Clap! Clap! Clap!
The clapping echoed across the entire surrounding, the sound bouncing inside the large room. As both Cedrick and the Team Leader turned, their expressions hardened slightly as their eyes moved toward the source of the sound.
"To be honest, I didn’t expect to learn this much from a simple conversation. In a way, you can think of me as extremely grateful."
The moment the two locked eyes with the source of the sound, the Team Leader’s composure cracked. His eyes slowly widened as realization set in.
"You...?"
Cedrick, on the other hand, showed less change, though the subtle deepening of his frown hinted that he, too, found the situation unexpected.
"I was waiting for the right time to step in, but after hearing your conversation, I figured I’d wait just a little longer. You two were having quite the discussion, though I already understood some of it. Still, if you want to carry on, go ahead."
Seth silently waved a hand, gesturing for them to continue. From the way he carried himself, he seemed completely at ease.
It was almost as if he had forgotten the two people standing before him existed.
He had heard the conversation, yet he seemed so completely at ease that it created a distinct sense of tension in the air. One... that even Cedrick felt.
But that sense of tension didn’t last long as Cedrick’s lips parted and he spoke, "I did expect to meet you soon, but not this soon. Judging from your expression, it seems like you planned all of this. Well, this is good. In this case, I can just get rid of both of you at the same time. It’ll make my job a lot easier."
His words carried disregard. In a way, they did.
While the situation was unexpected, it wasn’t something that made him feel worried.
Seth merely smiled upon hearing his words. Planned? One could argue that he had, but it was a bit more than that. He had indeed planned for all of this to happen, though the way things unfolded was slightly different from what he had expected.
Nevertheless, this was still good.
Interlocking his hands behind his back, Seth took a few steps, pacing slowly.
"Honestly, my goal is rather simple⎯"
Seth paused, his pause carrying through the silence that spread across the large hall as the Team Leader and Cedrick both stared in his direction while calmly analysing their surroundings to figure out what he was planning.
"⎯I’m trying to send a message."
Seth’s voice remained steady as he spoke. Almost conversational, as though he were addressing a couple of close friends.
"Yeah, I’m trying to send a message."
He repeated, nodding quietly while silently mumbling, ’Yes, a message. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.’
"A message?"
Cedrick tilted his head, his posture loosening. Rather than becoming worried, he started to feel a little bit of amusement.
He understood Seth’s words. Of course, he understood.
But it was because he understood them that he relaxed. For him to speak so boldly... it was clear he didn’t truly know what he was dealing with. Turning to the ’Team Leader’ and seeing his pale face, Cedrick found that expression far more fitting for someone aware of the truth.
’He doesn’t know what he’s dealing with, and he thinks whatever he’s planned might actually work... in the end, he’s just naive. A naive fool.’
The Team Leader inwardly shook his head. But he still didn’t do anything. He had encountered many similar situations in the past and knew how to deal with the unexpected. Perhaps this was also the reason he had yet to do anything to Seth.
But above all⎯
He was interested.
Cedrick suddenly grinned.
’What gives you the confidence that whatever you’ve got planned will send a message?’
Where did this naive confidence come from? Come.
Ha, maybe in a way, he could use this chance to send a message of his own.
A soft chuckle escaped Cedrick’s lips as Seth’s voice drifted through the air.
"It seems like you’ve been waiting."
Cedrick raised his head, catching Seth’s gaze.
"I shouldn’t drag things any longer, then."
Yet again, it almost felt that he could read his mind. Was I being too obvious? Cedrick wondered while staring back at Seth.
But just as he wanted to speak, Seth reached for his pocket. His actions were neither hurried nor slow, carrying the same calmness that he had carried since the start.
And then—
He pulled it. A long, slick knife that caught the dim light, its blade glimmering faintly as it emerged.
Neither Cedrick nor the Team Leader gave much of a reaction; in fact, neither seemed aware of what the knife was. Even when they looked at it, the knife didn’t seem to be anything special. That observation didn’t go unnoticed by Seth, who raised his own.
"It looks like the shop doesn’t sell the same thing. Well, I guess this makes sense."
The Team Leader stirred, his lips pressing together as the bracelet in his hand wiggled.
Cedrick observed him, but didn’t do anything. He wanted to see what the knife would do.
No matter how much he looked at it, the knife... just seemed like an ordinary blade. He could sense it was anomalous, yet it didn’t feel like something of a particularly high order. In that case, what exactly was he planning to do? Cut them up?
Despite this, he still chose to observe. He had done his research.
He was aware of Seth’s capabilities, but he wasn’t naive enough to think Seth didn’t have tricks up his sleeve. That was why he was observing. He wanted to see exactly what this ’trick’ was.
But there was also a part of him that was curious.
’For a player like him to suddenly appear in the game out of nowhere, I’m sure he has some sort of secret. What is this secret?’
Cedrick was dying to know.
Especially when he considered his current circumstances. Though he was still part of ’The Hand,’ when compared to ’those’ monsters, he was still nothing.
’Still, he has to have some sort of secret.’
