Once Marcus had finished comforting his new adjutant, he turned his attention toward Daniel, Cassius, Soren, and Vira.
Each of them was certainly happy for Alyna, who while not having returned to being a human, was at the very least no longer undead. But they each could not help having a slight bit of jealously. None of the were any closer to shedding off the undeath forced upon them by cruel means.
Daniel had been freed from his imprisonment to the area, but he was still a lich, and the others had not received any boon that brought them closer to their goal of becoming human again.
Of course, Marcus never promised that he would be able to return them to being human right no and that all he would do was help free Alyna and Daniel.
Now that he had accomplished his goal it was time for them to uphold their end of the deal they had made.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I have finished unbinding you and Alyna from the area, and as an added bonus turned Alyna into a spirit. Now I would like you to destroy the soul surveillance system you created." Marcus said, sternly to Daniel.
His and Mrazivý's original objective had been to investigate the anomalies happening on the resort, and destroy the system that controlled the information coming in from the people infected with the pseudo soul fragments if possible. Things had taken more turns than they anticipated since Daniel and his compassion were not actually malicious and using their network to amass power and sew chaos. Still, this did not change the fact that what they had create was incredibly dangerous.
It was easy for Marcus to imagine many different situations where the surveillance network could be used to bring the entire world to its knees. The fact hat it had not already was a testament to the control Daniel and his companions had and how well they hid their actions.
"I suppose that a deal is a deal." Daniel eventually said after a long contemplative pause.
"We spent centuries perfecting it and spreading it out, but I suppose that since it brought you both to us it sort of served its purpose. Though it does feel sad to destroy something we worked so hard on." Daniel said with a sad smile.
He then began leading Marcus and Mrazivý to where the core of the system was and all the information that they received several thousands of high ranking and rich individuals was stored.
Before they could leave the room though, Cassius and Vira stood in front of them and fixed their gazes on Marcus and Mrazivý.
"Are you sure we have to destroy it. We are still far from our goal of returning to human and the soul surveillance network is still our best shot at finding what we are looking for. In the past it has located unique skill orbs that could have helped us, but we were just too slow to obtain them. Without the network our chances of finding a way to return to being human will plumet. If you just allow us to keep the network up, we will allow you unlimited access to it. Surely there are many things that you want to know or possibly might need to learn about in the future. Surely you can see the merits in the system we have made. Please, I beg you to not force us to destroy it."
After giving her impassioned speech Vira looked pleadingly from Marcus to Mrazivý, hoping to convince them.
Before either of them could respond though, Alyna snapped back at her.
"Vira, have you no shame! They have both helped us immensely already, and only asked for one thing from us. We should be grateful that they are not instead wanting to use us and the knowledge we have gathered for some nefarious plan. We have seen how other want to use us in the past and the greed that people can harbor. Destroying the soul surveillance network is a small price to pay for all Marcus and Mrazivý have already done for us."
"You are wrong Alyna! They only helped you and Daniel. So far, they have done nothing for Cassius, Soren, and me!" Vira shouted back, letting her jealousy take hold.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmNaturally she could not help but feel that things were unfair, especially in comparison to Alyna.
Not only was she now freed from the torment being a dread wraith had caused her, but she had also become a power spirit and was no longer a monster.
Vira thought was still a zombie empress and no closer to returning to human than she had been before Marcus arrived. And was soon to lose what she figured was her best chance at returning to how she had been before when the soul surveillance system as destroyed.
Naturally Cassius felt the same way and was backing her up, and thought Soren always obediently followed Daniel, his own feelings were definitely closer in line with Vira and Cassius.
"That is enough you two. I made a deal and as the one who runs the system and is responsible for its creation, it is within my right to destroy it. Now that me and Alyna are free, we can do as Marcus said and search for a way to return to being human ourselves." Daniel said, trying to end the discussion.
Unfortunately, Vira and Cassius were not willing to back down so easily.
"Sure that sounds good on paper, but we still emit an aura of death and are not going to be welcome out in the world. Part of the reason we stay hidden is because we would be hunted if we tried living above. Even if we are all able to leave now, we still will not be able to effectively gather any intelligence on our own and it is likely that some nation will discover us and send people to destroy us. Are best means of gathering intel is still that system we painstakingly created" Cassius said, emitting a presence of unyielding determination from the suit of adamantine armor he was possessing.