‘’They should’ve been up here by now. Did they realise we were waiting for them?’’ Daron thought as he stood outside the king’s room along with his large squad and waited for the moment to. The young lad was prepared to give his everything for his king and his comrades behind him with the same goal. It was clear, there was no going back for him. ‘’All of you, once more, remember that if we can’t protect our ruler we might as well be disposable bags flesh. Prepare to fight with your everything!’’ Daron renewed their fighting spirit, getting met with a loud ‘’Yessir!’’ A happy scream so loud that it could be heard a few floors down.

‘’Yohiro, you can’t be serious at a time like this!’’ Rosa told him off from behind, careful of two things. The first, to not step too close to Hiona who was holding Clous loosely by the throat for her own safety and the second being to not insult Yohiro too much, again for her safety. The boy born from The Tree also had a dilemma to deal with. Why did his chest suddenly hurt from Hiona’s words? He didn’t feel her hit him or anything of the kind, so why did he begin to feel down like that? Those were a few of things he was asking himself. ‘’Repeat that slowly. Once more.’’ Hiona ordered Yohiro as she continued looking down on upon the suddenly unmovable boy.

‘’If you’re sure in your statement, kill me now…!’’ He narrowed his eyes with a grain of cockiness, feeling something weird, thinking something weird, wanting to do something he considered weird. ‘’Why am I saying all this? I didn’t want to, but I also don’t feel like I’m stepping out of line,’’ is what he thought inside his head. He picked a wrong time, place and opponent to stand his group against, leaving even Clous to stare with concern; the same Clous who was almost about to kill the boy, too, was left to watch like a spectator of a sports match, anticipating the outcome while also knowing where the bets were throughout the entire event.

‘’If I kill you right now, would that make you sad, or happy? Would you feel despair during the last seconds of your life or would you be happy that you don’t have to bother,’’ Hiona came out of nowhere in a low tone, regaining her composure, ‘’Would you also be pleased that it’s ME killing you? Are you doing it for Clous? Are you worried for Rosa? Bernie back home, waiting for you so he could teach you how to read? Do you consider those things precious? A family?’’ With the sudden turn of the atmosphere in the room, so did Yohiro, suddenly seeing the world upside down as Hiona took his arm, turning him around with his legs up in his moment of daze.

‘’I stand behind all I said, however, it’s meaningless right now. I kill because it’s my job, sometimes for enjoyment, but this is neither. If I can’t get a high from killing or get nothing out of it, killing is needless, pointless and a waste of my breath as well as a decrease in population. I won’t kill you just because of my moment of irrational thought. Now wipe that dramatic swine-like look off your face and continue your mission.’’ In that one moment, a moment none of them expected, Clous and Rosa saw a different side to their usually psychopathic master. Maybe it was for that one minute, but it was there; humility could be felt in her words. Surely it was just her trying to cover up her bluff, but it felt too real to them, and to Yohiro as well, for he had given up the argument, getting dropped by Hiona and left to hit the ground in an echoing thud.

‘’You’re opinion of me won’t change. If it does, then you truly deserve to die. Dumbass!’’ She finished giving them her words of (half-baked) wisdom, cracking a crooked smile and dropping Clous to the ground. ‘’M-master…?’’ Rosa thought as she for once in her long career didn’t feel afraid of the inhuman creature that was Hiona, simply because of a little boy who didn’t realise how much he was impacting their awkward and disconnected group with his innocent, albeit naive presence. ‘’As for you two, don’t forget the feeling of your master being graceful, because it’s the last time I’m gonna be merciful towards another living thing. So please, fear and detest me, pieces of filth,’’ she smiled like a happy little girl, grinning and fleering at them both, turning their fascinated expressions into a disappointed, confused mess.

‘’Hiona…!’’ Yohiro raised his voice at her once more, ruining her cool moment. He stood up, getting her attention. ‘’We have a problem, er, I think.’’ He said, completely ignoring the conversation they just had, pointing at his gem. ‘’Haa? What’s the news? Hit me up!’’ She went along with it like a puppy. ‘’W-wait, where’d all the tension go?! The atmosphere?’’ Rosa began wondering nervously, surprised as Clous patted her head, ‘’Let it go… That’s how those two are, I guess?’’ Rosa formed a vicious smile, ‘’I’m the one who’s supposed to be petting you, aren’t I~?’’ She made up an especially girly voice, patting him back with the flamboyant fox not being able to find the strength to get angry.

