Return Of The Strongest Player

The practical exam soon ended, and the rankings weren't all that different from the entrance examination. 

The sun had set, and moonlight was the only source of illumination in a dim, luxurious room in which a crimson-eyed individual sat. His legs were crossed, and his eyes stared directly at the moon outside the window.

His index finger rhythmically tapped the armrest on which his forearm rested. His eyes burnt with a voracious flame, threatening to swallow the world.

Suddenly, the sound of a doorknob twisting echoed across the room, and the door gently opened, revealing a second source of light and a dirty-blonde-haired man, who seemed out of breath.

"Sit."

Arthur's voice resounded in Jake's ears. It was a single word, yet the latter felt an unknown urge to obey. Succumbing to the urge, he silently walked towards the crimson-eyed man before sitting on the chair before him.

Jake shivered under the terrifying gaze, faced with an unknown urge to curl his toes.

"Yes?"

Jake's voice echoed across the room, and Arthur cracked a smile.

"Remember when you said you owed me a favor?"

*

The night passed peacefully, and the day of the banquet arrived. Arthur's dorm became noisy at 3 AM due to the rustling of Caroline desperately trying to fix her hair. Gary, Evan, and Arthur awoke at half past three due to the noise.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Evan questioned Caroline's life choices. He threw his pillow at her, messing up her hair and forcing her to start over. The rage in Caroline's eyes as the pillow fell to the ground was unbeatable.

Arthur and Gary glanced at each other.

'He's dead.'

'Yeah. So dead.'

They spoke wordlessly, forming expressions of sympathy as they gazed at Evan. He trembled under Caroline's gaze. The pressure she exuded was stronger than during the practical exam, forcing Evan to question whether she was holding back.

Escaping the warmth of his bedsheets, he ran outside the dorms.

Caroline let out a shriek before locking the door to the dorm. Evan's banging was audible, yet she didn't budge.

"Don't you dare open that door," said Caroline, glaring at Arthur and Gary, who swallowed their saliva before nodding obediently. It was a pity how low the Lord of Sins had stooped. For a person who was barely an adult, no less.

Moreover, this was Caroline's revenge for yesterday.

'Oh, how the tables have turned.'

*

Over fifteen hours passed, and dusk arrived.

Dressed in suits and dresses, students flooded into the banquet hall, which was lined with hundreds of chandeliers, fine carpeting, and contained the best speaker system on the entire planet.

Gary came hand-in-hand with Caroline, while Arthur came alongside Evan.

"It's a pain being single," complained Evan, entering the banquet hall. His arm was interlocked with Arthur's. One would think they were homosexual, but Evan was as heterosexual as a person could be.

The same could be said for Arthur.

"I'd rather come alone," Arthur replied, clicking his tongue. The banquet would get messy, so it was better coming alone, so that he could properly do his job without having to protect anyone. And, it was a way to lower casualties.

"Do you not have something down there?" Evan asked, glancing at Arthur's pelvic area. "How could you even think about coming alone to such a grand banquet? Do you seriously have no one you like?"

"People are attractive, sure," replied Arthur, letting out a sigh. In reality, he was worried about the age gap. "But no one suits my fantasy."

"Who's your fantasy, Aphrodite?" 

Arthur let out a chuckle, stepping on Evan's foot using his heel. The latter had the sudden urge to let out a shriek, but suppressed it due to the massive crowd building up. Many hadn't even entered the hall yet, and it was already almost full.

'There are so many people…' Arthur thought, clicking his tongue.

It would be difficult.

"Arthur!" Jake's voice entered the crimson-eyed man's ears, and he glanced at Evan. 

"I don't care."

Arthur nodded, practically dragging Evan towards Jake, whose partner was hidden by the crowd. Evan and Arthur bumped into people a few times before finally reaching within proximity of Jake and…

"Alisha!?" Arthur questioned his vision as he saw the cyan-haired woman interlocking arms with the dirty-blonde haired man.

"Oh shit, it's the ice princess… I think that's what Caroline called you," Evan scratched his head, recalling the moment. However, he eventually gave up, shrugging cluelessly. "I'm going to call you… Icy."

"Say that again," Alisha stepped forward, baring her fangs. Her hand slipped, and she lifted her skirt a little to reveal the rapier strapped to her waist. 

"You brought a fucking weapon to a banquet?" Evan retorted, forming a dumbfounded expression.

"Alisha… what the fuck?" Jake inquired, to which Alisha clicked her tongue. The former had also brought his weapon, and so had Arthur. However, the two didn't reveal them, as that could cause problems.

Plus, Alisha wasn't even aware exactly how the plan would proceed.

The reason Arthur called Jake to the room in the middle of the night was to inform him about the plan, and cash in his favor. If they had to forcefully make 'toppling a world power' possible, they needed all the help they could get.

"Anyway, why are you two together?" Arthur asked, shifting his attention from Alisha's rapier. 

Alisha and Jake glanced at each other before sighing. Then, Jake–the rational one–spoke. "The Ainsworths and the Garcias intend to improve their relationship. They wish to start with the next generation."

"Even though they know there's no way Jake is ever becoming the head," commented Alisha from the side.

"Did you want to come to this banquet with my elder brother, then?"

"You're better than that guy, at least," commented Alisha, letting out a sigh. "They should've sent Ian and your eldest brother together a few years ago."

"The Ainsworths were at war with the Garcias back then…"

"Who cares?"

"Are you that oblivious to affairs?"

Arthur and Evan silently watched their scuffle.