"Why are you both telling me this?" William asked, switching his gaze between Ethan and Maximus without blinking.
Ethan met his eyes directly. "Because we need your help in this. We need the head of Demon Lord Kylark, and we know you are someone who won’t refuse"
Maximus nodded firmly beside him, confirming every word without hesitation.
William leaned back slightly and studied them. "So you guys want to kill a demon lord and take his head?"
"Yes," Ethan replied. "And also kill the Sinclair Duchess, but that can be handeled by Maximus on his own."
The room fell silent for a brief moment.
William tilted his head and asked calmly, "What was your mana rank again, Ethan?" He emphasized Ethan’s name deliberately, and pressed on the fact.
Ethan frowned at the shift in direction William took, but he answered steadily.
"I understand that a demon lord is several ranks above us. I am not delusional about that. But I believe we can reach that level in a few decades if we try hard. And we need your help to enter the Abyss properly and fight real demons. Maximus’s talent is special. If used correctly, it can change many things in the future."
William crossed his arms, his expression was now unreadable.
"Regarding Demon Lord Kylark," he said evenly, "I would have killed him in a few years anyway, with or without you. Why should I slow myself down and help you two with something I can handle on my own?"
Maximus did not wait for Ethan to respond. He suddenly joined his palms together in front of him.
"Please help me, William," he said firmly. His eyes shone, not with desperation alone but with burning resolve. "I know your hatred for demons is not normal. It is personal. Very personal."
He bowed forward slightly.
"We may not be as capable as you," Maximus continued, "but for both of us, this is revenge. It is personal for us, just like it is personal for you."
William did not respond immediately.
Instead, he sighed before he stood up and walked to the kitchen without a word. He took a glass, filled it with water, and returned slowly. He drank the entire glass in one go, his movements were unhurried.
When he placed the empty glass back on the table, his voice came out cold and calm.
"Do not compare my revenge to yours," he said quietly.
"My goal is to erase the entire demon race. You two are chasing the head of Demon Lord Kylark. His existence is like a grain in a heap of sand, my goal is to turn the whole sand into ash"
The words were not loud, but they were heavy the way william said them.
"But.." Maximus tried to retort.
"What is in it for me?" William interrupted. "What do I get by helping you?"
Maximus fell silent.
William’s gaze shifted to Ethan. "What do you have to offer?"
Ethan opened his mouth but did not answer. He had no immediate bargaining chip.
"Go ahead and think about it," William said with a faint smile. "Come to me again when you have an answer. I do not help. I do favors. And favors ought to be repaid."
He then turned slightly toward the table and starte arranging the chairs in place.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do."
Ethan and Maximus exchanged a look. There was frustration in their eyes, only grim realization. They stood up without arguing further and walked out.
The door closed behind them.
William remained standing in silence.
[If this goes according to your plan, they might become your biggest weapons against the demons.]
William smiled faintly at the system’s remark.
He continued rearranging the chairs around the table, his mind wandered to diffrent thoughts.
Everything had made a complete circle. Maximus, who once stood on the brink of becoming a cultist, now sought him for help. Ethan, who had always preffered working alone was now willing to work beside someone who had almost crossed the line.
William did not mind.
In fact, it was better this way.
If they involved him willingly, the leash would not even be visible and he would be able to control so much of their actions and decisions.
"i am not a control freak am i?" william chuckeled
[you are, no joke]
"tsk"
As he moved to take a seat, his attention shifted to something else.
The Storm Dragon’s invitation.
William reached into his inventory and took out the metallic scroll. The symbol of the storm dragon glinted faintly.
Without hesitation, he broke the upper dowel.
The world around him distorted and his figure vanished from the dorm room and reappeared instantly on storm dragon’s floating island.
The first sensation he felt was that of discomfort.
Wind struck him from all directions. Rain lashed his skin sharply. Thunder roared across the sky, and lightning split the clouds without pause.
He had appeared in the middle of a storm.
[The storm element is extremely active here. Do not cover yourself with mana or protection. Take the challenge. Prove yourself worthy before the storm, and the storm shall bow to you.]
The system’s voice sounded different and unusual than normal.
William narrowed his eyes against the rain. He could feel hailstones striking his shoulders and arms. The wind tore at his clothes and hair.
"How high are the chances of awakening storm element if I walk through this?" he asked, raising his voice over the thunder.
[Very high.]
Lightning struck the ground not far ahead of him, sending tremors through the island’s surface.
William did not circulate mana. He did not reinforce his body. He stood purely on physical strength.
"If Ethan had come here earlier," William muttered, squinting through the storm, "he would not have struggled so much to awaken storm element. I don’t understand why Klaus never brought him here."
The thunder roared again, louder this time.
[Klaus did not bring him here because Ethan might have died.]
William’s breath paused for a moment.
Another flash of lightning cracked across the sky, striking dangerously close.
He swallowed.
"I just realized," he said dryly, "there is no sun over me right now. If lightning hits directly, I might actually die if adaptation does not triggers."
He let out a hollow chuckle.
[Yes. That is why I said it is a challenge.]
William took a step forward.
The wind resisted him immediately, pushing back as if testing his resolve. Another bolt of lightning struck the ground ahead, and the air was filled with the burning yet damb smell from where the thunder had struck.
He clenched his jaw and walked forward again.
The rain soaked through his clothes entirely. Hail cut against his skin. His muscles strained just to remain upright.
Another flash.
This time the lightning struck close, so close that the heat brushed his face and evaporated wetness before new drops could touch him.
William did not step back instead he smiled.
"it will be fun to make the storms bow"