyes narrowed as he spoke with a threatening tone.
"I hope you are aware of your current situation, Hesabeth. Not only have you caused significant damage to the world with your anger, but you have also incurred heavy penalties on your world by the council. We have warned you many times about exerting the full force of your Bias, and it appears that all our warnings have fallen on deaf ears. You will be punished accordingly, and you would be wise not to cause even more damage to your already poor reputation by harming Jason."
Hesabeth’s expression soured the longer she listened to Farlow speak. It was obvious that she was not interested in anything Farlow had to say, but she also knew that what he was saying was correct. There would be serious repercussions for what she had just done, but Hesabeth just didn’t care. Hesabeth was a woman who believed in the superiority of her own existence. Her whims were the will of the world, and her desires were the duty of all living things. The only reason the council even had rules to punish her for using her Bias was because she allowed them to place those rules in the Primordial Treaty, and if she wished to ignore the rules, then there was nothing that they could do against her! Hesabeth was only a prisoner to the law because she permitted it!
But Hesabeth wasn’t an irrational person, and she was also not a fool. She knew that if she refused to follow the law, then she would be setting a precedent that could lead to the total collapse of the law. If one member of the council refused to receive punishment for what they did, then that meant that no member of the council needed to receive punishment for what they did, and it wouldn’t be long before the law became just another useless piece of paper, and the world was thrown into another Period of Lawlessness! So for the sake of peace and the future, Hesabeth decided that she would simply accept her fate.
"You and the rest of the council may do whatever they wish. I am aware of the law, and I will accept whatever punishment is decided as a consequence for my actions. And as for Jason, you can be assured that I will not harm him. Once his Metamorphosis is completed, he will be free to do whatever he wishes."
"What is the meaning of this!?"
Gina immediately cried out from the side when she saw that the two rulers were starting to agree to something that she didn’t like! Gina was not interested in hearing anything from Hesabeth, and she didn’t care whether Hesabeth was going to hurt Jason or not! Gina just wanted Hesabeth to bring Jason back to her! Gina glared down at Hesabeth with a snarl.
"Bring Jason back to me right now or else -!"
"Or else what?"
Hesabeth’s sharp tone cut through Gina’s argument like a knife, and Gina grit her teeth in anger as she felt a deep frustration fill her heart! Hesabeth knew that there was nothing Gina could do to her, even if she wanted to! Even the great Primordials couldn’t harm Hesabeth, so a mere SSS Rank like Gina was like a child in front of her! But Hesabeth finally let out a small sigh to the side as she realised that Jason would not be happy about her treating Gina in this way, and she finally spoke calmly.
"Rather than wasting time despairing about your current situation, should you not busy yourself with trying to get better so that by the time Jason returns, you will be able to stand beside him once again. Do not think for a moment that you are the only one who cares about Jason. I care about him a great deal, and as a result, I also care about those that he cares about. I would advise you to nurture the power within you and train it up to a suitable level. It will take a week for Jason’s Metamorphosis to be completed, and it would be disappointing if he returns to meet you at the same level that he left you. That is all I have to say. My liaisons will be in touch to update you on Jason’s progress."
"Wait, Hesabeth! Wait -!"
Gina leaned forward desperately to try to say something, but before she could get a word out, the crystal ball glitched and turned off! An intense surge of anger filled Gina’s body once she realised that Hesabeth was not going to return Jason, and she let out a loud curse in frustration! This was bullshit! Gina slammed her fist on the table, and Farlow cleared his throat from behind her and spoke in a calm tone.
"I would appreciate it if you didn’t destroy that communication device. It is quite rare."