The staring contest, which promised to be a rather long one, was interrupted by my exhale; it resounded loud amidst the tent's dead silence:
"Haaah… So much for keeping up a friendly image. You know what? Fuck it - I'm tired of this farce."
I clawed at my neck in irritation as I spoke, leaving cut marks seeping with fresh blood.
"You… Do you understand who you just insulted?!"
The guards' stupor broken, they reached for their swords.
My brows furrowed at his question, not a trace of the strained smile remaining on my face.
"Do I understand? Of course I do. Think I'm stupid?"
Truth be told, my mood was already terrible even before these dudes had to get on my nerves.
I remained friendly, yes, but that was just for show.
My hunger had grown unbearable after starving myself for weeks straight, naturally exacerbating my mood swings; leaving behind a whole field of fresh bodies was the tipping point.
Though, I am thankful to the bird-nosed commander for helping me clear my mind with that appearance of his.
I clicked my tongue, not caring for the aggressive gazes aimed at me.
Overthinking just ain't my style. If somebody wants to fight me, it's only fair that I return the favor in kind, no?
I'd already ignored master's orders, interfering in that fight and causing bloodshed when I could've just waked away.
Surely it's not a big deal, then, to wipe the floor with a few more bodies?
Oblivious to my thoughts, one of the guards stepped closer:
"I didn't want to get violent with a child, but you've crossed a line. Your head will be payment enough, kid."
"Uh huh, yeah. It's always the same shit with your likes - 'You've stepped over the edge', 'you've committed a grave sin', so on and so forth…"
"How dare you-"
I didn't let him finish.
Making sure to place myself in range of his sword's reach, I closed the gap.
"It's always the same lines, rehearsed to death. Know how annoying that is? Tch, bet you don't - that heavy armor must be weighing on your brain, too."
"…"
He shook in anger.
I could see his dominant fingers twitching on the sword's sheath.
The second guard seemed set to jump in as well, though he was a bit more subtle about it.
"Well? Go on then, swing the sword. Or do you prefer verbal battles? I'm pretty good at those, ya know. Had a foul mouthed friend a few years ago - she taught me well."
"…Don't say I didn't warn you."
Finally, the guard made up his mind and grabbed onto the hilt. I heard his muscles roll under that thick armor of his, grip tightening.
Good.
This way, I can tell Master that I simply killed them in self defense.
The corners of my mouth went up ever so slightly.
The guard's muscles compressed further.
Things were about to explode, when-
"Halt!"
An authoritative shout stopped the enraged guard in his tracks.
Hoh?
Unexpectedly, it was the voice of the very commander whom I just laughed at.
I looked away from the guard before me, not even bothering to distance myself, and eyed the beak nosed commander with curiosity.
The guard seemed displeased with my utter dismissal of him.
"S-Sir! Why did you tell me to stop? The kid just insulted you!"
*Bang*
"Shut it!!"
But the commander wasn't having it; he slammed his hand against the table before him, sending a chain of cracks down its polished wooden surface.
Left with no room for rebuttal, the guard shrunk.
"My a-apologies…"
He bowed in guilt, stuttering out an apology before eventually stepping away from me.
Of course, he made sure to shoot me one more angry glare as he walked back to his position.
"That's… Unexpected, not gonna lie. Why did you decide to spare me?"
I asked with a tilt of my head, putting my palm to the chin in thought.
"Who's sparing whom, exactly?"
The commander snorted at my question, as if I'd just said something ridiculous. And, well… He hit the nail on the head.
This guy's got a good head on his shoulders, huh? Quite refreshing.
Understanding the underlying meaning behind his statement, the two guards stared at me in shock.
So, they had no idea. Only the commander knew.
My lips curved further up, revealing my pearly while, unnaturally long fangs.
"But how did you notice? I might not be an expert in presence suppression, but I certainly didn't flail my essence around like some brute, either."
It was quite puzzling. I thought I'd managed to make myself seem weak rather well.
Plus, I'd made sure that Nagi and Lloyd don't reveal a thing about me with the help of some light 'coercion'.
…Unless they disregarded my words.
But I didn't think they would've; it was obvious that the two had a strong attachment to their lives, and they'd seen what I'm capable of.
In other words, Birdnose somehow felt my strength on his own.
I guess I should also mention that Sepulcher's currently hidden away from Stone Cauldron's people in a… A custom trench.
Ah, and there was no violence involved whatsoever! All I had to do was give my boy a slightly, no, a very stern stare, and Sepuncher began digging out a hole to hide in like his life depended on it.
Well, probably because it did.
Anyways, Birdnose shouldn't know about Sepulcher's presence, which raised a question:
What gave it away?
While I mulled over those thoughts, the commander took the moment to gather his own.
A few seconds passed, the guards' eyes darting between me and their commander without even trying to hide their surprise, until the man in question finally opened his mouth:
"You may have masked your presence well, but that holds no value when your face gives your thoughts away so blatantly."
His explanation made my eyes spring open.
I've heard that one before - first Master, and now this guy too… Is it really possible to read my thoughts just from looking at my face?
I honestly assumed Master just used some sorta secret art to peek into my mind, but now it was hard to ignore the possibility.
Welp, might as well use the chance to get some answers.
"Care to elaborate, Birdno-"
Whoops, that was close.
"-Ahem... Actually, I'd like to know your name first. I'm Ori."
He raised an eyebrow, no doubt noticing the nickname that I almost called him by, but thankfully let it slide.
"Call me Garran. Now, before we continue-"
He eyed the two stunlocked men beside him.
