[Arthur's Pov]
Running through the backstreets of Mensch, I wasn't all too surprised to see the people of the slums still awake. Children who tried to find food, men who looked for their next hustle, and women who were ready to give their bodies just for a warm meal.
Although it pained me to see them, I was already too aware of what the flip side of the coin called Mensch looked like. This was, after all, a place where I had also spent a lot of time when I was young.
After my parents died, I had been taken to Mensch and although I had been supposed to have been put into an orphanage, that didn't happen. Instead, I had been forced to wander around the streets, trying my best to find something to fill my stomach.
Luckily, it hadn't taken more than a year before I got to occupy a vacant spot in one of the schools, a school where the principal had taken enough pity on me to allow me to live on the grounds.
During those days, I had been ruthlessly bullied every day. There hadn't been a single day where I didn't come home bruised and battered. At some points, I had been thinking of ending it all, just letting go.
But... I didn't. And that was for one single reason. To make sure the demons would pay. To make sure I could be the one to sever their flesh, to feel their blood against my skin.
"Arthur?"
Noticing my distant face, Sebastian brought me back to reality once more, as he gave me a confused look, with his eyes barely visible behind the cloaks that we had disguised ourselves with.
"I'm fine. Let's hurry up, or we might not even make it until midnight."
==========
After some time, we had made it outside of the city walls, somehow managing to avoid the eyes of the guards that were on the lookout. Or rather, I think they didn't care as we might have looked like beggars with our ragged cloaks.
Suddenly, Sebastian's feet stopped, and a weak voice escaped him.
"Hey... Arthur..."
Turning around, I felt like I already knew what he wanted to say. So, I just removed the cloak on my body and met his gaze head-on, waiting for him to articulate the nonsense I knew would come.
"Are you sure about coming along? I mean, even if..."
"Stop. We are already here, aren't we? What point would there be in me turning around now? Also, relax. Even if James might have looked like a monster to you, he still left you alive, right? I don't think he has any reason to get rid of us now. If he did, wouldn't he have just teleported and slit your throat already?"
Seconds upon seconds went by, with the purple-haired youth trying to understand why I was adamant about coming along. In the end, he just sighed and smiled at me once again.
"Haaa... Fine, let's go then."
With that, he also removed his cloak, not wanting to hide from the world no more.
==========
"Yo! So you are finally here? Man, I almost started to think I was about to be stood up!"
It was eerie, how the masked man on the hill just stood there and waved to us as if we were long-time friends. Friends that he had been waiting for as if we were going out to dinner or something.
Still, both I and Sebastian just walked forward in silence, not wanting to speak until we had a better understanding of the situation. A choice that our former classmate didn't seem to find all too amusing.
"No answer? Man, aren't you two boring... Here I was thinking about having a fun reunion with two of my bestest of friends."
As we arrived, there was still only one question that I had on my mind, a question that I couldn't help but pose.
"What do you want, James?"
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, a huge wave of pressure was released from the skinny body of the monster in front of us, now powerful enough to force us to our knees.
'That crazy...! Has he gotten even stronger?!'
Taking a few steps while looking down on us, I truly felt like this situation was completely out of my control right now.
"Hey... Arthur... You do realize that I didn't invite you here, right? The one I sent that message to was none other than Sebastian. Isn't that so?"
Forcing my mouth to move, I tried to make a rebuttal, "T-that is true but...."
"So if that is the case, why are you running your mouth?"
*Don!*
Another surge of mana escaped his body, further showing just how far ahead he had gotten in terms of power. This time, it was even accompanied by a wave of mist, quickly enclosing us on the hill, making sure no one could see what was happening within it.
Then, with a sigh, he summoned some kind of misty chair from thin air and sat down in front of us, one leg over the other as usual.
"Haaa... So, Sebastian, are you done with your work? Lately, your reports have been.... less than fruitful..."
Turning my head, I could see my classmate's face even paler than before, now unable to look up at the man in front of us, instead opting to stare at the ground.
"That... I was just... I mean..."
Then, out of nowhere, James released his pressure, allowing us to breathe like normal once again. Even more surprising was his next reaction.
"Pfft! Ha...Hahahaha! Man, you guys need to relax! It's fine, it's fine! As if I would be angry about something small like that!"
Waving his hand while laughing, I couldn't help but think that James was truly getting crazier by the day. Or at least, that was how he presented himself.
'I can't understand him... Is this just acting? Or is he actually losing himself?'
The gray suit that represented distance, the mask that showed his unwillingness to be understood, and the mist that hid him; His entire character was now just one that didn't want to be a part of the world.
As if he was someone... no, something that didn't want to conform to the rules of the world. Even the demons seemed to follow the laws of the world, but James was different.
Still on our knees, both me and Sebastian didn't know how to proceed now, caught completely off guard by the bizarre man sitting leisurely on the chair. Luckily for us, he was the one to move the conversation forward.
Leaning his head on his head, like a king that looked down on his loyal subjects, he spoke with clarity through the white mask, with the red adornments looking more like blood than paint now.
"Of course, I can't just let this go though... That would be like saying my orders didn't matter... Hmmm, what a dilemma..."
*Pak!*
Letting his right fist fall into his left palm, he acted as if he got a sudden epiphany.
"Let's do this! As you, Arthur, seemed so adamant to help, I will ease up the contract of Sebastian in exchange for you signing a contract with me as well!"
"There is no way I would...!"
"Or maybe I should just get rid of him?"
Silence enveloped us after he immediately quenched my small outburst with just a couple of words. At this point, I could see the sweat start to pour from Sebastian's face, him probably well aware that James wasn't one to spout empty words.
'This... What do I do?'
It turns out that coming with Sebastian here was probably the worst decision I could have ever made. Now I finally understood everything. James had never cared about Sebastian in the first place, he had always had another target in his sights.
Me.
And now, after Zero had opened my eyes to the position I was sitting in, I also understood why.
Removing his mask, we were met by the sight of a huge smile, a smile that could just as well have been the devil himself having made a great deal. Because he already knew. He already knew my answer.
"So, Arthur, the one who was granted the power of Theia herself... Are you going to let Sebastian here die, or are you going to sign a contract with me?"
Yes, somehow James already knew about my powers, and where they came from. So, if he already knew that, there was no doubt he was also aware of what my answer would now be.
"I..."
"Don't do it, Arthur!"
Interrupting my answer, Sebastian had gotten to his feet and shouted. The next second, he had already brought out his spear, shining brilliantly under the moonlight.
"Hmm? What's this? You're gonna attack me?"
Still as calm as ever, James just sat still in his chair, not minding the rashness of the purple-haired man. His blue eyes didn't even flinch when he saw the spear that threatened to pierce his heart. However...
"Thank you for coming here with me, Arthur... I hope that you can at least make it out..."
Instead of attacking his dominator, his spear was traveling toward his own neck, faster than I could have ever reacted to.
"NO!"
"Tch! Silly man..."