Sixth Bloodline [BxB]

CHAPTER 12: THE MISSING PUREBLOOD [I KNOW WHAT YOU\'VE DONE]

cHAptEr 12:

tHE miSSinG pUREbLOOd

[i kNOw wHAt YOU'vE dOnE]

    HE STOOD there - unbending in front of incoming doom, like a lonely warrior about to face million men army on his own. His figure wasn't all that great nor big enough to give others sense of security while his expression remained unknown due to the mask covering his face - but the pale blue eyes peeking though the openings of the mask never left the falling pillar even for a second.

Though everyone around him knew that he was the one to bring about this disastrous situation, there was just something about Mikhael at the moment that drew them in, making it impossible to remove their gazes from his figure.

The figure of a man that both stood out and don't seem noticeable, despite being so breathtaking like a beautiful scenery captured on a canvas - to people present merely seemed to be...

Lonely.

It wasn't something easily explained by words.

It was a gut feeling in everyone that told them not to feel praise for that man, because that man had everything, yet nothing.

   'Ah.'

Raising his head to sigh at the pillar drawing closer to him, Mikhael's eyes seemed so distant, with no one knowing what went through his head. So many years have passed since he created this barrier, but the one whom asked for it was no longer in this world.

A bosom friend. An irreplaceable partner.

   "I wonder what was it again that you wanted to create with this wretched power of mine. Just where did the world you envisioned end and where did the current hell begin?"

In the end, he gently shook the red talisman he took out earlier.

It was, by its rank, stronger than the usual yellow ones, but much weaker than the legendary black grade.

Despite not being at the top when it comes to its power, it was still something made from hundred people's worth of blood, and its might was more than enough to set aflame even capital cities of those smaller states. Mikhael chose not to use black talismans, for he wasn't confident in bringing out it's full power in his current state.

Different talismans brought forth different restrictions to use. The amount of blood and mana they used up was something no ordinary spell-caster could muster, even if they were to burn their entire vitality.

Vampires and mana are incompatible. So vampires, who ironically had endless vitality in their bodies, couldn't use spells at all.

Even someone like Mikhael couldn't throw around powerful talismans on a whim. He did have endless vitality, but it still came from the blood he feasted on, as well as the quality of that blood.

Mikhael estimated that by burning around 85% of blood in his body, this talisman would only then be successfully activated. He found it ridiculous that he needed to waste so much blood for a familiar that awakened with his own transformation.

And that he couldn't even call it out properly and needed talismans as a medium to do it instead.

   "Guess it's what they call karma. Master did complain that I was too content with my life and never experienced hardship," mumbling to himself, he held the talisman in front of his face before it began to glow in crimson red.

Well, his master just complained that Mikhael was too weak for his standards.

   "Red thread of the East. Golden chain of the West. Blue water from the North. Green spirits of the South. Silver Guardian of the Central."

With each word he spoke, he drew a line with the talisman until he made a sign of pentagram.

   "Gathering of the five elements, Fire!" a tiny red will'o'wisp appeared on one end of the pentagram, "Earth!" a golden appeared on another. "Water. Wind. Metal!" blue, green and gray appeared respectively after each other until every end of pentagram had one will'o'wisp each, finally transforming it into a pentagram.

   "Thy nameth I invoke, thee woven within red threads. Thy nameth I beseech, thee seal'd with golden chains. Thy nameth I summon, thee slumb'ring within deep blue. Thy powers I hencef'rth asketh of, belov'd of all spirits. Thy power I hencef'rth bringeth upon this world once more, thee guarding the destiny."

   "Cometh forth, familiar of beginning hour: fate!"

With each summoning, every will'o'wisp turned into a blazing flame until he finish his casting. At that moment, the flames slowly merged together as Mikhael's blood began to evaporate out of his body at a speed visible to a naked eye.

It slowly merged into a new flame that was neither black nor white, but something on the border of not existing at all. Mikhael's face paled as a scene flashed through his eyes; him, standing over a dead body of a child, screaming words for revival again and again, but nothing ever happened.

The power of fate was immeasurable, but not omnipotent. Dead cannot change their fate, not even with the price of another life...

He bit his lip until he drew blood!

The dizziness he felt just now was immediately gone and he cursed for almost losing himself there.

   'That was close.'

