Ability Wielders - Chapter 150 Heqilish

“You really are built for leadership.” Hayden said with the knowledge of Daniel’s Innate Gifts. Particularly, Daniel’s Diplomat and Supreme King. “The harmonious king and the diplomat. You have that Soul Peering Eye to boot.”

First, before we move on, Daniel’s Diplomat Innate Gift is similar to Hayden’s Danger Sense. It is an instinctive innate gift. This specific Innate Gift grants Daniel the power to ‘read’ people’s thoughts.

Why is read on single quotation marks, you ask? That’s due to it not being precisely reading people’s thoughts. It is better to be described that Diplomat gives Daniel the ‘intent’ of a person. For example, Daniel and a person was talking. Daniel can instantly get why a person struck conversation with Daniel, or if the person he’s conversing with desires to continue talking.

Diplomat has two more powers. First is that Daniel can accurately sense the emotional state of anybody he’s facing. Second is that Daniel can sense the will of a person, aiding his ‘intent reading.’ Don’t expect a clearer explanation as all instinct information-gaining Innate Gifts are intricate and even their users don’t have full grasp of how they function.

Moving on…

“In all honesty, you are better suited to be a leader than me.” Daniel muttered. Hayden gazed at him with enmity. “I know, I know. I’m not suggesting you become a leader, I’m simply stating that you have the qualities of a leader. Clever. Sly. Charismatic. Unhesitant of any decision. Takes the best route while still having the well-being of everyone in mind.”

“You know what I hate about being a leader, Daniel?” Hayden didn’t cease his absorption of knowledge. “Other than the social part.”

“Yeah, I’ve always been curious about that.” Daniel looked at Hayden. “You’re everything what a king should be. An emperor. You’ve played all those rather accurate city-building games. Plus, you can read people so well. I’m sure you can find the right way on disciplining. I am failing to see why you hate being such a leader. So, why?”

“Two things. Stupid people and the naturally inquisitive nature of people.” Hayden answered nonchalantly. “I find it tiresome and unpleasant to explain my course of action and line of thought to people. If you can’t figure out why I’m doing this, I’d rather kill you than endanger what we’re doing.”

“I’m glad that I can figure out your thought process immediately.” Daniel coughed. What a fucking dangerous person!

“You know, sometimes, I hate you.” Daniel jokingly spoke. “It’s a good thing I know you well enough that this isn’t the sole reason that you’re keeping me around. Wait… Is it? Is it Hayden? Answer the question.”

The two was full of playful banter afterwards. It was a jubilant atmosphere with Hayden playing along with Daniel’s jokes even amidst his studying. It was a side of Hayden that people rarely get to see.

The two got back to the Basketball Complex in time for their warmups for the match between the Filipino team and the South Korean team. It was the match for the vying of the first and second place.

As unfortunate as it was, the South Korean team stood no chance against the duo of Hayden and Daniel. The two wiped the floor with the South Koreans, breaking every strategy of Kim Jong-Hwa.

The experts have analyzed the match between the two and came to the conclusion of this: In front of absolute strength and godlike skills, no one stood a chance.

Hayden’s position as the Heavenly Emperor was further enforced, while Daniel was given two epithets: The Emperor’s Right Hand, and the Speed Demon. Daniel was evaluated to be as good as the American team’s ace, Magnus, the Lightning Bolt.

…..

After the match, Hayden and Daniel both went to Foriast. On their way to the Presidential Complex, Ysa was blocking their way.

“Ye-Ysa.” Hayden and Daniel greeted.

“Le-Hayden, Le-Daniel.” Ysa greeted back. “I’ve been instructed to inform you about the ongoing Heqilish. You’ve been invited to attend.”

Heqilish was the word for strategical meetings of the Yorixia, Rixeus, and the important members of the Toritius families. Its closest equivalent phrase is ‘tactical conference of the most important people to mitigate potential dangers to the Source Heart.’

“Why is there a Heqilish?” Hayden raised his right eyebrow. “Is there some sort of incident that involves the Source Heart?”

