Rute furiously kicked a bewildered Oliva out of his aircraft.
What could he say?
That he hadn't expected many of those people to survive, either, but they absolutely couldn't all die at once?
That their deaths didn't matter, but the pace and timing had to be carefully calculated, both to satisfy that "Aislin" and to keep the people behind them from being completely wiped out?
After all, they still needed people to buy them time!
Was that something he, the master of the Black Mystery Tower, ought to say?
Sometimes, Oliva's skull was even more solid than the walls of the Black Mystery Tower... nothing could get through it.
He glanced ahead. If Aislin wanted to manipulate Oliva, she would succeed every single time.
Even if she was no longer herself, the new "Aislin" would surely inherit all her original memories... and she was clearly going to be a little smarter and more vicious.
Even if Oliva failed to understand what he wanted, the outcome probably wouldn't be much different.
Yet Rute collapsed onto the sofa with an agonized expression... knowing what was happening and choosing to turn someone's scheme against them was hardly the same as being utterly clueless and dancing in the palm of their hand!
It hadn't mattered before, when she was one of their own, but from now on... she would be an enemy!
Although he had long known that Aislin's situation would bring him endless trouble, Rute truly hadn't expected to be this distressed before they even reached the Sia Tower.
Could Oliva hold his own against an even colder, crueler Aislin?
He had been able to trade moves with Aislin before because, back then, she hadn't truly considered him her enemy.
But now, they were enemies.
Rute stirred, then slowly settled back down.
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