As drops of blood flew down his parched lips, they immediately evaporated with the rest of his blood.

At that moment, an emotionless voice resounded in everyone's ears.

   "What is't that thee wanteth?"

It was as if time itself have stopped. Despite their bodies being naturally cold, even vampires felt this creeping chill seeping deep in their bones.

Fear.

Everyone felt fear like no other. It's like their lives were of mere ants, that could be easily extinguished with a single thought of the owner of that voice.

Such was the power of fate.

Mikhael was indifferent to this all. He's already been in their place many years ago when he first tried to use this spell. He was certain he fainted and was out for at least a year or two after that.

Ah, the youth!

   "That which wast once did complete with burning of two powerful bloodlines, I wisheth to beest repair to its peak again."

As he raised his head to speak, he could almost see the outline of two gigantic eyes in the sky. His eyes held no fear nor reverence as he looked at them and the entire space got silent before it spoke again:

   "So shalt be it."

The pillar that was once falling down suddenly stopped and then, as if being re-winded in a video, the pieces slowly began to go back to their original position, while the damaged parts slowly dissipated until they were no more. In less than few moments, the once broken pillar became as good as new. Even the remaining seven that had some scratches got fixed like they got installed only today.

And the almost transparent barrier surrounding the city that was once full of holes now looked like a brand new, without even a slightest dent on it.

The eyes in the sky slowly retreated as the five flames slowly turned back into tiny will'o'wisps before burning the talisman, leaving behind only a handful of red ash. But before that red ash could fall to the ground completely, Mikhael skillfully collected it into a tiny bottle he got from who knows where.

   "Oops, I can't let precious material go to waste. This is going to earn me some good magic crystals," he nodded to himself before turning to the crowd that was still flabbergasted by what happened.

Not wasting a single second longer, he disappeared from everyone's sight and it was only a whole minute later that they all came back to their senses.

The rebels suddenly realized that this guy wasn't here to aid them at all, and they all almost puked blood from anger.

   "Suppress the rebels, don't let a single one escape!" Krull suddenly yelled making W.E.R.P. agents, vampire soldiers and Nobles come to their senses as they turned their attention to those guys instead.

Right, rebels. They couldn't do anything about this guy who mysteriously came and helped them before running away, but catching a few little fishes definitely isn't going to be a problem!

This scary guy wasn't here to help the rebels, so they had nothing holding them down. And if they managed to catch quite the number of rebels, perhaps most of them will soon get all kinds of promotions and rewards.

They almost praised the mysterious guy like he was their new God.

On the other hand, rebels cried in misery.

Wasn't this guy here to help them? Wasn't he going to destroy the barrier and liberate them all?

   'Brother, come back here! We need to have a proper talk about life! You can't toy with people's hearts like that, you know?!'

They all dared to come out only because they saw how powerful he was, ah! They don't stand a chance against Higher Nobles and W.E.R.P. professionals!

While many screamed all kind of curses and others praised Mikhael promising to properly thank him if they ever see him again - the culprit for all that commotion already got far from this mess.

He dragged his legs one after another while holding onto the wall in the same alley he left Ethan at. There was none of his previous vigor and vitality left, and the current him looked like a corpse about to crumble down.

The mask still covered his face, so his expression couldn't be seen, but underneath it was a face as white as sheet and eyes deprived of all focus.

He slowly dragged himself to the place where he left the black coffin and teared the space with his hand. As he did that, the ripped off three yellow talismans slowly burned into nothingness revealing the black coffin, looking exactly the same as he left it.

He slumped down on top of it before taking off the mask and quickly throwing it into the void, followed by his sword and talismans while his clothes slowly returned back to normal.

Just as he was about to relax, he coughed up large amount of blood spilling it all over the coffin. But at the same moment, all that blood started to disappear and if one paid some attention to it - they would have noticed that it was actually being absorbed by that coffin.

   "Fine, I'll let you leech off my blood just this once, but you better pay me back properly for everything I've done today, or I swear I'll blast a hole through your brain with my gun. I probably won't be able to kill you, but it will damage your memory and I'll brainwash you into my personal money bag, you hear?"

With this much work he did... Ethan should have no problem with him digging a cave underneath his mansion, right? Mikhael didn't forget his previous goal.

Since it appears that if he goes out, Hunters might be after his head - it would be better to just stay in this city full of vampires and rest properly. With this guy's protection, it should be even better.