“You haven’t been watching the news?” Ysa sounded surprised. “For a man your intelligence, you’re not caught up with the world.”

“It’s been a crazy week, Ye-Ysa.” Hayden sighed. “I had no time to catch up to the world. So, what’s up?”

“Many of the upper class skilled people were murdered in this island.” Ysa bit her lip with worry. “That’s only what’s in the reports. There are also many others that are dead. All of them were wielders. Powerful ones at that. What’s concerning here is that-”

“They’re untraceable, aren’t they?” Hayden bridged Ysa’s sentence. “Is it that White Hood and Harlequin?”

“It’s the organization they’re part of.” The trio started walking into the Presidential Complex. “It’s the Dark Union, the new enemy of the Overseers.”

“New enemy of the Overseers.” Hayden smacked his lips. “Are they as…”

“Their members are as strong as the Overseers, yes.” Ysa didn’t hold any information back. “You’ve been reading our history, right? The Dark Union is the modern Rotchusk. They’ve been terrorizing the world for over a century, though we cannot exterminate them as… You know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Hayden nodded. “They’re fundamentally none of your business. Let me guess… The Overseers were surveying their movements, then they suddenly cannot watch over them for some inexplicable reason. And now that they’ve made their move, on the Overseers’ territory of all places, they’re a threat to Gaia, or the Source Heart.”

“That’s exactly the situation.” Ysa nodded. “You really have been brushing up on your Foriast history. How far gone are you in?”

“I’ve finished every single volume in the library.” Hayden said expressionlessly. Ysa turned her head around and looked at Hayden as if he was a monster. “Can’t believe Foriast goes millions of years back. Such an old city, yet can go along with the times. A very respectable civilization. To think that the Sumerian’s first kings were from Foriast… Wait, actually, most of the respectable figures in the world were from Foriast, or were wielders. Albert Einstein was a Foris, right?”

“Yes, he’s actually still alive.” Ysa called for the elevator down to the Seven Pathways Room. “He’s a member of the Tybius family. He’s Na-Gafar’s father.”

“Holy shit…” Hayden exclaimed. “Le-Gafar’s father is… Wait, was Albert Einstein? I knew he was a bit familiar.”

“You mean to say that history’s most significant figures are Forish people?” Daniel finally verbalized himself.

“Yep.” Hayden exhaled heavily through his mouth. “Le-Starakt told me that the story of mythological gods was a result of the mischievous acts of young ancestral Forish. It messed me up.”

“Ahh, that’s why Gungnir, er… Hakelios was in the vault.” Daniel bobbed his head. “That is very interesting.”

“You got Gungnir, huh?” Hayden chuckled. “I wonder what will those from the Nine Realms Alliance reactions will be if they found out that one of their prized mythological items are in the hands of a 16-year-old Level 2 wielder youth.”

“N-Nine Realms Alliance?” Daniel blinked. “W-what is that?”

Hayden and Daniel proceeded to mess around, stunning Ysa. Two men being this close was… It was nothing short of a bromance. A BL, or famously known as Yaoi. It was titillating for Ysa.

Eventually, the group reached Foriast. Ysa led Hayden and Daniel to a Porushi that was named as Heqiliasri. In the most basic sense, Heqiliasri means conference pavilion.

As its name suggests, Heqiliasri was a structure that resembled a Chinese pavilion surrounded by a lake with crystal-clear water. In the middle of the pavilion is a large round table with a white cloth, surrounded by 34 elegant royal chairs.

The Heqiliasri’s gate was open. On the other side of the gate is a long arched wooden bridge with red railings. It was a picturesque sight, accentuated by the falling Sakura leaves, or what appeared to be Sakura leaves at least.

“Yu-Hayden, Yu-Daniel, I invite the two of you to come in.” Starakt’s voice boomed in the mind of the two. “The gates are open.”

The two glanced at each other prior to walking in. Unlike as what’s described, the Heqiliasri’s round table had two extra empty seats. The empty seats were located contiguous to Starakt’s own.

