The hero walked forward slowly, ignoring the two beheaded apprentices and the moaning soldier that Vanya had beaten into submission seconds earlier. He even surprised Jason by ignoring Vanya herself, who was struggling with the spear sticking through her.
"I'm rather confident that it is not her using illusion magic right now," he said casually, kneeling in front of Jason. "Perhaps you could reveal who you and that terrific knight really are?"
His voice was disgustingly pleasant, completely out of place in the blood-soaked, ruined hallway. Dust was still falling from the crushed walls that he and Vanya had destroyed in their brief fight.
Jason was too stunned to say anything. The entire chain of events from Derek's death until now had been less than half a minute, and yet it seemed like hours had passed. Everything was going so well. How could they have ended up so thoroughly defeated so quickly?
"I don't enjoy repeating myself, master mason." He emphasized the title, making it obvious that he knew that Jason wasn't who he said he was. "I would appreciate it if you didn't waste too much of my time."
The soldier who had led them this far had begun to recover, sitting up and groaning. "The apprentices were the real deal, your highness," he said quickly. "I made sure to…"
"That will be enough Larak," the hero said calmly. His voice was kind, like a father speaking to his son, but his eyes were cold. "I will handle things from here while you recover from your…ordeal."
Larak's eyes bulged in fear, and he stood immediately, shuffling over to stand next to the destroyed section of the hallway. Every last sign of arrogance and superiority had been utterly destroyed. He looked so small and pathetic that if he had just now arrived he would have probably felt sorry for him.
He had been here though. That man was even worse than the bandits that Jason had killed so long ago. He didn't just kill people to steal from them. It was obvious that he was oppressing the guards and servants here, and he had killed Derek and Lukas for no other reason than he could.
His blood began to boil just looking at him. Jason wanted to kill that man himself, with his own hands.
"I…My name is Jason," Jason responded. He didn't have any lies prepared, and what use would it be anyway? "I…"
"I don't really care that much what your name is. I'm much more interested to see you and your intriguing companion's true form." He reached over, putting his hand on Vanya's arm as she tried to pull the spear out of her.
His movement was so slow, his touch so soft, that he might have been encouraging her rather than obstructing her. Vanya struggled against his hand, but was far too weak at this point. The carpet underneath her was a bright red making it difficult to make out how much blood she had lost, but it was already beginning to leak through and onto the stone floor.
"I would prefer not resorting to violence if it could be avoided," the hero said to Jason again.
Jason very much doubted that that was true. Through his kind voice and calm demeanor, Jason could see a hint of cruelty in his bright blue eyes. They watched the entire scene without a hint of emotion.
This entire time, he had known about the danger in what he was doing. He had even been through plenty of danger already, but it wasn't until now, that he truly felt like he was about to die. He was completely helpless, and in the hands of who he had heard was the most dangerous being in this world. Now, looking him in the eyes, he believed it.
He had shapeshifted his body, and thus it required no mana to maintain, but Vanya's illusion required constant maintenance. He didn't have enough mana to shift himself back without removing her disguise first.
Larak jumped in surprise as the black helm and armor faded away, revealing the demon underneath. The hero only smiled. "That was what I was hoping for," he said. "We are going to have a great deal of fun later." He might as well have been speaking to a good friend.
Vanya glared at him with hatred in her eyes, but she didn't say anything. The hero still had his hand on the spear preventing her from pulling it free. He turned to Jason a moment later. "Well, let's see what other surprises you have for me."
There was a massive pit in his stomach, but he shifted himself back anyway. He grew taller and more muscular, his clothes growing tight.
"Now that is interesting," he said thoughtfully. "Now I'm left wondering whether you did that because you know it's what I expect, or because this is truly your own appearance."
Jason looked at him in bewilderment. What he had expected? Why would anyone give themselves this appearance if they could avoid it? He was so surprised that he nearly missed the hint that the hero had given him.
He doesn't have any way of knowing if I am shifted or not? How was that possible?
"I did not know that either," the sparrow said to him. "Illusion magic is not well studied as far as I know, and practitioners tend to be rather secretive." Her voice was tense. She knew exactly how much danger he was in, and the stakes for her were even bigger than they were for him.
The only thing that he could really lose at this point was his life. Sure that was quite a bit as far as most things were concerned, but he still wasn't sure that he really wanted this life. He had made it a long way, but he still didn't feel the urgency to 'save the world' that the sparrow had.
Jason filed the knowledge away, though it wasn't likely to be useful to him any time soon. He knew that he should be looking for a way out of this mess, anything that he could do to escape with his life, but there really wasn't anything.
Vanya's teleportation had been their last resort if everything else failed, and look where that had gotten them?
He expected the hero to at least question him a little bit regarding his appearance, but the man stood without another word for Jason. He turned to Vanya, letting his hand off of her. It wasn't like she would be able to do anything even if she managed to get his hand away from her.
"Kill the girl, and take the demon to my study. I will be waiting there."
He began walking away leaving Jason even more confused. He didn't even mention Jason. Larak seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Your highness, what should I do with…him?"
The hero turned as if he had completely forgotten about Jason. It felt just a little bit too smooth and choreographed. That and how could he have possibly forgotten a man with this face? Was he intentionally hiding his interest or was he legitimately not concerned with him?
"Take him to another room, and have someone begin his interrogation there. I will deal with him later." He turned once again, and Larak picked up his sword, hand shaking.
Jason lunged forward to protect Nora, but he was swept away easily. Larak swung his blade down onto the helpless girl.
He stopped just before reaching her, and Jason was surprised to see Vanya gripping his wrist. She had somehow flung herself across the room to stand in between Larak and Nora.
It was clear from the strain in her eyes that she was weak, but Larak was terrified of her anyway. He leapt back from her, nearly crashing into the hero who had turned to walk back without Jason noticing.
"Absolutely fascinating," he said with genuine curiosity. "I didn't think it was possible for a demon to put herself in between a human and death." This felt like the most genuine emotion that the hero had exhibited yet.
"Larak," the hero ordered. "Should I find another or are you still capable?"
"I…I am still capable, your highness," Larak said, dropping his head down, but stepping back towards Vanya anyway. His fear of the hero was stronger than his fear of the demon.
"That is good," the hero said. "Very good. Oh, and would you take the girl and leave her in my study as well. I have a growing suspicion that she will have a part to play in my experiments."
This time, he didn't bother turning to leave, he simply disappeared into thin air. Had his whole walking away thing just been an act to see how they would react? Jason didn't have time to think about it as a group of soldiers ran up to help Larak deal with the defeated demon and two humans. Jason was pretty sure they were the same squad that they had walked past a little earlier.
They stepped wearily around Vanya until they realized that someone was going to have to be the one to grab her. It ended up taking five of them to force her to her feet and walk down the hallway following another soldier carrying Nora.
As she walked past Jason, he couldn't avoid her searing gaze. Did she think that Jason had betrayed her? After everything they had been through and all he had done? She looked away, still managing to look powerful despite how weak she was and how many soldiers were escorting her.
Soon Jason was left alone with Larak, who had returned to old form quickly now that Vanya and the hero were both gone. "You sure pick yourself up fast when there's nobody around to beat your ass," Jason taunted him.
He knew that he couldn't beat him, but he wasn't going to go quietly either. Larak seemed to think the same thing, as he walked up to Jason without saying anything, and brought his sword pommel down on Jason's head.