“Explain to me why I have to do this again?” Xaltiq questioned, burying his face in his hands. No matter how he tried to rationalize this in his mind, none of it made any sense to him.

Mae examined her freshly polished nails, pursing her lips. “Because Erebus told you to?”

Xaltiq shook his head. “But still… to fight a king! It’s too much. It’s definitely too much for me.”

Tear glared at the young man. “Quit being such a bitch about it. Be glad that you could be of some use, worm.”

Xaltiq moaned. No matter how much time he spent with these people, he could never get used to their antics. For them, fighting a king--even just a spar--was nothing. For him, somehow, it felt very wrong. Xaltiq was not immortal nor infallible. He was human, very human. And second of all, he had been born a commoner. Despite his strength, he had humble beginnings! In the human hierarchy, he had no place even stepping foot inside of a castle.

The others, they were different. Being Erebus’ subordinate still felt unreal, so it was easier for him to comprehend. But this? He could understand it clearly, he understood the weight and gravity of the situation. That’s why he was so uncomfortable.

Sure, his stay at such a prestigious academy had made him grow confident--arrogant, even--but being around these monsters had forced him back into his place.

Even his stomach was starting to hurt from all of the stress.

“It’ll be under the guise of a test,” Mae explained. “Don’t worry so much about it.” Even though her words were meant to be calming, the cold glint in her eyes just made him start sweating even more.

“No, even if you say that, I…” He took in a deep breath, trying to reign it all in. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to,” he finally said. “Can’t you or Tear do it?”

“Huh, are you wimping out?” Tear questioned innocently, tapping her long nails against the table. “Is that what I’m hearing?”

“Yes! Yes, it is!” Xaltiq exclaimed, exasperated. “You two are better fighters than I am, so it’s better if one of you do it.”

Mae looked to the side, twisting her lips into a frown. “I don’t want to, though?”

“That’s your problem?” he cried out.

“I don’t want to either,” Tear piped up, smiling sweetly. “Humans are too weak. That’s why it’s better to have one face another.”

“Besides, Nathaniel’s weaker than you are. No need to worry,” Mae input. “I just need you to force him into a corner. Make him fear for his life.”

Fear for his? What about mine? Xaltiq lamented inwardly. “If I do that to a king, they’ll drag me to the gallows and I’ll be hanged!”

“Now, we wouldn’t let that happen, now would we?” Mae said in the most patronizing tone possible.

Xaltiq didn’t look convinced in the slightest.

She sighed. “Listen, you’re suited best for this task. Erebus has no concept of restraint, Tear doesn’t want to, and he knows me too well to think that I’d ever seriously come for his life. I’m not saying that you have to kill him; I just need you to push him to the point where he reveals what he’s been hiding!”

“There’s no way I can do that! I don’t know what I’m up against; I can’t gauge my strength to match the unknown.” What if he accidentally ended up killing King Nathaniel? There would be so much turmoil… Nathaniel didn’t have an heir. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of how politics worked would know that a violent and sudden and power change wouldn’t end well. And he didn’t want to be the cause of it.

The door creaked and Erebus stepped inside of the sitting room. “Xaltiq.”

The human’s hands tightened into fists. “Yes?” he answered, voice pinched.

“How about this?” Erebus laid his hand against Xaltiq’s shoulder amicably. “You do as you’re told or Vyne is going to have a new test subject.” He bent over so that his mouth was level with Xaltiq’s ear. “I’m sure he’d like to see what was going on with that blood of yours.” Xaltiq’s entire body went rigid. “Ah, you think that I didn’t know? It’s why you’re so interesting… But even that has its limits.”

Xaltiq closed his eyes, the threat ringing loudly in his mind. When he opened them again, they were cold. “I understand, I’ll do as you’ve asked.”

…

Nathaniel had always considered himself to be a reasonable king. So when his beloved Adelia came up to him asking a favor, who was he to decline?

“I want to see how much you’ve grown,” Adelia said, wearing a broad smile on her perfect face. “Xaltiq is an excellent partner.”

The young man named Xaltiq simply stared forward at Nathaniel with a blank expression, mimicking Erebus’. When Xaltiq’s silver eyes locked onto Nathaniel, they narrowed.

He felt a shiver pass through his body but managed to keep a relaxed smile on his face. “I agree, it’ll certainly be a test. I’m out of practice.”

“I’m sure you’re just being humble,” Adelia said, laughing a little. “I’d like to begin as soon as possible. Do you have the time?”

Technically, he didn’t. He had multiple meetings scheduled today and paperwork to review, but he didn’t want to see a disappointed expression on Adelia’s face. So everything would just have to be pushed back. The others would surely understand. “Yes, I do,” he lied. “The training grounds shall be cleared immediately.” He waved one of his messengers over and informed him to postpone all his duty and order those using the training grounds to vacate.

