Chapter Seven: Moment of Truth (2)
Kyle's expression twisted in pain, as his eyes became bloodshot while staring at Dusken with rage.
"Kyle, or whatever your name is, you were too delusional to think that you could trick me. But I have to admit that I was almost fooled by you," Dusken slowly massaged his forehead, while staring at Kyle's rage-filled eyes - resembling that of a non-human, with calm, pristine indifference.
"I am a person who doesn't trust easily; I suspect everyone, but when I saw your green eyes, I forgot what I was thinking, and I came down from where I stood to meet you. I even told you my name, which was something I wouldn't normally do, although I had forgotten what I was thinking when I stared into your eyes; it didn't mean that I did not know I had forgotten something, just that I couldn't remember what I had overlooked."
A cold expression appeared on Dusken's face, which made the darkness in the area slowly turn darker.
'You messed with the wrong person, alien,' Dusken shook his head internally.
Kyle's rage-filled eyes glinted with a faint light, as he let out a low growl.
"So, you… you knew all along"
Dusken raised an eyebrow as he stared at Kyle. Why was Kyle acting like it was a big deal?
When making a plan, the person should always prepare for failure; this way, one wouldn't lose his composure and would be able to adapt to any situation.
No matter how far south a person's plan went, as long as one didn't die, there was always a way to adapt.
"No, I only suspected that something was wrong. I am a selfish person, you see; I wouldn't sacrifice my life for anyone, but when you said that you were tired at the time we arrived at the boulder, I stopped and decided to fight, which wasn't in line with my normal actions.
What had made me wary, though, was your expert control over heat, it wasn't like a newbie learning to use their powers, at all,"
Kyle's expression vividly changed when he heard Dusken's words, fear reflecting in his eyes.
Dusken only chuckled; his small laugh was cold and sinister, reflecting his uncared towards Kyle's situation.
"The description of the scroll also added to the reason why my suspicion intensified. It had said that the creature had chased a ten-year-old across the Neverending desert. It didn't describe us both, this meant that the creature hadn't paid attention to you" Dusken paused, before adding:
"Then I came up with a conjecture, what if… What if you had another side ability capable of influencing a person's mind? Also, when I gave you a prolonged stare, and you gazed back at me, I instantly forgot what I was thinking, and my attention went back to the scroll I had received."
Kyle's body stiffened when he heard Dusken's proclamation; by now, the black veins on his face had increased and spread throughout his entire body; this was the sign of the poison slowly devouring him.
'What a pity,' Dusken thought, staring at Kyle's body that had become grotesquely skin-crawling.
"During this time, I had also noticed that I may have missed something. Then I began to combine all the clues I had gotten and received an inspiration: if you were capable of influencing a level one creature, then it meant that you weren't a level zero, and a person couldn't attain level one without reaching the god's palace and getting a god's legacy.
This was not the case for you since I had seen you appear in the Ethereal Land. Then I asked myself, what if you had another side ability that made you capable of teleportation? And only that, you being at level one was impossible unless you were a creature."
Dusken inhaled deeply; he had lost himself in his explanation and had talked too much, and now he began to recover himself.
Kyle stood there rooted to the ground like a statue, then he let out a carefree sigh, as he stared at Dusken.
"I should have killed you. I should have eliminated you, but I guess, it's just too late," Kyle shook his head calmly like he wasn't the one being poisoned.
Dusken only smirked at that sight.
'Do you really think I hadn't deciphered this?' he sneered internally.
"That was not all, what reinforced me to poison you wasn't just because of suspicion, but because I knew that probably, the original Kyle had already been killed by you and his body was possessed also by you. This meant that you had one aim, the god's palace. It can't be seen by creatures or any alien race other than humans, so you took his body to find the palace," Dusken furrowed his eyebrows and added:
"I don't know why you were searching for it, though, because even if you possess a human, you can't enter the palace, or your soul would be extinguished; it had happened to demon lord Zachar, after all.
I knew that you would kill me once we arrived at the palace, and I wouldn't have enough time to defend myself before I was terminated; after all, Kyle, who had such a great ability, was killed by you, so I would also die. I was worried, but I was lucky enough to find the soul-devouring poison, and so I poisoned your body, not because it would kill you, but to damage your soul and also as an insurance to keep myself alive."
Kyle's body trembled, as his eyes widened. He didn't know that Dusk had figured out all this through just the tidbits of information which he had gotten.
He began to look at Dusken in a new light, as someone above him in scheming, he had been thoroughly defeated by this young ten-year-old in front of him.
His meticulous planning and preparation had all gone to waste due to a boy. Kyle began to feel regret.
"What you said is all true, I would have eliminated you in the desert, but you got a scroll that could lead us to the god's palace in a short time, so I left you alive, only for me to start regretting that right now," Kyle nodded, a bitter look appearing on his face.
"You were indeed lucky; you got a soul-devouring poison and also a scroll, and this had saved your life. You have gotten my recognition; I, the heir to the ninth chair of the Star Alliance, have acknowledged you as a rival."
Dusken was expressionless, but his inner thoughts were in turmoil, to think that the scroll he had gotten from the creature was what had saved his life, he was indeed shocked by this revelation.
He shook his head slightly, this was the harshness of reality but also the beauty of fate; he had thought that the creature was bad luck to him, only for it to turn out to be a lifesaver.
He wrinkled his nose in confusion; he had never heard of this so-called star alliance; his eyelids drooped when he concluded that the aliens of the Ethereal Land had allied, and formed an alliance.
He gazed at Kyle, his stare reflecting victory, but also solemnity.
Under the bright moonlight, the cold winds howled a sorrowful song as Kyle's body began to disintegrate and turn to dark powder.
Suddenly, white demonic smoke began to come out of Kyle's disintegrating body as it formed into a soul.
"You played me well, Dusk," a raspy, grating voice echoed in the area radiating from the white smoke.
Suddenly, black particles that only Dusken could see flew out of his chest, and information appeared in front of Dusken, making his eyes widen in surprise.
—
[Species: Demon
Rank: Awakened
Level: 3]
Dusken immediately took a step back as he gazed at the floating smoke in front of him, his eyes sparkling with something dark, hidden and non-understandable.