Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Ryua lifts her arm and leans back, her eyes locking onto Kael with a gaze as cold as it is calm. "Like I said, if you try anything stupid—anything," she whispers, leaning forward, pressing both of her crimson tide revolvers against Kael's forehead, "I will kill you."
Kael, utterly unperturbed, meets her gaze without flinching. "I don't have questions, so let's keep this simple. I'll answer yours, then you'll answer mine," he says, his voice steady and indifferent. "I'll tell you who I am once you've asked all the other questions."
Ryua narrows her eyes, trying to decipher the man in front of her. With a sigh, she leans back. "Alright," she mumbles, conceding. "When I was thrown in here, I couldn't cross the rift, but I did see you talking to that creature. What did you talk about?"
"If you recall, he mentioned I seemed familiar. I made a deal—I told him why, in return for information on Leena," Kael replies, casually taking another bite of his meal.
Her tone sharpens. "What did he say?"
Kael swallows and dismisses the question with a single word. "Skip."
Ryua rubs her forehead, frustration evident. "Your memory—I saw it. You're not from the great empire, or any nation within the great lands, are you? Are you a demon spy?" Her voice is cold, her fingers twitching near the trigger. 'I will find out exactly who you are, Kael. And if you're even slightly suspicious, I'll kill you.'
Kael stifles a chuckle, covering his mouth. "What an imagination. Yes, you're right, I'm not from any country within the great lands. But I'm no demon. I'm not here to spy for any nation. No demon knows my name."
Ryua's eyes narrow further. 'He's not hesitating? What is going on?' She taps the table, the sound echoing in the tense silence. "You're not 17 years old, are you? I doubt you'll tell me your real age. It doesn't matter. I know for a fact you're not a child. Tell me, why are you pretending to be a child? Why are you a student at the academy?" Her tone is like ice, and her fingers twitch again, this time with even more intensity.
Kael sighs, setting his fork down with a resigned expression. "Hmm... I have plans, and being at the academy is convenient for me." He raises his hand to stop her from interrupting. "I don't want to hurt them, unless it's for their own good. Before you demand I leave the academy, know that I'm teaching them. I keep my eyes on them, I lead not just the students, but the professors."
Her eyes narrow further, skepticism clear in her expression. "What does that mean?" she mumbles, leaning on her arm.
Kael taps his TSI, and a large holographic screen appears before them. "Look at this," he says, sliding the screen over to her.
Ryua scratches her head, her eyes widening as she reads the contents. Her hands clench the table, and her mind races. 'What an insane plan... To take advantage of the academy midterms in such a manner.' "What are you trying to prove?" she murmurs, her voice cold as steel.
"It's not my plan," Kael exhales. "Like I said, I lead the students and professors when necessary." He taps on the holographic screen, flipping through the data. "This was the plan a certain cult had in mind. I didn't have to intervene—their plan was doomed to fail. However, because of my intervention, no one died."
Silence hangs between them for a moment before Ryua nods, her fingers tapping near her gun. "Why? I'd understand if it was someone else, but you... You have power and influence, don't you? Are you part of some organization?"
Kael's gaze shifts to her revolvers. "Power and influence?" His voice lowers, becoming more serious. "When are you going to ask what's really been bugging you all day?"
Ryua's expression hardens, her hand tightening around her gun. "The way you murdered that man," she says, her voice tinged with confusion and disgust. "The way you felt while doing all those torturous acts... Why would you do something like that?"
Kael meets her gaze with an expressionless face, his voice calm and measured. "What was I supposed to do? He was an animal. He preyed on children—on weak, poor girls who couldn't defend themselves."
"You had no emotions while doing it," Ryua states, her knuckles white as she grips her gun. "Does that justify the method you used?"
"153," Kael mumbles, his voice hollow. "All from the ages of 12 to 16. Seventy-four of them committed suicide." He closes his eyes, the weight of his words hanging in the air. "One of his victims happened to be someone I value. He wasn't like other animals—he played with his victims, drugging them." Kael places his palm on the table, his nails digging into the wood as his voice remains unnervingly calm. "Recording them. Making them do whatever he ordered while he tortured them." The table cracks under the pressure. "But worst of all, when he was done, he offered them a knife to commit suicide while laughing."
