"We're not cut out for this," he said.
It came out flat. Not dramatic. Just honest.
"We might not be," she said.
"I can't land a clean hit. Every time I get close it flips everything I'm holding." He looked at his hand. "I can transform what it does to me on the way in, but I can't transform what it does to my weapon once it's already inside the technique." He paused. "I guess we can't move like we hoped in an S-rank gate."
Silence.
Then, from behind them and slightly to the left:
"Disappointing."
They both turned.
A figure was leaning against the wall of the boss room with his arms folded.
Medium height. Unremarkable in the way that people who are very good at going unnoticed are unremarkable — not plain exactly, just... easy to not look at.
He had the expression of someone who had been watching a film and found the second act underwhelming.
Zeus stared at him.
"Where did you — how long have you —"
"Long enough," the figure said.
