Rook's eyes widened at once. Then an expression that was almost a smile appeared on his face, and he asked:
"Pavaro?"
"It's me, and yet it isn't."
Kallen rested the Sword of Arius on the ground, gripped its hilt with both hands, and began adjusting his breathing.
"I thought you'd be a rat hiding in a sewer. I never expected you to have forces of your own."
Clearly, Rook had taken Neo and his people to be Kallen's forces.
The smile on his face earlier had not actually been directed at Kallen, but at himself.
He felt that the call he had taken the initiative to make had sealed his present fate.
He was wrong. Whether he had made that call or not, he had long since come under Neo's scrutiny.
But Kallen had no intention of explaining any of this to him. Kallen had never liked wasting words before a fight. Even this exchange was merely a chance to make the final adjustments to his physical and mental condition.
"I am willing to submit to you." Rook knelt before Kallen. "I hope you will grant me a place. I will offer you all my loyalty."
Rook knew he could not escape. The perimeter had already been secured and sealed off, and he had no outside help. There was no possibility of escape.
So, when "Pavaro" appeared before him, he instinctively assumed that the reason the other side had stopped attacking earlier was to recruit him.
The more cautious someone was, the more they cherished their life;
someone who truly cherished their life would be willing to do anything.
But he had guessed wrong again.
They had stopped earlier not to recruit him, but to keep him here, waiting for someone to arrive.
Now, that person had arrived, and he