"-You two. Go on nightwatch. Ah, and tell the ones outside to also keep their distance."
"W-what?! How could we, Sir? What if the disrespectful bastard tries to harm you?!"
They weren't having it.
Well, neither was Garran.
"And what do you suppose you can achieve? If the kid so wished, we'd already be dead… So read the room, and leave us alone. Understood?"
His voice, tinged with the pressure of his palpably heavy essence, forced the disobedient men into submission.
The tent's curtains fluttered, and they were gone shortly after.
There were three more men stationed outside - they must've left as well, as I couldn't hear their heartbeat anymore.
My thoughts were elsewhere, though:
Yeah, he's the real deal. I imagine I'd have to put in some effort, were we to clash; not that I could see myself actually losing.
Still, he doesn't compare to Master, that fiend.
"Now then…"
His words brought my attention back.
"Shall we have a chat?"
Taking my silent nod as affirmation, he gestured towards a chair opposite of him.
Me, Garran, and the broken table between us.
Ah, and of course the million questions both of us had for each other.
It's gonna be a damn long chat…
***
An unnaturally dark cave.
An unnaturally smooth bore, as if carved into the mountainside by human hands.
…And an unnaturally shimmering pair of eyes, looking out from within the cave with displeasure.
There were two more shadows dwelling inside, but the displeased man heeded them no mind - after all, they were the shadows of his own underlings.
The man, despite being over a hundred and fifty years old, had the appearance of somebody in their early forties; a short stubble covered the lower half of his face, and only the faintest wrinkles marked his skin.
Of course, it was not unusual for a high cultivation artist to preserve their youth better than a mundane human, but such a drastic contrast between age and appearance was unprecedented.
Still, the reason was a very simple one to understand, if not somewhat unbelievable:
This old man, Dren, was of the Sub-deity level.
A monster, in other words. Somebody who could cause a natural disaster without ever lifting a finger, if he so wished.
Thanks to his absurdly high level, he could control his essence to become entirely undetectable to anybody weaker than him - most would never be able to differentiate him from a mundane person.
Most.
These past few years, more than ever, that distinction proved itself important.
Because there was exactly one person, out of everybody Dren had met since tapping into the Sub-deity level, that instantly grasped his level.
And funnily enough, that very person was the source of his current displeasure.
Dren was sitting in a lotus position, slowly working on building the fundamentals for his eventual climb to even higher realms. But even now, his perception of time remained scarily accurate.
And so, Dren could instantly tell:
He's late.
He glanced out of the cave, gaze penetrating through the thicket of trees and foliage; but there were no signs of the person's presence, no matter how hard he looked.
After impatiently tapping on the cold stone floor for just short of an hour, all the while intermittently scanning the surroundings, he eventually let out a sigh.
The two concealed people, clad in darkness much like Dren himself, flinched at his motion.
Without making another noise, he looked into the deepest part of the cave where no light could reach.
*Fwoosh*
Suddenly, two figures emerged out of seemingly nowhere like a pair of wraiths, getting down on their knees in respectful bows before Dren. Their ears perked up, ready to heed his orders.
"Thirteenth. Fourteenth."
His deep yet chillingly even voice reverberated all around, but no sound escaped into the wold outside the cave.
"Boss!"
"Yes, Boss."
The two men swiftly responded.
"Any signs of him?"
Though Dren spoke in an extremely neutral tone, Thirteenth and Fourteenth could sense underlying traces of concealed anger in his voice.
"…Unfortunately, no."
Thirteenth gave his account first, which was met with a calm nod. Then, Dren turned his head towards Fourteenth.
"I've scoured the nearest ten kilometers, boss; he's nowhere to be seen."
Fourteenth, too, shook his head in denial.
"Hmm."
Did he get himself killed?
…No, that's impossible. I've made sure he could hold his own against almost any opponent, barring Exalted.
But still, there was absolutely no way the person would come late. Fear was one hell of a motivator, and Dren had instilled it inside the person in strides.
A visit might be due.
With those thoughts, he slowly began to rise from his sitting position.
The two kneeling men barely stopped their jaws from dropping, clearly understanding the meaning behind their Boss's movement.
"B-Boss… Are you planning to go yourself?"
He glanced at their shocked expressions.
"That's right."
"Please, Boss! You needn't concern yourself with such matters! We will bring him ourselves - just give the word."
At Thirteenth's panicked words, Dren raised a finger to his mouth in a hushing gesture.
He hated excessive noise.
Thirteenth instantly realized his mistake; a jet black dagger appeared out of thin air, aimed directly at his own throat.
He was prepared to take his life on the spot.
"It's fine, lower your blade."
"How could I-"
"I said it's fine."
"…"
The commanding tone was impossible to argue with, so Thirteenth obediently slid the dagger back inside of his sleeve.
"I've been wanting to test my strength out for a while. May as well take the chance to loosen my shoulders after the long meditation."
"Understood."
"Your wish is my command, Boss."
There was nothing left to discuss between Dren and his numbered men.
*Fwoosh*
They vanished as swiftly as they came, merging with the cave's darkness; a mild gust of wind accompanied them, but that too quickly disappeared.
Without looking back, Dren rolled his neck and set foot outside. His blank expression seemed especially threatening as he walked, the weakly suppressed anger warping even the cold night air.
My pathetic little disciple, Ori - you better have a damn good excuse prepared for when I find you.
Because if not… I'm afraid you might find yourself begging for death soon enough.
It was time for Dren to grace his eccentric disciple with a personal visit.