"So what's for breakfast, Helena?"
"They have some french toast today but there's not a lot left."
"Hey!" Malus snapped, "Don't ignore me!"
"Malus, just go home before I call Momo." Roko sighed.
"What's wrong? Too cowardly to face me in combat?"
"I'm not going to waste time fighting my own allies." Roko replied, "As tenuous as that description is. I have to find a stonemason to fix the fort and that's not going to be easy."
"Do you have no honor? No courage?"
"I thought you didn't even want the leadership."
"That's right. I don't care about this city or it's people. I just want to punch Sirius and Kajou in the face. But now you're on that list too, Roko."
"And why's that?" Roko yawned.
"Isn't it obvious?" Malus pointed at the nameless girl, "You bought a slave! That's deplorable behavior!"
The girl jolted and turned to Roko nervously. Roko looked over at her blankly before turning back to Malus, "And?"
"And?" Malus frowned.
"Did you want me to leave a small child like this in the slave system? I'm not happy about it either but I did what I had to do. What about you? What have you done for anybody?"
"Trying to disguise your sins as charity are you?" Malus sneered, "Truly shameful. Your concept of right and wrong are twisted beyond belief."
"Come off it." Helena scoffed, "At least Roko did something. If you were in his position would you be able to help somebody like that?"
"If everyone was as generous as your thinking, we'd have solved world hunger by now." Malus sneered, "The truth is that man wanted free labor and to feel superior to someone else. That's why he bought a slave! There is no other moral truth to this fact!"
"The truth doesn't care about your interpretation of it." Roko replied, "I know the reasons why I did what I did and I don't need to waste my time convincing you of something you'll never believe."
"Now you're getting it." Malus sneered, "There's no talking your way out of this. If you want to prove yourself then the only way you can do so is to fight me!"
"You want to wait for Momo to show up then?"
"Ha! Calling on your little guard dog because you can't beat me yourself?!" Malus gloated, "I'll have you know I've already beaten her!"
"Beaten who?"
Malus' expression dropped as he heard Momo show up with a clueless smile on her face.
"Hey Momo!" Helena grinned.
"Hey!" Momo smiled as she rejoined with Roko's group, "Is it me or does it feel like there's going to be a fight here soon?"
"How...do you know?" Melia blinked.
"Killer warrior instinct." Momo nodded sagely.
"Well I think you can surmise who's picking a fight here." Helena chuckled.
"Malus!" Momo turned to the slightly shaken rebel, "Are you trying to throw your weight around again?"
"He was trying to provoke Roko into a fight with him." Roswell explained.
"Ooo, I'd like to see that!" Momo nodded.
"He also said he beat you?" Melia frowned.
"How?" Momo blinked, "We fought several rounds yesterday while you three were gone and I beat him every time."
"Damn, seriously?" Helena grinned.
"Yeah. I just kept flipping him over and over." Momo laughed, "Didn't even draw my sword."
"T-That's not even remotely true!" Malus cried.
"You sure? Your groupies over there could probably confirm that themselves." Momo replied, "Guys?"
"U-Uhhhh..." The groupies looked around nervously, "Y-Yeah, I think I remember Malus winning one of them! I-I think."
"Yeah! There was at least one win right?! Like you fought a lot and due to the law of really big numbers or something there has to have been one moment where Malus won!"
"You gotta give him one win, he deserves at least that much!"
"You guys are so fired." Malus growled.
"Well I don't mind fighting you one more time." Momo grinned, "But I also really want to see you fight Roko!"
"Please no." Roko sighed.
"Come on Roko, I know you can beat him! He's not that strong!"
"I'm not as strong as you." Roko scowled.
"This fight is also for the leadership of the entire rebellion." Melia added.
"Oh man, now you HAVE to fight him Roko!" Momo said excitedly, "Come on, you can beat him no problem!"
"Yeah..." Malus said, a bit of confidence returning, "Why are you hesitating so much? Think you can't beat me?"
"I wanted to spare you the indignity." Roko muttered and sighed, "Whatever. I'll fight him."
"Hooray!" Momo jumped up in joy.
"Hoo? Found your last bit of confidence did you?" Malus sneered.
"And after you beat him, I'll fight him!" Momo said.
"Y-Yeah..." Malus said slightly sweating, "I'll beat you too, don't worry."
They had to move a few dusty tables but there was enough room in the foyer to host a small fight. So it was in this small space that Roko and Malus stood against each other, Malus sneering with endless confidence and Roko with his hands in his pockets, looking like he just wanted to leave.
"Now then..." Malus gripped his fancy cape and threw it into the air, charging right at Roko, fist raised.
Malus swung at Roko who simply dodged it. Malus attacked repeatedly but Roko simply focused on dodging, weaving around Malus' attacks with an unamused look on his face, hands still in his pockets.
"What's wrong?! Too afraid to fight back?! Too afraid that if you fight back and irritate me, I will put even the slightest bit more effort and your face will get caved in?!"
"This sucks..." Roko muttered to himself.
