The moment the man began walking, the murmurs died down to whispers and most of the ascendants began shifting nervously in their seats. His presence alone was so intimidating.
Of course, who wouldn't be afraid of an impulsive, murderous gangster who had managed to escape prison, find his way here, and unlock superpowers on top of that?
The man seemed to be heading toward the last row in the back. However, unlike most of the Ascendants who looked uncomfortable and shifted whenever he passed their row, the blonde girl didn't give a care about him, and just sat motionless with her hands crossed.
As for Alex, well… Alex didn't seem to mind that the man was a gangster. He too had killed a person, so he didn't feel he had the right to judge. Besides that, why should he be afraid of the man? Fear wouldn't change the fact that they were now in the same room, and unless the man targeted him, it was just a waste of energy. So Alex relaxed back into the position he was in before and just kept tapping a finger on the table, unbothered.
Although he was a bit curious…
'What card does he have?'
When the gangster got to the last row, he studied the two people seated there. Neither of them seemed to be afraid of him, or judged him. He smiled, then sat down and made himself comfortable.
However, not long after, one of the men in the front rows stood up, turned around, and pointed a finger at him. "How did you end up here? Aren't you supposed to be in jail, Barrett?"
Alex stopped tapping his finger and turned to the man who spoke. The man was in his late thirties with black hair and a pair of square-framed glasses resting on his face.
A smile tugged at the corner of Alex's lips as he thought, 'Ah… the typical self-righteous cliche character of every webnovel.'
He turned to the gangster, Barrett, to see how he would react.
Barrett leaned forward and rested both elbows on the table, then he shot the man who had spoken a mocking look and muttered arrogantly, "And who the hell are you supposed to be? The police?"
"You son of a bitch!" The man's eyes widened in rage behind his glasses. "Don't you feel any shame? Regret?" His voice grew louder as he began walking toward the last row. "My son is in the damn hospital because of you and your fuckin' gang!"
Alex raised an eyebrow in mild amusement. 'Ooo… the plot thickens.'
He looked at Barrett to see if the gangster would show even a hint of remorse, but the man grinned slyly.
"And?" Barrett asked, tilting his head. "What do you want me to do about it? Cry?"
"You…" The man in glasses, who before was barely containing his rage, finally snapped. "You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"
Everyone watched as the man ran toward Barrett, his face contorted. When he reached the table, he swung a desperate, wide punch and let out a strangled cry of frustration. However, unsurprisingly, Barrett dodged the blow skillfully. In the same breath, he stood up and landed a sharp punch to the man's face, shattering his glasses. Before the man could even reel back from the impact, Barrett reached out and grabbed him by the shirt, hoisted him up, and slammed him onto the floor.
'Damn. What the hell did he even expect?' Alex shook his head slightly as he watched the man groaning on the floor.
'Well, I know he is not going to back down. Characters like this don't back down.'
Just as Alex predicted, the man did, in fact, not back down.
Despite the shallow cut on the side of his head and the broken shards of his glasses, he pushed himself up on trembling hands and shook his head, probably to shake off the vertigo. Then, to the surprise of a few, he raised his hand and a blue card appeared between his fingers.
Seconds after, the card changed into grains of shimmering dust that began wrapping around his right palm, until what looked like a worn brown leather glove clamped onto his skin.
It was at this point that Barrett raised both hands slightly and said, "Listen here dude. I do not know what sort of power that blue card grants, but trust me, you do not want me bringing out my card." His voice grew a bit darker. "If I do, you will die."
'Come on, take it out. I want to see.' Alex was beginning to get excited at the scene unfolding in front of him.
The man with the glove flexed his fingers while tugging his tie down to get ready for business. But just then, a beautiful female voice from the front of the hall interrupted him.
"That's enough… both of you."
Everyone immediately turned to the front to see who had spoken. Even Alex, who was now a tiny bit annoyed, turned to see who was interrupting the drama. But then, his mild annoyance immediately faded because standing gracefully at the front of the hall was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
She was a dark-skinned woman in her early twenties with striking purple eyes and long black hair gathered into a heavy, low-slung braid. She wore a high-collared black dress adorned with intricate gold embroidery and delicate lace across the chest. A vibrant red fabric draped over her shoulders like a shawl, and she held a crimson card in between her fingers.
'…she's beautiful.' Alex swallowed.
The man who had been preparing to lunge at Barrett yelled in frustration. "This doesn't make any sense! This man here is a murderer, a rapist. Hell, he is the worst of the worst. Are we supposed to act like this is okay? How the hell is someone like this even allowed to be here?"
As he kept talking, the woman rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation, as if she had already dealt with enough complaints to last a lifetime.
She exhaled, then shot the man a piercing look. "Listen here, punk. I believe your guide must have already told you that this is not Earth. Here in the Pantheon, nobody gives a damn about your past. You passed the trial of ascension and became an initiate. Well, so did he. If you have any problems with him, take it up with him after the induction. In the meantime…" Her gaze hardened and her tone grew even more deadly as she pointed to an empty seat in the front with her card. "…Take a seat and don't make me repeat myself."