Chapter 690 - Morwag (Patreon)

Author note: Just a heads up, Deva has been renamed to Hela. Apparently, we already have a character named Deva (Sophie’s disciple) in the story and I forgot.***“Weslin,” he says.

“Yes, Morwag?”

“Why aren’t you an S rank yet?”

“Why did your mom drop you on your head when you were young?”

Holy fuck.

I keep glancing between the most demon-like demon to ever demon and Weslin. Luan sits there, completely unbothered. Sophie makes a face that is somewhere between pity and finally understanding what Primordial Lunatics are really like. The triplets and their S rank velnar do not seem to mind the situation either.

Morwag laughs out loud, not showing the slightest sign that he takes it as an insult. He pulls Weslin closer and hugs him with a strong, shaking movement. I am sure if he did that to me without me strengthening my body, it would kill me.

“Ah, it reminds me of the good old times when we used to be a duo. It was so fun back then, when I was showing you the ropes. I hear you do the same for our human boy over there.” His red eyes turn to me. There is almost no gradient to them, just a single vibrant blood-red color with a vertical pupil in the center.

“You probably know more about him than I do,” Weslin says with a shrug.

Morwag shakes his head and says brightly, “Not a thing. Other than Nyssa wanting him on the fifth floor. But I never bothered asking, so that might be it.”

“That is why Primordial Knights will drop out of the top five,” the velnar says from the side. She easily towers over everyone here.

“Hela. I swear, every time I hear you talk, I want to punch you. But more than that, I want to punch my blue friend over there. Hey Luan, why don’t you group up with this lumbering oaf of a woman and fight me two versus one?” Morwag’s eyes are wide open now, and his heartbeat feels oppressive, yet still not pushed too far.

“I am not interested,” the thylarin next to Sophie says simply, without even looking up from his food. The glowing lines on his arms do not even light up as he stays calm.

Disappointed, Morwag leans back and glances at Sophie. “I thought you were getting dragged around by that feylith bitch. Is she finally dead?”

“Yes, Faora has passed away,” Luan says.

Morwag’s smile widens. “So you got a replacement. Another mind mage for Frontier’s silly attempts to reach the sixth floor. I wonder, if I killed her, would you be more willing to fight me?”

"Yes." Luan takes a slow bite of a pink dessert shaped like a small animal, chews without hurry, and only then lifts his eyes to meet Morwag’s.

They lock eyes as they stare each other down until Morwag suddenly shifts his focus to me, like a wild animal. He studies me for a moment, then bursts into loud laughter. "I knew I felt it. You’re angry, just like that mind mage over there, aren’t you? Do you want to fight? Is she your bud, rookie?"

Not seeing a reason to hide it, I nod, further drawing his attention to me.

While Luan and Hela remain calm and controlled, Morwag feels like the most dangerous one here because of how unpredictable he is. He seems completely led by his emotions. Out of the three S ranks gathered, he is the one most likely to snap and cause chaos, and everyone here seems to realize it, while making sure not to antagonize him too much.

“You could say that,” I confirm.

“What a fucked up situation. What would you do if I killed her?”

“Well, first, I do not think it would be that easy. She is a pretty nasty mind mage.”

“Ahhh.”

“Then that douchebag, the stick-in-the-ass thylarin called Luan, said he would try to protect her.”

“Yes, he said that.”

“And I would use the opportunity to sneak up on you.”

“Your own guild mate?” Morwag asked, feigning horror.

“Without a speck of hesitation.”

Hela starts laughing, and the triplets seem amused too. Out of them, the sister says, “Maybe we should just wait it out and let them clear each other out.”

Morwag laughs too, for a couple of seconds, before suddenly stopping as if someone pressed pause, and turns to the triplet, “Lumoran, I will paint the walls with your insides.”

The silence that follows makes me realize the other people sitting around were listening, and at hearing that, all of them stopped. It almost seems like most of them want to leave, but they are scared of what their reaction might cause in the demon.

Seeing that none of the triplets even dares to breathe too loudly, Morwag turns back to me. “Your name was Nathaniel, right?”

“I thought you knew nothing about me.”

“I lied. Don’t you think that if you’re foolish enough to believe anything you’re told, or too blind to see through a lie, then you’re beyond hope?”

At that moment, Luan breaks the silence to order another portion of whatever he is eating. I see it annoys Morwag, but he says nothing and keeps his attention on me.

The server, hands shaking, confirms Luan’s order and quickly rushes into the kitchen.

“Anyone who feels tired should probably leave this place. Don’t forget to leave a huge tip,” Morwag says toward the restaurant, though his eyes never leave mine.

For a moment, silence holds. Then someone moves, dragging a chair across the floor. When nothing happens to that brave soul, the rest burst into motion, scattering and clearing the place within seconds.

Morwag drags his chair closer, far too close, and locks his eyes on me. I do the same, looking back almost without blinking. I know for a fact he is also listening to my heartbeat, but I return the favor.

I observe the rhythmic, calm beats. Even when he seems annoyed, happy, or outright angry, they do not change in the slightest. His control over his powers is absolute, and I realize that any aggression he shows is a deliberate choice, allowing emotion to break through.

“Do you think I could kill you?” he asks.