Mikhael can be said to have done him a great favor, after all.

So he complained to himself, despite knowing all too well that Ethan won't be able to hear him, and just as he was about to let a sigh of relief, the scene before him made his heart skip a beat in terror.

On the pitch black coffin beneath him, written in blood were eight words that made him lose control of his emotions:

   "I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE 20 YEARS AGO."

Before he could even blink, the text dissipated into an ordinary yellow talisman before it burned itself completely.

   'Who?'

Mikhael immediately jumped away and observed his surroundings.

Who here could have possibly seen through his defenses, left a talisman and escaped without leaving a single trace behind of their deed? He was almost convinced that he was hallucinating by how suddenly it appeared and was gone. But the change of remaining mana in the air around the coffin told him otherwise.

   "Here's their leader, everyone attack!" before he could even react to a sudden voice, he only felt the pain in his chest and another spurge of blood about to leave his mouth.

Coughing it all out, he slowly glanced at his chest to see a bloody wooden stake protruding from it.

   'You asshole, just wait until I find out who you are...'

But his mind could no longer remain conscious as his vision began to blacken, and he fell limp to the ground.

The coffin just continued to absorb the new blood splattered over it, looking morbid in a lone alley.

Stake through the heart of a vampire won't really kill them as long as you don't take it out along with a vampire heart, but it was sure as hell convenient way to make one unconscious. And if all W.E.R.P. agents specialized in one thing, then it's their ability to pierce vampire hearts, and drag them away for interrogation.

Since killing them was no longer an option unless they were unreasonable and dangerous, after the peace talks between two races - they could only resort to this kind of technique.

   AMELIA COLDLY observed the mess made by this ridiculous riot. There were hundreds of vampires caught who opposed the barrier and Eden's upper echelon, but she was certain that thus entire deal was organized by the guy that ran away.

The one that simply provoked those people to act and made them misunderstand the little spell-caster from before.

However, she had no idea if those guys decided to act on their own or if those people reached out to them beforehand.

   "To even involve those guys in the plan, they sure were ruthless."

And to discard them so easily...

She also knew that this isn't going to be the last of this incident - but as someone from Hunters HQ following the orders, it was none of her business. Those in charge of Eden were Purebloods and W.E.R.P., so let them deal with this mess themselves.

   'But what happened with Mikhael?'

If those guys acted, they should have tried to get him involved too. She did warn him, but...

   'Hope he's safe.'

He did have that Pureblood by his side. She only hopes that Ethan doesn't suspect Mikhael or messes up her plans by turning against him.

   'If it really comes down to it... I'll personally get rid of him.'

In the end, she could only sigh helplessly. She doesn't want to fight a Pureblood unless forced, especially after what she found out some time ago.

So she decided to think a bit more positively about the whole situation.

   'Rather than that Pureblood acting against him, Mikhael can't have snapped and abducted the Pureblood guy instead before sucking him dry in some random corner of this city, can he?'

   "..."

No, knowing Mikhael - he is exactly the kind of person that would have done so. Following that logic, it made sense why they still haven't seen either Ethan nor him. He might have even ran away from this city while they were busy dealing with those rebels.

   "..."

She really wouldn't be surprised if that were to be the case.

   "Quickly, we caught their leader, send the armored vehicle for transport! We managed to knock him out!" someone yelled among the crowd grabbing her attention.

   'Oh? Really? So fast? No drama? No more mysterious attacks and deaths until the final boss and the hidden boss behind him appear?'

   "..."

It was a bit sad.

   'How boring,' Amelia thought.

Since he managed to initiate this attack without any forewarning, she expected the guy behind those attacks to last a bit longer.

   'But then again, if it was someone manipulated by our side and discarded because the plan fell through, it would make sense that he would be caught, having lost our protection.'

Not that it mattered to her.

Hunters would deal with him before he managed to even speak a word about their cooperation, and it was someone else in charge of that mission.

   "I can finally rest!"

If nothing else, keeping somewhat of a low profile with Mikhael all those years paid off.

There weren't many who knew about their relationship as a master and disciple, and there's especially no such person among the Esteemed Seats. Mikhael was always careful about picking his friends and foes, and wouldn't reveal his cards easily. Therefore, when in Hunters HQ, the two pretended to fight all the time...