"He's just been dodging." Melia said, "Is this normally Roko's fighting style?"
"Nope." Helena crossed her arms, "Roko's normally more offensive than this."
"So what does this mean?" Roswell asked.
"That means Roko's got something up his sleeve!" Momo said excitedly, "I can't wait to see what it is!"
Malus continued to throw attacks after attacks at Roko. True enough, if he took one of Malus attacks...it would hurt. And he probably couldn't take much attacks like that. So dodging was one way of dealing with him. He could attack. Roko even thought he might even win if he put in the effort. But Malus wasn't the kind to admit defeat even if he lost to a much stronger opponent like Momo. Winning against him would just prove that Roko was not as weak as he thought but not necessarily stronger than him. Types like him would never admit that so easily. And to be fair, he was probably right. Roko wasn't a match for Malus physically at least. Thankfully he had one glaring weakness that no one knew about. One that Roko was primed to take advantage of.
"This should do." Roko said as he removed his left hand from his pocket, a small magic seal hovering below his hand, "Let's hope I didn't mess this up somehow."
And with that, Roko stopped and planted his feet onto the ground.
"Done running?!" Malus gloated, "Tired already?! Then I'll let you sleep a bit longer!"
Malus threw a punch directly forward at Roko's face. And Roko stood, unflinching and unconcerned. As Malus' punch flew right past his face, missing him entirely.
"Huh?" Everyone blinked, surprised.
Even Malus seemed surprised but he quickly scowled and pulled his arm back, throwing another attack at Roko. And again, Roko didn't move, didn't even look at the right hook that Malus was throwing at him. And once again, Malus' fist sailed right past Roko, not even brushing his face as his attack passed harmlessly in front of Roko.
Gritting his teeth, Malus began a barrage of attacks, each one failing to even touch Roko, either falling short of reaching him or sailing past him harmlessly. It was like there was some sort of force field protecting Roko that deflected all of Malus' attacks. Malus' groupies were utterly baffled. Roko's companions were...befuddled but not as much as Malus. Malus himself was stumped, not understanding why his attacks weren't connecting. He was standing still but his attacks were always off somehow. Even when he tried to make as direct an attack as he could. Frustrated, Malus grabbed onto his sword and drew it, jumping up to slice Roko directly in two. The sword came down on Roko...and suddenly veered to the left, slicing into thin air instead. Malus fell forward, shocked beyond belief his head falling close to Roko's own head.
"I recommend you retreat right now." Roko said softly, "You can't hit me."
Malus was stunned for a moment but still wasn't willing to give up. He jumped back and pointed his sword at Roko again.
"I don't know what kind of magic you're using but I won't back down from a tricky little goblin like you!"
And then he charged, sword raised to attack again.
"...Suit yourself." Roko sighed as he raised his right arm and snapped his fingers.
All of a sudden, Malus's muscles started deflating. It was slight at first, barely noticeable to the normal people watching but Malus was very aware of it happening. He quickly stopped and ran back, grabbing onto his cape and covering his body with it.
"Boss?" His groupies said, unsure of what was happening and why Malus had a spooked look on his face. Still covered in his cape, Malus quickly ran away, past his groupies and out the door as fast as he possibly could.
"Boss?!" Malus' companions called out, concerned, quickly running after him to ask about his condition.
Roko sighed, finally letting go of the magic seal he'd been straining to keep together.
"Okay, Roko. Now explain."
Roko turned to his companions, Momo and Helena smiling knowingly while Melia and Roswell looked confused.
"Do I have to?" Roko sighed again.
"I'm out a fight now!" Momo grinned, "I deserve at least one explanation!"
"Yes, please do explain." Melia said, "I have no idea what happened."
Roko looked around, making sure there was no one else around them before he answered, "Alright, since it's just us here I guess I can tell you. But you have to promise that you won't tell anyone from the rebellion."
"Yeah sure." Helena shrugged, "Now out with it! What happened?!"
"...Malus' strength comes from his enchanted armor. Enchanted with low grade enhancement magic that most don't even notice. It's what sustains his bodybuilder physique, essentially a stimulant that makes him stronger than he actually is.. Using spell hacking, I could control those enhanced muscles and control his body to some extent. Then I stopped the enchantment from flowing and his body immediately began to shrink in size. That's about the gist of it."
"When did you scan him?" Momo smiled, "Just now?"
"No, I told you I knew about the...fake Five Planetary Stars earlier didn't I? I just found them and observed them from afar. That included scanning them."
"I knew he was a scam!" Helena grinned, "Wait til Azimuth hears about this!"
"I said not to tell them didn't I?" Roko scowled.
"Why not?" Melia asked, "Why don't you want to tell them?"
"Normally I wouldn't care." Roko crossed his arms, "But even if his strength is augmented Malus is still more powerful than normal soldiers. And we'll need that strength in order to fight the Five Planetary Stars. If we expose him, he'll just run away and we'll lose out on an asset."
"I didn't know you cared that much about him." Momo chuckled, "So what do you want to do now?"