The air in the place was incredibly suffocating and harrowing. It was as if somebody close to everybody died.

“I implore the two of you to take a seat.” Starakt’s grim expression sent chills down the spine of the two. Hayden and Daniel did as they were told. “I think the two of you know why I’ve invited you, right?”

“Because our lives are in danger to this Dark Union? And you’ve invested too much on us for us to be killed meaninglessly?” Hayden inquired fearlessly, unaffected by the atmosphere. “But you wouldn’t have invited us to an imperative meeting for that reason alone. There’s a deeper one. Seeing that this is a Heqilish, is it information? You want us to do reconnaissance work or something? Or perhaps you want us to be decoys? Investigate the Dark Union while we’re in the outside world since we will indubitably be targeted by the Dark Union one way or another?”

The air in the pavilion shifted to that of stunned silence. Hayden’s keen gaze was utterly unnerving for everyone. As if he can penetrate and read every thought of every person in the room. That kind of glint in a person’s eyes cannot be acquired through training alone… It was an inborn trait.

“Tha-” Starakt was going to speak when he was interrupted by Hayden.

“That’s not all.” Hayden scoffed at Starakt. “You know that I would do this, therefore proving that I am as intelligent as I am. This will verify that I am a veritable person that can read the mentality and idiosyncrasies of a person, thereby granting me the capability to predict their actions. You want me to predict the course of action of the Dark Union for you people?”

Everybody gulped. They all stared at Starakt, who affirmed Hayden’s statements with a nod. Everybody was horrified of this. No psychologist nor strategist can ever possibly do this so precisely.

“I told you people, he’s the right kind of guy for this matter.” Starakt was impressed by Hayden. A 2,058 wielder who had all the knowledge in the world committed to mind had no confidence that he’s capable of doing this. “Now that that’s out of the way. What are your thoughts on Dark Union?”

“The Dark Union is an organization that has two serial killers in their ranks.” Hayden’s cold an analytical voice came out. “With this being the sole information I have at hand, alongside the fact that they have murdered people on the island and that they’re similar to Rotchusk.”

Hayden paused, scrutinizing everybody at the table. He took out a tablet and opened the map of the World Government. “It’s most likely that they’re all on this island. It’s the eye of the storm that is safest. Howbeit, one would not go to the rather high-profile Inner Area. If we take every factor into account…”

Hayden zoomed in on the hotel district of The Periphery. Hayden handed the tablet to Starakt. “Somewhere in that area is situated their current base of operations.”

“How did you know?” Starakt imposed. “That place is guarded by the Cyber Guards. Every nook and cranny of this island is under heavy surveillance. There is no way that they are there.”

“They have Cyberus in their ranks.” Hayden declared.

A commotion was caused by Hayden’s declaration. If Cyberus was in their ranks, wouldn’t that mean that the Cyber Guards has next to no functionality in this situation? It was horrifying to think about.

Tyrox, the Ulthax family head, stood up and spoke, “Then shouldn’t we take this opportunity to-”

“We cannot attack them.” Hayden interrupted Tyrox. “Not only will it cause more public panic; it will give the World Government undue shame. If that happens, the world as we know it might be destroyed. Chaos will ensue. We can’t have that if we plan on withstanding the invasion in 30 years.”

“Then what do you propose?” Tyrox asked through gritted teeth. “We can’t possibly let them run around rampant, let them kill people, can we?”

“Let Forish go outside.” Hayden proposed. “Let them roam the island and watch over the people. There are, what, millions of Forish here. Most of you are Level 4, Level 5, and Level 6. It’s not like everyone can participate in a war in such a narrow corridor and limited space such as where the location of the Source Heart. Even letting hundreds of Level 5 wielders go out, reserving the most elite people in here, will be enough deterrent. Oh, yes, I suggest that you keep an eye on the youths participating in the Annual Youth Pride the most. Specifically, that Akwasi, he was targeted earlier.”

Hayden’s suggestion shut everyone up. Although they didn’t shut up from being amazed by Hayden’s idea. It was from how outrageous they found this plan.

