The sound of clapping echoed throughout the room as the pressure reached its peak.
Ryuk turned his attention toward the source of the clapping, finding a man standing at the top of the floor from which they had all descended.
He was a snow-white-haired figure like Ryuk, young but not at their level.
He appeared to be around 27–30 years of age and wore the Instructor Uniform.
An interesting smirk currently rested on his lips as he observed the confrontation before slowly falling forward toward the ground. He landed softly, walking toward the three of them.
"A human standing in challenge before a Vampire and a Werewolf… It’s not every day you see such bravery. That only makes my choice even more worth it..." the man mused aloud.
Ryuk slowly deactivated Nano-Reaper and quelled his Frost Aura, returning to his normal weak-looking state.
Now that an Instructor was here, continuing to fight would be to ignore his presence—a direct provocation on its own. So, he might as well let things rest, for now.
"Good," the man said at Ryuk’s action, arriving directly before him.
"I am MadWhite, and I want to have a word with you… now," he said before turning back.
Ryuk’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he obliged.
Giving one last stare at Fenrir, he uttered,
"The barest minimum for a friendship with me is equality."
"I see no sense in trying to be friends with someone who considers themselves above me. And while you might not see me as prey, it’s clear that you also do not consider me someone to be placed on equal footing with you."
"So we can’t be friends, Fenrir."
Ryuk’s cold voice echoed through the area, slamming into Fenrir’s ears, whose eyes gleamed with deep red light.
He had truly tried to form a bond with Ryuk, yet he was refused so coldly. Such disrespect was something he had never experienced before.
"And just for the record—you’re not stronger than I am. And neither are you, arrogant vampire."
Those were his last words before he followed after MadWhite’s figure.
The sound of bones crackling together rang out in the room as Sanguin and Fenrir clenched their fists tightly.
"Tch, an ignorant human talking so big. Let’s see how long you keep that up.." Sanguin said in disdain.
He huffed and turned away from the training room, leaving only Fenrir staring at the spot where Ryuk had left.
Then, he suddenly smiled.
His hands morphed into gigantic dark claws with nails of steel, which he raised to his face.
"It’s been quite a long time since my will was refused, and I had thought he would have made for a good human slave."
"I guess I’ll just have to do it the Werewolf way then..."
---
"Don’t tell me you’re really planning on taking on the strongest Werewolf and Vampire in your Newcomer hierarchy at the same time? Or did you know I was around and would stop the fight before it happened?"
The voice of Instructor MadWhite echoed through the elevator where he and Ryuk stood.
Ryuk looked at the man, studying his handsome features for a while, particularly drawn to his strange blue eyes, before turning his gaze away to the elevator wall.
"I lost myself to anger," he replied.
The man’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he chuckled.
"Then it’s a good thing I came in early, huh?" he said with a loud laugh.
Ryuk chuckled too, and then…
DIIIIIIIIIIIIING
The sound of a chime echoed as the elevator doors opened, and both of them stepped out.
Ryuk took in his surroundings, finding it to be a balcony at the very top of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the area.
There were a couple of sofas, a glass table, a mug of coffee—which was surprisingly still steaming as if someone had just warmed it up—and two glasses of an unfamiliar drink.
"Come. Settle down," the man ushered as he walked to the sofa and took his seat, with Ryuk sitting opposite him.
Relaxed, he poured the blue drink into both cups before settling down on the large sofa and taking a long sip.
"Thank you," Ryuk said as he picked up the cup. But in his mind...
’Can you sense any foreign dangerous material within, System?’
[None found, Host.]
’Good.’
Ryuk thought as he took a sip. The drink had quite a bitter taste, but he was already used to Uncle Bb’s bitter teas, so he easily endured it and placed the cup down.
But then—
Ryuk’s face suddenly changed massively as he felt an incredibly hot lava-like sensation flowing through his throat, and then...
GUUUUUUUH!
A loud belch left his lips uncontrollably as flames burst out, flying all around the area.
Another loud laugh erupted from MadWhite’s lips.
"How do you like it, Ryuk? Good, no? Hahaha!"
COUGH! COUGH!
A coughing fit erupted from Ryuk’s lips as steam continuously escaped his lungs. He had no choice but to direct Frost Energy to his mouth, causing a painful sizzling sound that he endured with clenched eyes.
After about thirty seconds, the hot sensation finally faded away, replaced by cold air escaping Ryuk’s lips.
He turned to look at Instructor MadWhite but found him taking repeated sips of the drink—without a single change in expression.
It was clear they had drunk the same thing, yet while Ryuk had his throat burned up, MadWhite seemed to be enjoying it.
"A good drink, actually," Ryuk muttered. "Did well in reminding me… I’m still pretty weak compared to an Instructor."
MadWhite chuckled.
"You actually didn’t do that bad, though."
"I’ve seen some people have their throats burned off completely and spend weeks in the hospital."
"Your lungs are surprisingly more durable than normal… or is it your Frost Energy that is purer?" the man asked with a surprised expression.
Ryuk was rendered speechless.
Then, he put his cup down and decided to get real—but was paused when MadWhite raised his hand.
"I already know…"
____
A/N:
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In and Out_SnowySmoos.