Raphael left the castle, still trying to make sense of the situation. He was just offered to change sides, and Alion even claimed that he had a way to get Raphael his body back.
If that was true, then Raphael really had a really nice option at the table. If he decided to change sides, he was going to get his body back and possibly even more advantages along with it. Alion also claimed that he was going to regain his body as soon as he gained his body. With that, he could understand everything regarding what happened in his past.
It was all that Raphael actually wanted. If possible, Raphael wanted his body and his memories back. And he even wanted revenge on the people that destroyed his home. There were many advantages to changing sides, especially since the other side was definitely stronger.
However, could he really change sides like that? With Azekiel, he had a bond that was no less than that of a family. Azekiel was weaker at the moment, but he had lots of potential, and he also seemed to be doing good inside the tower.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get back to the tower without clearing this mission which was hard to pull off. If he was to think with his mind, he knew he needed to side with Alion, but if he wanted to listen to his heart, he wanted to stay with Azekiel till the end, no matter how much he was going to lose in exchange.
It was a battle between his heart and his mind. Lost in his thoughts, he went to the place where he was supposed to meet Azekiel.
Raphael noticed Azekiel standing outside his house. However, he had also seen some monsters coming toward that general area. He increased his speed. He still needed more time to actually decide. It wasn't just a decision he could take easily, even though his heart was already convinced on what he had to do.
"Monsters are coming." He informed the small group of two, before advising Lia to cast an illusion to keep them Azekiel safe again.
Lia cast an illusion right away, not too long before the beasts arrived in the General Area. They checked the surroundings for a few minutes before leaving.
Lia canceled her illusion as that consumed a lot of her strength.
"Did you find where he stays?" Azekiel asked the question he had been waiting for.
"I did. And we were right; he is also the leader of the group here," Raphael answered. "He lives in the castle at the center of the city. It's a place that is easy to find."
"What about the security around that place? How many beasts are guarding that place?"
"None. There was none that was guarding that place," Raphael answered.
"It seems he's quite confident about his strength, so no security around him. Either that, or he sent everyone else to search for us." Azekiel nodded. "That's good. As expected, we should have some privacy.'
"It should be quite easy to infiltrate that place, but the biggest problem would be facing Alion himself. I don't think we should fight him," Raphael warned Azekiel. "I've seen him from close up. There's something really strange about him. Maybe we should call the plan off."
Raphael had talked to Alion and knew that the guy knew a bit too much about them. The way he behaved, it was as if he could kill them if he wanted, but for some reason, he was hesitating. That hesitation was certainly not because he was scared, that was for sure.
They knew almost nothing about the enemy, while their event knew everything about them. Fighting a war like this was already a disaster that should've been avoided. They were at a heavy disadvantage here.
And that was if Raphael sided with Azekiel, which he was still conflicted about for some reason. There was a battle going on in his mind between his dignity and his desires.
Moreover, he also couldn't ignore the words of Alion. When he talked about Azekiel... Even though he was vague about it, Raphael could feel that Azekiel was like a Demon in Alion's head for some reason. Just what was it about Azekiel that Alion could see but Azekiel couldn't?
The best outcome in this situation was just avoiding the conflict altogether. If he could get Azekiel to go back inside the tower, he could lie to Alion about any random reason for their arrival here. Moreover, if possible, he could also negotiate for his body in that case. That way, he could keep Azekiel safe while also getting his memories and his bodies back.
"What are you talking about? We can't go back after coming this far. Moreover, we can't go back without finishing the hidden quest. Now that we have accepted the mission, we either finish it or we die here. The tower doors aren't going to open for us anymore if we don't succeed, let alone an entry to the eleventh Floor."
"Now that we are here, we can't go back to the way things used to be. We must fight!" Azekiel declared. "Also, what happened to you suddenly? You were ready to fight before you left. And now that you're back, you're talking like that? Just what did you see there which made you hesitate?"
Raphael's negotiations were the last thing that Azekiel could've expected. He could only imagine that Raphael saw something that made him slightly scared.
Raphael took a deep breath, not knowing what to do. If this battle couldn't be delayed, he really had to make a choice now.
"I just believe we can't win this battle. That man... He knows everything about us," Raphael answered. "He knew we were the ones that spoiled his plan of getting the Stone of Time. He hated us a lot for that. If you go before him, he will kill you."
"And I doubt we would be able to protect you. That's why I want us to avoid this battle if possible. But if it isn't... Then I have something I need to tell you…."