“That is ridiculous, Hayden.” The Thorian family head dropped the honorifics, which was considered rude in the Roshist language during face-to-face conversations. “We are loyal to the Source Heart, not to Starakt, or to the people of the world.”

“You do know that, in 30 years, all of these youths that I am suggesting to protect will become vital in fending off their homelands, right?” Hayden talked with a calm countenance. “If they are successful in defending their homelands, you won’t even have to move a muscle. The Forish are the backline, we from the outside are the vanguards. The strength of the vanguard is as pivotal as the backline. Why? Because we are the ones receiving the brunt of the enemy’s strength.”

Every individual in the venue that were having thoughts on retaliating against Hayden was shot down by Hayden’s iron-clad arguments. It was logical to the point that it was irrefutable. The Toritius wanted to rebut him, but they couldn’t find a flaw in this logic.

Besides, they weren’t idiots. Hayden’s argument of the outside world being the cushions of the enemy was correct. Going by this logic, Hayden was implying that they were sacrificial lambs that will weaken the enemy. They were cannon fodders.

Not only did Hayden prove his ‘loyalty’ by offering his own life as a ‘sacrifice,’ he was able to appeal to everybody’s sense of rationality and proved his ‘unquestionable allegiance’ to the Source Heart and Earth itself. It was a remarkable demonstration of killing three birds with one stone.

The Thorian family head sat back down begrudgingly. Starakt tried his best on holding back his laughter. He found the fact that a 16-year-old youth was wiser and was more far-sighted than everybody on this table. Including Starakt, who was titled as the greatest general in the history of Foriast.

“We will go with Hayden’s proposal then.” Starakt nodded. “Are there any rejections or better proposals? How about the Rixeus? None?”

Nobody responded, signaling for the green light on Hayden’s plan. “Okay, we will protect the island by spreading Level 5 wielders all around. Moving on to another topic. Let me introduce to you our new ally, Daniel Luntiang-Dahon.”

Everybody scanned Daniel from top to bottom. Consequently, Daniel’s spine tingled. Their cold gazes were full of hostility.

“Activate your Supreme King, idiot.” Hayden coughed, muttering in Filipino. Daniel did as he was told. All of the leaders’ and the Rixeus’ icy hearts were melted by the warm radiance of Daniel’s harmonious king.

“A harmonious king…” The Derinth family head exclaimed in his shock. “The world has been blessed by yet another harmonious king.”

“This is a cause for celebration.” The Sequincia family head said. “He will be the greatest diplomat in the world. He can be the representative of Foriast in the outside world.”

“Okay, I’m going now.” Hearing the word celebration put a shadow in Hayden’s heart. He even shivered. “Daniel knows how to reach me when you all need something else.”

Hayden left as he said. He didn’t care about Daniel as he was an adult. He can take care of himself. Nobody stopped Hayden. Nobody had the courage to as Hayden’s disposition was too domineering.

Hayden’s first stop in Foriast was the library. He returned all of the Liqiri he has borrowed as he has memorized all of it. Next, he checked up on the Essence Formation aisle. He then borrowed the Liqirian that informed Hayden of the basics on Essence Formations.

Skimming through it for about twenty minutes, Hayden fully memorized it. When that was done, he had no business here, returning to his hotel room. Entering the room, Hayden was met with the scene of Eun-ha and Sayuri lying on the bed again with Dusk and Dawn on their laps.

It was an awesome sight to come back to. He had a sudden vision: Hayden coming home to his new house with Eun-ha and Sayuri watching TV comfortably with Dusk and Dawn. The ecstasy that was rushing through him was indescribable.

“Hey.” The two greeted Hayden with soft and homely smiles. Eun-ha spoke, “Are you going to sleep now and evolve?”

“Yes, it’s time.” Hayden nodded. “The two of you, thanks for always looking out for me.”

Hayden pecked the two on the forehead prior to removing his clothes, leaving only one article of clothing on his body: His boxers. Lying down, Hayden activated his Origin Crystal and initiated the evolution sequence.