‘’Yeah, there are people above us an--’’ ‘’Yohiro!’’ Yohiro and Hiona got interrupted by Clous. ‘’I want you to...after we get outta here, explain everything to me. From how you know those names to what the hell’s up with the gem. Is that alright, teammate?’’ And just like how he felt sorrow and despair without even a tenth of a second to realise it, he felt a sudden stream of joy enter his body, as if almost magically blowing his serious expression up and replacing it with one of his normal, filled with joy and happiness smiles, Yes, I will, teammate!’’ They ran forward, clapping their hands together arrogantly, giving one another the most gleeful smiles they possible could, a sly and creepy one for Clous and an ‘’I’m clearly pretending to please you and for my own enjoyment’’ one from Yohiro. Not long after, they were on their way again, making it up the floors with no obstacles whatsoever except for the few plastic cups filled with water that were probably thrown around in the middle of a rush hour.

Their footsteps were loud and purposeful, already able to be heard from Daron and his squadron upstairs. Yohiro and Hiona went into more detail while also including Clous and Rosa in the discussion. Their plan? What was that word to them? Have you not noticed? Though Clous thought it was risky and Yohiro wasn’t happy with it, they left it all in Hiona’s hands, to take out the people that Yohiro’s gem had warned them about. Risky? Perhaps. Efficient, not at all. Thoughtless, also no. After all, Rosa managed to fix the leakage from her nails and was ready for a confrontation and Clous refused to take his tome back, but it didn’t matter due to his physical strength alone.

‘’They’re here, sir!’’ One of the men on the frontlines announced what was obvious to the others. Three shadows approached from the stairway on the other side, accompanied by soft steps, iron stomps and a normal pair of boots stepping on the steps once by one. The mages tensed up the moment the heard it, until a furry ear poked out of the corner, followed by Clous accordingly and only him, confusing them

‘’Trespasser, I warn you this moment! Leave or I shall unleash hell upon you through the power of fifty mages!!’’ Daron yelled confidently as he tried to intimidate Clous. Daron was almost impressed by the fact that Clous was standing there unarmed, his only weapon seemingly being his nonchalant, serious expression and his hands which he had raised forward, as if he was guarding the goal in a football game. ‘’Listen tightass, I go through that almost on a daily basis verbally alone. Try me…’’ Clous provoked them in an aggressive stance, with killing intent looming over him. ‘’For the king, everyone, kill him!!!’’ Daron commanded in a moment of ignorance and neglect; he had forgotten that there were other people coming up due to his hubris and pent up stress, listening as the space around him filled with the sound of all the mages beginning to cast in unison. ‘’Article 10! Connect!’’ A perfect performance, more accurate than a concert performed by the most masterful of musicians, sending a stream of fire almost as large as that of Rosa down the hall and directly towards Clous.

The air itself began feeling like it was melting. Clous took a deep breath and swallowed. ‘’Concentrate all of my senses…!’’ He started mumbling, his hair standing up as if he had goosebumps, ‘’Concentrate all my energy in my legs! And go!’’ He yelled, overpowering the flames’ tenacity in sheer volume as he ran forward towards them like a madman. ‘’Ridiculous. With that kind of power concentrated into one, even the Seijeki triplets would fret!’’ Daron stood by that opinion, even though he knew that if a man would be risking to jump towards death itself, he might as well be packing a gift. Clous’ eyes opened wide. ‘’That Hakuhi guy had to have used something similar to what I can do, he had to! Concentrating all of your strength into your muscles, but that can’t be all, right…?!’’ He kept taking breaths at quick intervals, finally springing up towards the ceiling and stabbing his arm into it. ‘’If I can reach even a fraction of what I saw that brainless pride fetishist did, I can take this on easily. Could’ve practiced this better, though!’’ He pushed himself off the ceiling, flashing before Daron and the mages’ eyes before disappearing completely. ‘’All it takes is a second. Unleashing your full strength from the start doesn’t get you anywhere, so the last second is where it’s at,’’ he thought, content with his speed. He suddenly flashed back into view, crashing down and slitting the flame itself in two, protecting his arms and limbs as much as possible in the process. ‘’I-Impossible! You’re kidding me, that almost looked like God Muscle!’’ Daron yelled at Clous who stood among the remains of the flames, tired from his childish stunt.

‘’So I was close, huh?! Some amazing move that is… It’s incredibly simple, after all, but it just requires a strong body. The idiot wasted his life learning something a beastman could’ve learned in less than a year! That’s hilarious to think about!’’ Clous expressed his euphoria to them through a deadminded laughter, ignoring his pulsating from the sensation muscles. ‘’Cast again, now!!’’ Daron panicked, realising he was wasting time. ‘’Cast a spell again and I’m killing you all two minutes earlier than I would’ve otherwise…’’ Clous’ laughter diminished into thin air, leaving the sounds of the mages’ chattering teeth the only thing that could be heard. In a quick step, Clous started again, inhaling and exhaling furiously. ‘’They probably realised by now that I don’t really have that much strength after that first attack,’’ that was wong, ‘’They’re probably pissing their pants, though,’’ that was correct.

‘’It would appear that...this body wasn’t made for magic after all!!’’