"I'm leaving that to you." Roko turned to Momo, "He may be pretending it's all natural but he can still get stronger. If you train him so he's physically stronger, his enhancements might actually make him a real threat."
"You want me to train him?" Momo grinned, "Can do, boss! You can leave it to me. If it's basic muscle training then I won't even have to consult you for help."
"Thanks." Roko sighed, "Now, I have to find a stonemason. These holes in the fort are really starting to bother me."
"Roko, you haven't even had breakfast yet." Helena grinned, "Leave the stonemason to me and Melia. Go grab something at the dining hall. They're probably out of french toast but they should whip something up for you. Take it easy for today. We'll make sure the fort is taken care of."
"Thanks." Roko nodded, "I'll head over right now."
"Want to come with us, dear?" Helena asked, kneeling down to speak to the nameless girl.
The girl looked around nervously before grabbing onto Roko's leg nervously.
"Want to be with your dad?" Helena smiled, "Alright! I'll leave you all to it!"
And with that, their group split off to their respective tasks.
"2nd generation leader of The Earthbounds, Meridian..." Roko muttered as he read through some files, cup of milk tea in his hand, "3rd generation leader Altitude...and 4th generation is Azimuth. No record of this Zenith character… Were records about them disposed of?"
"Oh? Having fun coloring?"
Azimuth walked up to Roko's table where the nameless girl was busy coloring a coloring book with crayons, the rebellion leader patting the girl on the head before turning to Roko,
"Where'd you find a coloring book anyway?"
"Are you kidding? This rebellion has so many children, how could I not find a simple coloring book?" Roko scoffed.
"Well, I suppose that's true." Azimuth sat down with the two of them, "Though most kids are now old enough to not be distracted by coloring books now a days."
"More coloring books for me." Roko shrugged, "Or rather...for her."
"You still haven't come up with a name for her?"
"You've seen many of this rebellion's kids get born. Did their parents all have an easy time naming them?"
"Well...most of them didn't I suppose." Azimuth said, "What are you doing now? Still studying the rebellion's history?"
"More or less." Roko replied, "Though I'm looking for one name in particular."
"Who?"
"Zenith." Roko said, looking directly as Azimuth, "Do you have any information on him?"
Azimuth didn't look surprised. If anything it seemed like she expected this. But that didn't seem like that made it any easier for her to talk about it.
"...Where'd you hear that name?"
"At the black market. Our weapons dealer seemed to know a bit about the rebellion and dropped this person's name. Right now, I suspect this person had to do with why Alphard defected."
"Good instincts." Azimuth nodded, "Then...I suppose I can tell you. Though you might've been able to get this story out of anybody in the rebellion if you just asked."
"I have my own way of doing things."
"Okay, you antisocial introvert." Azimuth rolled her eyes, "Anyway. You're aware of our current line of historical leaders right?"
"Pretty much. There was Meridian, Altitude and then you, Azimuth right?"
"Yeah." Azimuth nodded, "But in between me and Altitude was Zenith. He was a cold hearted leader but he was also ruthlessly effective. He attacked Muldingirmus' supply chain multiple times. He didn't just take them. He destroyed them when he couldn't steal them for ourselves. Slowly starving the aristocrats. It didn't end with just that though. He lead ruthless violent attack on the populace of Muldingirmus. Sneaking in and then starting a public riot where he destroyed and robbed whatever was in reach. He even sacrificed some members. Not just willing to leave them behind but also using us to suicide bomb various key points. He didn't just make enemies with all of Muldingirmus but enemies with the entirety of Mulapin. But he was effective. He had the attention of everyone in the city. That's why some people continued to follow him. But as you probably figured, a lot of us abandoned the cause when he became leader. It wasn't long before he was ousted. What happened to him after that was a mystery. Some say he left the city, ashamed or proudly. Some say he was captured and killed. By either the people of Muldingir or Mulapin. No one knows where he is now and most of us are glad he's gone."
"I see..." Roko nodded, "Those are some effective tactics if nothing else. I see why the arms dealer said he was your best hope."
"It's easy to say that when you're so far away from all the death and destruction." Azimuth sighed, "Zenith alone killed more people of our own rebellion members than any operation we carried out."
"But why are records about him missing?"
"Well a lot of people don't want to remember him." Azimuth replied, "He still has a few supporters here and there but they're not as extreme as him. More importantly, Zenith's actions reflects poorly on our rebellion. If we look like we sacrifice people so readily, we won't be able to recruit people as easily."
"I see."
"That's not even mentioning that Zenith's actions makes it hard to make business relationships with others." Azimuth added, "It's kind of an open secret that Zenith was leader here for a bit but it thankfully hasn't impacted our relationships. But that's why I'm glad you were prioritizing our men's lives first. That...was a real relief hearing that from you..."
"...Nobody truly wants to be on the battlefield. The ideals that push us there are compelling but the cost is a trauma that may never leave you. But the least I can do is bring you back to those who care about you. At the end of the day, everyone wants to go home."
"...Except for Momo right?"
"Momo's...we don't talk about Momo."