Well, it wasn't much of a pretending, anyway. Most of the time, Amelia wanted to trash Mikhael who would provoke her every so often while he would always suffer because of something she did. It was only when the two moved on missions together that they baited Dominique to accompany them and focus their anger at him. Dominique was that loathsome, indeed.

But even so, they'd troll each other. Every time they do missions together, their enemies would always find them because of traps they set for each other. Still, with Mikhael's abnormal luck, Amelia's strength and Dominique's Intel and wit, there was no one that could bring them down, no matter how bad their situation appeared to be.

Still, telling the Hunters HQ that they used a vampire on their mission in order to hunt another vampire was a bit too much, so they made sure to cover up their evil deeds properly after they were done, and not reveal anything about their missions.

   'Come to think of it, Dominique said that he'll be coming here soon. Should I just stay here and pretend to be on vacation or something?'

There was no one that could kill her here, anyway.

   "I also want to see the pettiest villain in the world who got taken down by a random small fish," she mused to herself before heading in direction of commotion. Well, you don't see this kind of situation often considering how sly old vampires are. To mess up with their plan and get caught this easily...

It really was worth remembering for a while.

If Mikhael heard her, he might just kill himself on the place. What small fish? Sister, did you see any of s**t I've done today, do you think vampires have blood like fountain of youth or something?

The guy who yelled those words caused quite the commotion so everyone eventually headed to see for themselves who the real perpetrator of this entire mess was.

But when she saw a body lying on the ground with a wooden spike through his chest, Amelia's face paled to the point where she looked like a vampire herself.

   "MIKHAEL!" pushing away the crowd that stood on her way, she got by his side in an instant.

When they saw her pulling out the spike from his chest, everyone's expression turned ghastly as they prepared to attack her.

But as she raised her head to look at them with eyes so cold that it seemed like she would kill them if they took just as much as a single step forward, no one dared to move.

"If anyone tries to come this way, consider yourself dead!" Her position as the Second Immortal Seat wasn't just for show. Although she did appear useless in front of Mikhael, she was still someone that can fight with a Pureblood without suffering a loss.

Some Nobles were prepared to ignore her words and attack her, but Krull stepped out at the moment, his eyes serious as he observed the state Mikhael was in. Although his body was stabbed and ruthlessly abandoned on the ground, there wasn't a single drop of blood around him. Instead, the pitch black coffin next to him exuded an ominous air that made him pause in his steps. His eyes hurt just by looking at it, so he couldn't afford to pay it more attention.

   'That thing isn't simple at all.'

His instincts also warned him that he might die if he carelessly got close to it.

So he turned his eyes back to Mikhael.

The guy on the ground had white hair, but that face and fashion sense... Though, a bit different, were undoubtedly the same as the guy who was with them earlier.

But why did his hair go white? Also, where was the Sixth Pureblood?

   "There has been some misunderstanding here, this guy is on our side. He is the one the Hunters HQ sent to help us and the Lord Pureblood's aide," he wasn't sure what was Mikhael's connection to Ethan, but they didn't seem like a mere king and random servant when he first met them.

Not to mention, Purebloods wouldn't easily give their blood to other people for no reason. Since they had Amelia, Ethan had no need to bleed earlier, yet he still offered his blood. And Krull carefully observed Mikhael while they were under attack earlier, so he also noticed how Ethan's eyes never left Mikhael's body after that hemomancer appeared.

Not even for a single second.

   "Oh?" Estefan was first to step out after him. Knowing Amelia's identity, he was sure that she would've easily ignored all reason and started useless slaughter if they managed to piss her off. He still didn't forget that he held her throat earlier, so he was worried that she might head for him first if she really did end up making a move.

He raised his hand to stop others before turning to Krull.

   "You're sure?" he asked. The information he got from Amelia was a bit wrong, but now... Well, he does remember the meeting with Mikhael. That black coffin and report of his evil deeds he received were too abnormal, not to mention that Ethan still isn't by his side.

   "Yes, he was with Lord Pureblood when we separated, and he is also an ex-member of the Esteemed Seats in Hunters HQ," Krull reported what he knew.

Estefan was silent for a while. He seriously wanted to see the guy who pierced the stake through Mikhael's chest and ask him how the f**k did he get this slippery guy Higher Nobles couldn't catch for hours. It made no f*****g sense, alright!?

