The summoned Belmont Ancestor stood silently with a lofty air to him. There was no doubt that suddenly awakening from a near death like state before being teleported to a random location you had no knowledge of was truly jarring, but as an expert of enough note to have mandated his clan spending enough to preserve him for such a situation, how could he have a normal reaction to such a thing?
His eyes scanned the situation, but they immediately turned cold when he noticed the blade pointed in his direction. Considering the fact he could sense the blood of his clan running through the young man behind him, he felt like he understood enough. For a person so young to be able to call upon him under his own power, it was clear that this was an outstanding talent of his Belmont family. How could he allow him to be threatened?
However, he also immediately noticed a few more troubling things. They were obviously in the Belmont Holy Land at the entrance of their catacombs, a place he was all too familiar with, and yet there was an unfamiliar clan attacking? Even more odd, it seemed as though the people he had first labeled as enemies were defending the cave entrance? Were they enemy or foe?
This was the first reason Lionel hadn't immediately summoned his ancestor to aid him. Unlike Dyon's puppets, his ancestors had wills of their own. After all, if they hadn't consented to being used this way after their death, they would have long since reincarnated. It's because they wanted to sow greater seeds of karma that they remained available to be used by future generations.
But, that was the exact problem. Whether their sacrifice was worth it all relied on the whether or not they did good deeds in the name of their clan. This meant that ancestors would be incomparably cautious when taking action because any adverse effect they had on their clan would mean that they would instead sow bad karma, causing ill effects on their reincarnation.
Lionel, though, was immediately ready. He fully understood what it meant to summon his ancestor more than anyone. In fact, he hadn't planned on ever summoning them. He had only needed to use the threat of doing so in order to force the planets he betrayed his clan for to stay in line. But, now that he had, how could he not have a story prepared?
"Ancestor," Lionel quickly sent messages via essence energy, "those who have captured me are defending this cave entrance because they've already sent in their allies toward that place."
The eyes of the Belmont Ancestor narrowed at these words, quietly warding Thatch off. So little time had passed since his appearance, and he had processed things so quickly, that only Thatch seemed to have notice his appearance. After all, everyone else was focused on the battle at hand.
"They have too many experts for you to make a difference alone," Lionel continued, "I only ask that you take me away so that I can alert my father to the situation."
Lionel didn't explain too much, and he kept his words vague. However, there was a reason for this.
In such a complex situation, choosing a side would be exceedingly difficult. So, Lionel didn't ask him to fight at all. He asked his ancestor to take one of the safest routes possible in protecting his karma: saving a member of the Belmont family, and alerting their current King.
Considering there were no other Belmonts present, this was in fact the safest route of action. This ancestor understood he could only be summoned once more after this time before he officially passed on, so he wasn't willing to risk sowing bad karma in the hopes that he was doing the 'right thing'.
Lionel's arm wiggled in his restraints, grabbing onto Evelyn's hand to ensure his ancestor understood they were together. And just like that, the three of them disappeared…
From start to finish, only a little more than a second past. And yet, the tension that released from Thatch's shoulders was so much that he nearly collapsed under his own weight.
The truth was that Lionel was sighing in relief more than anyone, because there were two glaring problems he could have thought of.
The first thing he worried about was Dyon's puppet! He had seen with his own eyes when Ri took it with her before they left, and he had witnessed it kill a mid-level celestial with a single strike. The life force of an ancestor after being awakened was even less than the old Matriarch, and he was likely weaker than her as well.
It was too bad for Lionel that he had too little knowledge about puppets. Had he known that there was no way that puppet could output that much strength without Dyon, he wouldn't have worried about that at all.
However, there was a second glaring reason for his want for a quick escape… Something that was completely irrelevant of the strength of the puppet at all… And that, was Madeleine.
The Belmonts were charged with protecting Amethyst's temple. This was the reason their clan was gifted their bloodline in the first place, and the only reason their clan was even so powerful to begin with. Before Amethyst's blessing, the Belmonts were nothing…
This might have begun to mean less and less with each successive generation, but this would still mean the world to Belmont ancestors, especially because their only goal in this after life of theirs was to sow good karma. How could they sow good karma if they spit in the face of their benefactor?
If the Belmont Ancestor learned that Lionel was being held captive by the wielder of Amethyst's Faith Seed, there is no question what side he would choose! There were deep responsibilities tied to their family that went far beyond regular blood and family. There was no doubt. Even if he had to kill Lionel, he wouldn't hesitate.