Ryua's eyes widen, her breath catching in her throat as she remembers the young lives she ended, the faces that haunt her. "But why... why didn't you feel anything?"
Kael leans back, his eyes never leaving hers. "When you kill an animal—no, a monster. When you kill a monster, when you butcher them for injuring an ally, do you feel remorse? No."
He stands and walks to the kitchen, serving himself seconds. "But you don't care about the 'why,' do you? You wish to compare me to your past, right? You're still afraid, looking for an excuse, desperately searching for a way out."
"No..." Ryua mumbles, staring down at her food. "I thought... I don't know. I'm not running away from my past. What I did was inexcusable. There isn't a day that goes by without me wishing I could change everything. I see their faces everywhere, the—"
"I'm not talking about your actions," Kael interrupts, his tone sharp. "You're not running away from your past actions—you're running from yourself. From your origins. 'Monster, monster, monster, monster' is all you're thinking." He smiles, a hint of pity in his eyes. "You're quite childish."
"What?" Ryua's voice trembles, her crimson tide revolvers now aimed directly at Kael. "Who are you to question me? Don't act like you understand what it's like to live—"
"To live as a monster?" Kael interrupts, his voice cold and unwavering. He steps closer, unflinching as the cold steel of the guns presses against his forehead. "You want to know who I am, right?" His expression remains impassive as he points to the guns. "Pull the trigger."
"W-what?" she stutters, her confusion evident. "Do you have a death wish?"
"Pull the trigger," Kael repeats, his tone dropping to a chilling, commanding whisper. "Or are you afraid? You've already killed thousands of people."
"Shut up..." Ryua grits her teeth, her grip on the guns tightening.
"How many kids did you slice?" Kael's words cut through the air like a knife.
"I said shut up. I know what I did," she snaps, her voice shaking as her hands tremble violently.
"Is that why you refuse to hold a sword? Do you think that's going to change the past? To change the fact that you sliced thousands without a second thought?" Kael's voice rises, pressing the barrel of the gun harder against his forehead, daring her to follow through.
"SHUT UP!" Ryua screams, her whole body trembling as she fights to maintain control.
"You want to be called a monster for what you did? For what they created you to be—"
Click.
Ryua pulls the trigger, her eyes squeezed shut as if to block out the reality of what she's doing. A deafening silence fills the room, the kind that makes the air itself feel heavy.
"W-What?" she whispers, opening her eyes to find that the gun didn't fire. Her breath comes in shaky gasps, disbelief flooding her features.
With a resigned sigh, Kael pushes the guns down, his demeanor calm and almost weary. "You can't shoot me with the weapon I gave you," he says quietly, taking the gun from her hands and pressing it against his own forehead. He pulls the trigger. Click. "See?"
"What...? No, no," she shakes her head, trying to make sense of the impossibility. "Guns are new weapons that barely got released to governments and high-end organizations. This is a custom-made weapon the Vice Guild Master managed to buy. There's no way someone like..."
Kael's lips curl into a grin as he tosses the gun back to her. Reaching into his bag, he pulls out a sleek black mask and slides it over his face. The mask is stark and featureless, save for a white number eight emblazoned on the left side, with several white lines crossing its surface. "Allow me to introduce myself," he says, his voice now slightly muffled by the mask. "I'm 8."
Ryua blinks, her mind racing to connect the dots. 'The Vice Guild Master said the group responsible for creating guns is highly secretive, but he did describe the masks they wore. Although it's a different number... the mask matches the description. He can't lie because of the oath...' Her thoughts spiral as she clutches her head in pain. "I heard you people are extremely strong... Is it true you're powerful enough to wipe out a country?"
Kael shrugs nonchalantly, removing the mask and tucking it back into his bag. "It wouldn't be too difficult," he admits, his tone casual. 'I mean, I'm not 'strong' enough to wipe out a country, but 'powerful' is different. All I have to do is send a large shipment of weapons to one country and they'll start a war immediately.'
Ryua's eyes widen in terror, her body trembling uncontrollably as she sinks onto the couch. "Did I... Did I seriously threaten a man that could kill us all without breaking a sweat?" Her voice cracks as she stares blankly ahead, her thoughts unraveling. "I'm going to get everyone killed."
Kael watches her silently as she spirals into yet another mental breakdown. He stands still, his expression unreadable, 'Have I been too harsh?'