A lot of them had received the system quite a long time ago. And yet judging from how things had been progressing for Seth, it was clear that he had only received it recently. Or perhaps, he didn’t touch it until recently? But that in itself was suspicious.
It was something worth looking into. This was why Cedrick chose to observe. But more than anything he was confident.
He was confident in his own abilities.
SWOOOSH⎯
Cedrick showed no reaction as the Team Leader beside him moved, the bracelet on his wrist wriggling as something shot out toward Seth. It cut through the air with a faint, silent whistle.
Almost like a bullet.
The attack came quickly, but as he moved, something shifted beneath Seth’s feet before rising up and absorbing the blow with a soft ’thump.’ The darkness receded shortly after, and the Team Leader frowned, his eyes sweeping the surroundings.
"What? Where is he...?"
It all happened in a fraction of a second, but the instant the attack failed, Seth’s figure seemed to completely fade.
Only one person remained calm, his lips pulling into a smile.
After which, his gaze shifted towards the right as a figure emerged from beneath the floor, his hand reaching for his forehead as he wiped his sweat.
"That was close!"
So he said, but he still looked completely calm as the Team Leader’s head flicked in his direction. He was about to follow up with something else when his expression suddenly froze.
"⎯⎯!!"
Even Cedrick’s brow tightened as his head tilted.
Standing where he was, a large, squirming figure appeared in Seth’s grasp. Its body was limp, with just barely a breath of life, but on closer inspection, it was anything but human.
The Team Leader’s face went rigid upon seeing the creature.
"That’s...!"
A cold chill swept through the air in that singular moment as the Team Leader shouted.
"Those are my anomalies...! How do you have them!?"
His shouts echoed across the surroundings as he stared at Seth with wide eyes. He had previously assumed that it had all been Cedrick’s doing. That he had been the one to make everything go wrong with the turning process, but that wasn’t it!
From the start, it had all been Seth’s doing!
’No, that was clear to me a little while ago. But I thought he had made the transformation null... Instead, he’s taken one of them? What even is his goal in doing this?’
The Team Leader felt his heart ache at the sight. He had spent so long preparing the circles and arranging everything. He had kidnapped dozens of people in order to have numerous anomalies at his disposal for when his masterpiece was ready.
He had planned on creating a Gate strong enough to shake the entire island.
And yet...!
"Honestly, it’s a pity that I can’t turn them back into humans. I would’ve..." Seth stopped before scratching the side of his face. In the end, he shrugged. "I don’t know, maybe. Well, probably. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I can’t, so it doesn’t matter."
He stared at the anomaly in his grasp.
"I’m glad that they’re just empty shells. I can tell that they’re quite powerful, but you did something to them so that they wouldn’t attack you, right?"
Seth raised his head to look at the Team Leader as his lips cracked into a smile.
The Team Leader’s stomach churned, and he took a step forward, but just then Seth reached down and slashed the anomaly’s head clean off. A wet, spurting sound echoed through the air as he tossed the body onto the ground.
Thump!
Dark blood stained the floor in that moment; the surroundings fell silent, save for the soft blubbering of blood spilling from the anomaly’s body. The Team Leader froze, his gaze tracing the rolling head as he blinked slowly, his hand reaching for his neck. He was starting to become heated.
On the other hand, Cedrick continued to observe, his gaze falling on the knife in Seth’s grasp. For some reason, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from it.
Why...?
"Should we move on to the next one?"
Seth extended his hand once more as something pooled beneath him; then another body rose from the ground and reached for his grasp. The Team Leader’s face underwent another change at the sight of the anomaly.
Even Cedrick found himself surprised.
But their surprise merely lasted a few seconds before Seth slashed down again.
SPURT!
Once more, blood spurted in every direction as Seth slashed down with the knife, spraying outward and staining the ground further, even splattering across his clothes and face as his lips pulled into a wider smile.
Cedrick’s eyes flickered, his gaze tracing down the knife once more. He just couldn’t tear his gaze away from it for some reason.
Ba... Thump!
In that moment, the surroundings seemed to quiet as his gaze lingered on the knife, every minute detail settling in his mind as his eyes swept over it, and then his pupils suddenly constricted.
"⎯⎯!"
As if sensing his realization, Seth’s gaze shifted toward him.
Pulling the knife free, his wrist flicked a few times as blood splattered across the ground, then he reached into his pocket once more, retrieving a small white mask.
"Looks like the cat is out of the bag. Not that it matters~"
He slowly raised the mask to his face and set it in place, turning his attention toward the two. Though neither could see his features, they could feel it... The smile lingering beneath the mask.
The sick and twisted smile as his voice echoed once more.
"As I said... I’m doing all of this to send a message. A clear and powerful message."
And as his gaze lingered between the two, his face began to change, enlarging as his ears stretched and his eyes turned blood-red. Soon, the head of a pig replaced his own, and a heavy smell of rust and iron spread through the surroundings.
Afterward, the knife in his grasp began to glow, and the faces of Cedrick and the Team Leader fell.
Not even Cedrick could relax as he felt it clearly.
The power of the knife in Seth’s grasp.