Without further delay, he walked toward the shelf, stopping just before Agatha, who looked down at him in silence. Maybe he really was too small, he wondered. He stretched out his hand. She released the book without resistance and stepped aside, allowing him the space to carefully slide it back into place.
"I'm assuming," he began, "since you made it here, Violet must have offered some form of enlightenment regarding the agreement between us…"
Gazes shifted around the room. Meeting. Weighing.
"No, she didn't," Leah said at last. "Only that you're a friend."
A breath.
"For now, at least." Chion tilted his head slightly to meet her gaze. "Fair enough."
His fingers closed around another book, pulling it free.
"Let's move past that… to what matters."
"Your aid—in exchange for fair compensation." He opened the book, retrieving a small piece of paper from within.
Hector's gaze found him without delay. "I don't think 'fair' is enough. Not even close."
"I, for one, was all for whatever nonsense you had brewing," he said, almost lazily. "Really, I was." His hand slid into his cloak, pulling out a dark parchment. "Until I read this…"
The Ravens. Here.
Chion's gaze sharpened, just slightly. If they had reached this far, then there was no point in using them. The Council would already know. Irritation crept in. Quick. Controlled.
Violet spoke before it could settle. "I intercepted the message from a guard who had already picked it up. A Raven," she said coolly. "I wasn't about to let intelligence on this meeting leak."
Hector gave a tight, amused smile. "We were curious," he said, glancing between them, "why the Council's pets were fluttering all over the Vale."
"Turns out… it's because the devil invoked some ancient blood duel." His gaze shifted, first to Leah, then to Agatha. A single nod. Two agreements.
"Sounds rather damning, don't you think?"
Silence lingered.
Then—
"I don't think there's any sort of compensation you can offer," Hector continued, voice still light, "that would drag me into this."
His smile widened.
"Not unless it's part of all those shiny trinkets you earned as an honours student. You know… before you went insane and committed mass murder."
He said nothing for a moment. The gazes sharpened on him.
"That was always my first option," Chion said at last, calm, measured. "But…"
"Don't you think there's more to gain… better compensation… should I win the Blood Feud?"
Hector's brow twitched. "Now, you see…" he drawled, shifting slightly, "that word—win—doesn't exactly fill me with comfort."
A glance toward the others. "And I'm quite certain my peers here share that sentiment."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "You're crazy enough to stand against a veteran. I'll give you that."
"So I'm sure you're also sensible enough to pay in advance." His blade tilted idly in his hand. "Something tangible."
"Or better yet…" His smile widened, just enough. "Generous enough to will us your trinkets."
"You know… for the hustle of it all."
"Then maybe, maybe, we'll help bury you properly."
A flicker of amusement crossed his expression. "Out of courtesy."
Chion simply regarded him with a faint smile. "I appreciate the gesture… though I doubt it will be necessary."
He placed the book back on the shelf, then walked toward the far corner. "I have no plans of falling. Not yet."
He pressed the paper against the wall. "But… if I do fall, Hector—" He said it with a slight tilt of his head. "—then I'll leave you this."
His finger traced along the black wall, mimicking the precise runic text etched on the paper. "Collect it from my corpse."
"Plunder whatever your heart desires."
His finger stopped. The wall answered with a heavy groan, obsidian bricks shifting, parting, revealing a dark stairwell descending into shadow.
"But since I am still breathing…" He glanced back, just slightly. "My compensation will be set accordingly."
Leah's gaze found him. "And what exactly," she asked, voice steady, "will we be aiding you with, Eighteen?"
His head tilted, just before he fully disappeared into the darkness.
"Surviving."
"Simply that."
Then he was gone. His form swallowed by the dark.
Agatha's gaze found Violet without hesitation. "He's too shady," she muttered. "His heartbeat… too still."
Violet glanced back at her. "You're right," she murmured.
"Then why are you forcing this cooperation?" Hector asked, his voice already rising. "Just from the way he talks, you can tell he's hiding things."
"I know," Violet replied quietly.
"You know?" His voice lifted in disbelief.
"Calm down," Leah murmured. "Violet said we wouldn't get screwed over. That's enough."
Hector turned away with a disgusted sneer. "We'll see… we'll see very soon."
A heartbeat later, Chion emerged from the dark stairwell, a large chest gripped in both hands, his head barely visible above it. He set it down with a muted thud.
All eyes snapped back to him. Suspicion, undisguised.
*****
As the wall creaked shut behind him, Chion stepped forward, then lowered himself into a squat before the chest, unlocking it with a small key drawn from his pocket.
"As you're all aware," he began, "I was a Wing Major… with several sub-majors within the Moon." The chest clicked open. "So I have no… particularly fancy weapons or relics to offer."
Then the lid lifted fully.
"But—"
His gaze rose to meet theirs. "I'm sure this will be more than adequate."
Their eyes dropped to the chest. And stilled.
Disbelief. Immediate.
Detoxification pills—for blood current oversaturation. Muscle recovery vials.
Cognitive enhancement compounds.
Medicinal herbs.Poisons—Nearly seven Category One.
Silence thickened. The question etched itself across their faces: How does he have this?
The answer was simple. An honours student of the First Subsidiary of the First House of the Wing. Not that he would brag....
But still.
****
Leah's bewilderment dulled first, her gaze sharpening on him. "Are you really offering everything in this chest?" she asked. "That seems… excessively generous."
The others aligned.
"She has a point," Hector murmured. "What kind of bargain are you running here?"
Chion's gaze gleamed. "When the Blood Trial ends, and if I'm still alive, the Council will attempt to have me killed. Most likely before sunrise."
No one interrupted.
"Unfortunately," he continued, voice even, "I'll be in no condition to stop it myself."
"That's where your role comes in."
His eyes moved between them, one by one. "Ensuring that doesn't happen."
Eyes pressed into him, carefully assessing his porcelain expression of indifference.
Then Agatha spoke. "Don't you think that's rather… careless?"
"Why would you trust us? With your life, no less." Her expression remained firm, layered with doubt.
"Trust you… I don't," Chion replied smoothly. "I trust in your competence."
His gaze shifted. To Violet. "And the walking golden standard right there… holding this wreck together."
Leah frowned deeply. "Then why should we trust you?" she pressed. "How do we know there aren't ulterior motives behind this… 'save the damsel' scheme?"
His gaze turned to her. "You shouldn't trust me either."
"Trust her."
His eyes flicked back to Violet. "She'll see this bargain closed, with profit for everyone involved."
Leah's gaze followed. Violet met it and gave a single, affirming nod.
The tension in Leah's expression thinned. Slightly.
Chion exhaled, almost imperceptibly. "Then… may we proceed?" The question came out smooth as silk.
Hector exhaled faintly. "Yeah… we'll hear you out, Devil." His eyes narrowed.
"So what's the plan?"