Not to mention that weird coffin which didn't even have a single speck of dust or blood on it. No matter how you looked at it, it was suspicious! He still couldn't see through it! The reports he got on Mikhael also said that he was easily caught and brought into Eden, ah!

   "You're really sure?"

It's like they were talking about two completely different people.

   "Oh, that's the guy that made out with our Lord Pureblood? What happened in here?" At that moment, a new voice joined their party and Estefan turned to look at Varus.

   "You're a bit late... No, wait! What did you just say?"

Make out?

Make out with WHO?

   "There was some trouble at the South, the Fifth bastard- Pureblood's faction came to make trouble and demand to take back some troublesome guy so we had a bit of a scuffle. I only now heard that there was a commotion on this side, so I hurried as fast as I could, but now..." Varus looked at Mikhael and Amelia.

   'This woman, she seems a bit familiar...' He couldn't really tell why.

   "f**k, that Fifth bastard really had a hand in this trouble!"

All Nobles and Higher Nobles decided to turn a blind eye to his words. Although they worshiped Purebloods, as the decent members of the Sixth faction, they openly marked the Fifth Pureblood - Tristan - as their enemy.

   "Here too? Tell me all the details later. Where is our lord and how come the little newling got hurt like this? He's under my protection," Ethan did leave Mikhael to Varus. Unfortunately, he couldn't even talk to Mikhael for a while before he was forced to go away and calm down the riots in the South.

But still, the picture of Mikhael pinned to wall and flustered Ethan really wasn't something he could easily get rid of, so he had a strong impression of him - enough to recognize him at a glance, no matter how differently he dressed and his hair color changed.

   "Under your protection..." Estefan's expression became rather ugly.

   "The Lord personally placed him under my group," so how come this guy got bullied as soon as he went away for few hours?

   "Fuck."

Sure enough, the more Krull listened to heir words, the worse his mood became. Especially since he realized that Mikhael got hurt by one of his men.

   "What the hell, Varus!" At that moment, Mauricio who got 'cheated' by Mikhael earlier came to protest. He didn't hear the part about Mikhael making out with Ethan, but he did hear the part where Varus claimed Mikhael as one of his own people.

   "This guy made us run in circles for hour, what kind of a vampire you have under you! He also joined the rebels!" He also had no idea that Mikhael was on their side.

   "..."

   "He did?" Varus turned to Estefan, ignoring Mauricio. Anyway, he understood this guy well enough to know better than to listen to his words. He's easy to be led astray... Well, Estefan also wasn't the brightest guy out there, but he had that emo freak following behind him and making sure he doesn't lose his life.

So he was a tad bit more reliable.

Just a tad bit, though.

   "It seems to be a misunderstanding about him being the rebel, but he did make us run in circles."

   "..."

As he said, he also isn't the brightest guy out there either.

   "So, are you sure that you got led in circles and not that the poor guy got lost and forced to randomly run away by you?" Varus could put two and two together and figure out some things, unlike those two idiots. Assuming that he's a rebel and seeing him hurt like this... Varus felt incoming headache.

   'Whatever, I'll let the Lord deal with those idiots. I'm not their superior, anyway!'

   "That... Seems to be unlikel-"

   "It's a bullshit! He intentionally showed me the map and asked about one place before going to another! It was all intentional! And what do you mean by a misunderstanding!? Isn't he a rebel? Didn't he go all over the city provoking vampires and running away?"

   "..."

   "..."

Well, even Estefan thought that it made sense, but... Looking at Varus' gaze that was too similar to their Lord Pureblood's whenever they do something stupid he silently swallowed back the words of agreement he was about to say.

   "It's really a f*****g misunderstanding. This guy has a bad sense of direction. I can guarantee that much!" He couldn't even find the bathroom in his room and somehow even ended up on another floor in a simple castle, Varus really felt that he simply got lost.

As for Mikhael... It's the best that he wasn't conscious at the moment. Otherwise, he'd really protest to Varus' words and make the situation even more chaotic than it already was!

Before any of them could speak any further, a fragrance sweeter than anything they ever tasted spread through the air, and even Estefan lost his composure after smelling it. But when he realized where it came from, he immediately used his blood suppression to scatter the crowd of vampires.

Varus was a bit calmer.