“Probably, but you won’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“I haven’t given you a reason.”

“Not because we are in the same guild, or because Nyssa told me not to?”

“I don’t think any of that would stop you.”

His smile widens at my answer. “Do you want to fight?”

“Not really. I’d rather fight when I am stronger.”

“Oh.” Morwag seems disappointed. “So you’re scared of losing, of getting wounded?”

“No.” I shake my head, pulling his attention back to my face. “You just seem like the kind of person I would learn nothing from, and it would annoy me to no end to lose against you. I don’t know why, but I want to stomp you into the ground the moment I think I have the slightest chance.”

As I say that, I notice how hard it is to control my hearts. I still do it, it is my power after all, but there is a constant push to release everything I hold against this guy so close to me. I haven’t felt something like this in a long time.

Glancing at Weslin, Morwag asks, “Why aren’t you more like him, dear Weslin?”

The bald man ignores him completely, which only seems to amuse Morwag more. He scrapes his chair across the floor with a loud screech as he shifts away from me, aiming to bother Weslin.

Deep in thought, I stare at the demon’s back when I notice Hela watching me. The huge velnar woman lifts an eyebrow as I meet her gaze. “I heard you messed up the triplets pretty good.”

I glance at the lumoran trio. Even though they try to hide it, I can see it bothers them.

Looking back at Hela, I shrug. “Not like it was anything difficult.”

At my answer, she just nods, as if confirming something, and I look away. This time, I meet Sophie’s eyes.

The moment we do, she creates a connection between us, and I accept it. It is a much improved link, and not like the twins’ [Connection]. More relying on her mindbender abilities, subtle and much harder to detect. I have no illusions that the S ranks here missed it, but at least it will not be easy for them to listen without us noticing.

(Up until this morning, I didn’t even know I would be here,) She explains her presence.

(It’s okay. Did Luan come here to pick a fight?) I ask.

(I think he just wants something from the master of the Black Tower before we leave. What’s happening?)

(Primordial Knights are at war with Clown’s Emerald, or however they are called. The triplets are from that guild, and our big girl here is an S rank who seems to have joined them. You know Weslin from my description, and this creepy demon is the most demon demon to ever demon, apparently. An S rank too.)

(I know you probably can’t help it, and it wasn't your fault, but why do I feel like this mess is all because of you?)

(Malicious rumors deliberately spread to tarnish my unblemished reputation.)

(Surely.) I can almost hear a sigh in her voice. (Need a hand? I could try to trick Luan into helping out.)

(I think it is better if you do not. Morwag and Hela are already big enough problems without Luan complicating things even further.)

(I had heard things about Morwag and expected him to be different. So far, he seems a bit… restrained. But yeah, it is not as if he would go around breaking the rules of guild wars.)

For a moment, I think about saying something, but I decide against it. I figure it will be a good reminder for Sophie of how demons can truly be. She already has some grasp on it after dealing with the Dusk Horizon tribe on the 9th floor, but Morwag is a more... raw version of what a demon can be.

Luan and Weslin both seem to know what is about to happen. Hela probably knows too, even though she does not seem to care enough to try to stop it.

And so the bomb continues to tick down towards detonation, though no one knows what time it shows. The restaurant feels eerily quiet without the other guests, but the servers and other employees still move about, serving us while everyone picks at their food. The conversation keeps going as well.

Hela leans toward Weslin, the two trading words. Morwag turns his attention back and forth between Luan and Sophie, poking and provoking. Sophie, to her credit, stays measured. She answers politely, but with enough firmness in her tone that it doesn’t sound like submission.

The longer we sit, the more the rhythm falters. Food cools on plates, drinks go half-finished, and the steady murmur of voices turns into scattered fragments. Nothing happens, yet the atmosphere settles into something hard to define, not hostile, just drawn out.

When it finally looks like it is about to end, Luan stands to leave, and then Hela and the triplets follow, I feel myself tense up even more.

The triplets are just passing by when, as if remembering something, Morwag stops them. "Just a moment," he says as he rises.

Weslin does not even try to intervene, knowing it would be pointless, while Hela watches it, uncaring.

For the first time, the lumoran triplets begin to realize what most of us already knew.

As Morwag turns to them, one of the brothers stammers, "The rules, you..."

Before he even finishes, Morwag swings his arm and the lumoran sister explodes, as if her body is no more solid than a pile of feathers. She vanishes in a burst of pink mist, her flesh and blood splattering over her brothers and across the wall behind her.

With a nod, Morwag picks up a napkin from the table and calmly wipes the blood from his hands.

As I watch the shocked, horrified lumoran men touch the pieces of flesh clinging to their faces, I realize that Morwag never tried to drag it out. He did not insult them, he did not explain why, and he did not care about the set rules at all. He simply did what he had promised when the lumoran woman interrupted him. Someone who he already considered an enemy, yet not killed instantly, in what he saw as a show of politeness..

At the time, the triplets had taken his words lightly, but now they could see he had meant every part of it.

Morwag dabs at the lumoran’s cheek with a napkin, wiping away some blood as the man stares back in horrified disbelief, too stunned to move. “Messy, isn’t it? So much for your rules.”

***

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