"Xenos of House Kharon, son of Veynar."
The next name called out ended the loud chatter across the hall.
"Deianira of House Ailuros, daughter of Oeneus."
Silence came, and with it, the mood instantly shifted.
"Well… this'll be fun."
Aspen leaned forward from the stands, a slight grin on his face.
"Y-Y-You know her?"
Gaia looked over, and he nodded.
"Yes, Lady Gaia. She's Lord Arc's childhood friend, a Cat folk, one of the few remaining Bastet bloodlines. Slothful as Tartaros, but don't let that fool you; when she actually decides to move, she's a force to be reckoned with."
He paused, glancing around the hall.
"…Though I have no idea where she is at the moment."
The 'moment' he said that, a voice floated from the entrance:
"Right here~."
Heads turned, watching as a girl walked in lazily, wearing a white dress, her bare feet tapping lightly on the floor.
Her purple-red hair spilled down her back, while her pink eyes gleamed with amusement.
Cat ears twitched above her head, catching every whisper, the faint flick of her tail giving away her race before anyone needed to ask.
That was a Bastet, alright.
"I almost overslept."
She yawned softly, covering her mouth.
"My bad."
Her tone was relaxed, playful even, but her presence...
Something about it made the Disciples instinctively step aside.
Xenos, however, didn't move, standing there with his hands behind his back.
Then, before anyone could say anything, he exhaled a... wave.
Something in the air thickened.
A crushing pressure spread from him.
John realized it immediately; this was his Will.
A Will of his Divinity that carried nothing but death.
Something not at all expected out of a mere Disciple.
It expanded, swallowing the entire hall in a suffocating silence.
Every Disciple froze, unable to breathe, feeling like their throats had been cut.
Aspen was much the same; everything in him wanted to take a protective stance, but...
He couldn't.
Neither could Ariadne, never mind Arc and Gaia, who stood stunned beyond everything.
Even Deianira stiffened, her tail locking up, her lazy grin vanishing, finally looking awake, with her eyes wide, her muscles tensed, and her ears flat against her head.
No one wanted to move under that pressure.
"Don't bother lining up."
Xenos's low voice pierced through them all.
"Come at me all at once."
An even stronger pulse of killing intent tore through the room, heavy enough to make every Disciple stumble back with gritted teeth, sweat forming instantly.
Every instinct in them screamed, "RUN."
Deianira had it the worst; his Will focused on her.
Indeed, her entire demeanor had gone from sloth to sheer alertness.
This was no longer a duel, turning into a battle for survival... but before it could worsen—
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, John stood at Xenos's side, his sword drawn, its edge pressed against Xenos's throat.
A different Inquisitor, this one hooded, appeared opposite him, their blade mirrored on the other side.
And from the shadows, without sound, a third presence emerged.
A Shepherd, cloaked in white, his scythe resting just against Xenos's shoulder.
The three knew that none of them was even close to being fast enough to stop him if he had truly wished to attack...
But at least they moved 'fast enough' to stop whatever came next.
Rather, they would make sure that nothing came next.
"Don't."
John's warned, and surprisingly...
"Okay, sure."
Xenos complied, lifting both hands in surrender.
"I only wanted to make things interesting."
He lied as easily as he breathed.
"Damned kid..."
And they believed him just as easily.
"You can go."
John waved his people, and Xenos watched them leave.
'So it was really controlled, huh?'
Eris didn't respond, but he could hear her nod her head.
'These bastards almost did me in, though... it nearly didn't work.'
Chuckling at that, Xenos looked at the Disciples stepping away from him.
They looked incredibly terrified, as if this was the first glimpse of death they had seen.
Only Aspen, Ariadne, and Deianira looked prepared, now finally in a stance to defend themselves, feeling like Xenos was really about to kill them just then.
'The good thing about my... condition is that I can act well~.'
There wasn't a Soul in history who hadn't told a lie.
When one lied, their nearly imperceptible movements...
Their subtle expression and even erratic pulse...
All of it could be seen as a tell of a lie.
To be human was to have such a tell.
Whether they realized it or not.
They all had such tells.
Xenos was an exception.
He never had such a tell.
And since he had complete control over his emotions...
His Divinity could wear whatever mantle he wanted.
Even the one of a completely mad serial killer.
A Will that made John, an Inquisitor, sweat.
Or rather, because he was one, he reacted the worst.
The stronger a Runebearer was, the more sensitive they became to such things.
It was only natural that this had put them on guard, even if he was a mere Disciple.
"Did I scare you~?"
No one replied or even breathed, at least not until John let out a long sigh.
"Boy, follow me."
He pushed up his glasses and walked away from the Disciples.
"Sure, sure."
Once a fair distance away, John faced Xenos with a serious face.
"Were you a secret soldier that House Kharon has been training?"
Xenos said nothing, yet John continued to ask:
"Are all the rumors about you a cover-up?"
No answer.
"Did you rebel and leave their control?"
John clutched his right hand a little.
"Do you... do you need help?"
Finally, Xenos replied, and it was only a simple shake of the head, respectfully telling him to mind his own business.
Though internally? He was surprised that this Inquisitor cared this much.
Perhaps he'd gone through something similar and wanted to help Xenos out, feeling sympathetic, or maybe he was just interested in the potential Xenos had, wanting to take hold of it before anyone else could.
Either way, Xenos wasn't willing to share anything.
"Fine, be like that. But if you truly are a soldier—"
"Inquisitor John."
Xenos, for the first time since coming to this realm, held a look of pure hatred on his face.
"Please, I let it go the first time, but I can't once more. Do not call me that again."
The Inquisitor paused a moment and slowly nodded.
"I... I understand."
With that, he sent Xenos away and loudly announced:
"Due to this unforeseen incident, the duels will be postponed to tomorrow. Those who had yet to duel are required to attend; we cannot delay the rankings any further."
No one even thought of complaining, still shaken from their meeting with death.
"Those who already dueled need not attend, but remember, in a week from today, a Colosseum Game will take place, so make sure to send us word beforehand if you do not wish to participate."
He waved them away.
"That is all. You are dismissed."
Xenos, who hadn't listened to a word John said, was already outside.
And surprisingly, Aspen was beside him, having quickly followed him when he left.
"Did you do all that to avoid wasting your time watching duels?"
That was the conclusion that the sharp wolf had come to.
"Yes."
A not-so-wrong conclusion.
"Shameless."
Xenos shrugged his shoulders.
"Shame is for the weak and the bored."
Laughing in exasperation, Aspen stopped and watched as Xenos walked down the corridor, casually leaving as if he hadn't flipped many a Disciple's entire world mere seconds ago.
'...just who are you?'