He couldn’t help but feel a little smug. This was the perfect chance for him to prove his strength to Adelia and get her to start falling for him. Nathaniel could picture her smitten and awe-struck expression when he easily defeated this Xaltiq kid.

Xaltiq seemed to be pretty strong, but Nathaniel was sure that he was stronger. Besides, there was no one in their right mind who would humiliate a king. His victory was guaranteed.

…

This was really happening, Xaltiq thought as he stood across the way from King Nathaniel.

He had to become this person again. He clenched and unclenched his hands.

But killing (at least, trying to kill) a king? It was a new low for him.

The others, along with guards, were all watching.

Nathaniel looked confident. The pitiful man did not know what was coming next. That he would be faced with death, probably for the first time ever. For Xaltiq to push Nathaniel to the edge, he would have to come at him seriously. He would have to let his bloodlust be known. The guards would sense it and try to stop him before he could do anything, so Xaltiq had to act quickly.

“Go easy on me, okay?” Nathaniel said jokingly, though his expression showed that he actually had no worries.

“I planned on it,” Xaltiq muttered quietly under his breath. “But orders are orders.”

He swore that in his peripheral, he saw Erebus smirk a little. Xaltiq shook his head, focusing back onto his opponent. He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted--he just had to get this over with. And then forget that it ever happened.

Nathaniel tightened his grip on the wooden sword and lowered himself into a fighting stance. Xaltiq moved to do the same.

The king swung first.

In comparison to what Xaltiq had been used to dealing with these past weeks (or had it been months? Everything was starting to feel like forever to him), Nathaniel’s movements were slow--human. Predictable.

It felt like if he was playing with a child.

Perhaps if he had confronted Nathaniel prior to meeting Erebus, he would’ve been put in a tight spot. Nathaniel wasn’t a bad swordsman by any means, he was better than most.

But he couldn’t overcome a barrier that he had been born with: his humanity. Xaltiq, who was not fully a human, had this advantage.

Because of this, Xaltiq wasn’t really concerned about his own safety. Rather Nathaniel’s, a fool who was tripped up on his own power.

So, he played along. Pretending to be evenly matched, if not inferior to Nathaniel. Xaltiq could see the pride in Nathaniel’s movements, in his eyes.

Was that what he had looked like to Erebus?

Sure, Xaltiq had taken on those weaker than him and defeated them easily, but he had never been able to take a look at himself. To Erebus, Xaltiq had probably been the same as Nathaniel. Young and foolish.

Something inside of Xaltiq switched, and the man in front of him was no longer King Nathaniel. It was himself. His past, arrogant self. Drunk off of his own power. He had acted humble, but he was far from it; he had believed that everyone was below him.

Hatred.

If Xaltiq had known his place, perhaps he could’ve saved the entirety of Opinum Academy from being destroyed. If his hubris hadn’t been so blinding, he could’ve put a stop to the entire mana crystal enhancement ordeal. His friends would be alive if he hadn’t taken on Fox.

He wouldn’t be here. In forced servitude.

Xaltiq wasn’t like Wolf, the young beastman who shared little love for humans.

He started to fight himself, Nathaniel, seriously.

And of course, the pitiful human couldn’t keep up with the sudden change. He wasn’t ready for what came next.

Nathaniel had never felt bloodlust, bloodlust directed at him, ever in his entire life. Despite being a king, he had never dealt with any attempts on his life. He had always been safe. His guards had always protected him so there was no need for him to worry--ever.

But this was different. His guards didn’t sense it. They didn’t see the murderous glint in Xaltiq’s silver eyes.

Nathaniel’s primal instinct to run for his life kicked in. The primitive beast inside of him knew what to do. Escape. Get away. Not get killed by this predator.

But he was too slow. He was always too slow. He would never be faster than Xaltiq. Than this monster charging at him. His pride, his intellect, everything flew out of the window.

The sword in his hand was nothing more than a frail twig. He fell over, tripping over his feet and his back slamming against the ground.

Xaltiq appeared above Nathaniel, bringing the sword up and obviously planning on impaling it through Nathaniel’s chest.

Child, a voice called to Nathaniel.

His vision went back.

The sword came down.

“Xaltiq,” came a quiet yet stern voice from the sidelines. Erebus. It wasn’t a warning or anything, no, it was a command. And Xaltiq understood the rest of the unspoken order.

He stopped his sword before he had plunged it into Nathaniel’s chest, taking a few steps backward.

He felt Mae’s eyes boring into him. The saying if looks could kill never held any more weight to them than now.

Xaltiq had messed up. He had ruined his one chance to display his bloodlust and get Nathaniel to unleash whatever he was hiding. That required the man to be conscious, not knocked out from hitting his head on the ground.

That had been what Xaltiq thought. He ruined it, he failed, he hadn’t done enough.

But he had succeeded.