Having fought against some powerful foes and having heard about the trouble on this side, he made sure to properly feed on blood before coming here expecting the worst. So he was full and not easily influenced by blood of an Immortal Human.

Amelia also knew that her blood was enticing to vampires, as she was a Immortal Human. She's always been hunted while young for her blood, and she only got more delicious to vampires after she became immortal, and it was only until Mikhael took her in and taught her how to fight before she joined Hunters HQ that her situation got better.

But she couldn't care right now.

She was well aware that even Higher Nobles might lose their cool upon smelling it, but she had no choice.

Mikhael wasn't waking up.

Sure, a stake through heart wouldn't naturally kill a vampire, but Mikhael's body was different. Even with something like that, he could remain clear headed and continue like it was no big deal. At the same time, he would pull out the stake and heal immediately.

But now...

Not only did he lose consciousness, but the wound on his chest also didn't heal.

As she thought about that, Amelia began to notice how skin on his body began to dry up and stick close to his bones making her panic. She didn't hesitate to cut herself and give him her blood. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but blood will always save a vampire.

Vampires don't really have dead hearts, it's just that they only beat three to five times in a minute. Yet even after listening after a whole minute, she haven't heard it beat even a single time.

Her blood was both potent and alluring. If it were the usual Mikhael, his body would still react and drink it when she placed it on his mouth. Even his wounds should absorb it the moment they came in contact to it, but her blood simply continued to fall on it before slowly pooling around his body.

   "Impossible!" She spat out.

What's going on? He is a Half-blood, he should be incredibly powerful and his regeneration should be top notch, but now...

She noticed that something was odd earlier when he lost control, but she didn't think it would be this serious!

"Mikhael, you asshole, don't you dare die on me!" she grabbed a dagger from her hip, "You still have all those children to look after, I'm not going to become their mother just because you're so incompetent to go die on your own!"

All vampires would lust for her blood or try to kill her when she was just an ordinary human.

All vampires wouldn't hesitate to suck her dry.

All, but a single one who saved her from all that.

   "You told me not to die that day, so I'm giving you back those words now," she said before she unhesitatingly pierced her chest and leaned over him.

Heart blood was more powerful than other blood in one's body. If blood was like water to dried up earth when it comes to vampires, then the heart blood was finest patch of earth to fragile plants.

Noticing the agitated looks on Estefan's face, Varus cursed before standing in front of Amelia to protect her. His stance was clear, if someone bothered to attack they'll have to deal with him.

Krull also acted, realizing that something must be wrong from Amelia's reaction - if two Esteemed Seats died in their city, forget about the treaty of vampires and humans, Hunters would simply ignore it and start the war once again. Not to mention, if his assumption was right and this vampire really had something suspicious going on with the Sixth Pureblood...

   'It won't be just Hunters that would go crazy.'

This Pureblood had no lover for two thousand years and never stood out much from their group. He also did everything according to order and never let his personal feelings influence his decisions.

Never, but that one time during the Great War.

Krull not only heard of it, he also saw the records of what this person did in Istanbul. Because a bunch of Elders and human government heard a rumor about his human lover, they wanted to use that information and act against the Pureblood. Elders, who despised humans felt even more malice towards the unknown human and personally sent a few Elders to get rid of him...

And then they were found out.

So the silent Sixth Pureblood, the one that never acted because of his feelings, personally killed over three thousand Elders and powerful spell-casters in a single night. At the same moment, he closed off his entire city purging their influence and few weeks later, erased an entire peninsula from the map.

At the same time, the rumors of his lover died off, and many assumed that he died in that attack Elders devised.

After that, the Sixth Pureblood calmed down and build this city without giving any explanation regarding the past, leaving everything to their imagination.

So if he really found another lover and that someone happened to be Mikhael who got killed by one of their W.E.R.P.'s people... Krull didn't want to imagine the consequences.

As for Hunters HQ... Normal Esteemed Seats could be lost and changed, but it's said that if one Immortal Seat got provoked, the remaining six wouldn't hesitate to annihilate the responsible person, regardless of their identity.

Even the leader decided to act once in similar situation, according to rumors - and his abilities are supposed to be on pair with the Vampire King!

He couldn't try to protest, after all. Hunters came to help, but were killed instead.

And that kind of revenge wasn't something this city of paradise could handle right now.