Black String of Fate

It didn't take long for the ambushers to lay dead, strewn across the whole plaza. In the midst of the bloody scene, a lone, masked warrior stood with his sword gleaming in the moonlight, reflecting the fresh blood it had reaped. He was breathing heavily, his tiredness evident, but he still stood strong.

He moved towards the box where the 'complaints' were stored and took a look inside the contents of the requests. After looking for a second, he looked at the bodies strewn about, and he threw the letters away.

'Seems like the complaints are already addressed... Now, about this...'

Xavier looked straight into the eye of the undercover princess. He glanced towards the knight for a moment too, but quickly got disinterested as he observed the princess further. He clearly saw the fear present in her eyes, confused whether it was due to the violence that just took place or something else.

He slowly approached this mysterious girl, but soon stopped. In the depths of his mind, he felt as if moving any closer would be dangerous. The mana in his surroundings felt critically unstable as if a spell could be unleashed any moment. The knight who was now standing in front of the girl shouted out,

"Stop! Take a step further and you will face my blade."

Xavier smirked inside his mask as amusement was visible in his eyes. He felt a certain level of danger from the knight, but that was it. He was able to gauge that the knight was a rank 4 Advanced Expert, but it wouldn't be impossible for him to defeat him.

The true danger, however, was the magician girl. She gave off the sense of a Novice Initiate, but just like him, his instincts told him she was much more than that.

"You guys are the ones who have been staring at me for so long. Do you have business with me?" Xavier asked while looking at the magician girl, completely disregarding the knight. Joseph was irked by this but did not say anything. He had also sensed that he was an Initiate Novice, so defeating him would be completely possible in case things went south.

Seraphina took a deep breath as she considered her next words carefully. She realized that the Demon King did not notice that she was the magician of the hero's party, so she used that information superiority to her advantage.

"I need to talk to you privately, challenger."

Xavier was surprised at the words she chose to use but quickly grasped their meaning. He smiled and took off his mask, revealing his face to the one who was a potential comrade.

"I never imagined that you'd be the one to find me first. Let's talk, my base is not far away from here, but that knight..."

Seraphina glanced at the knight, indicating him to stay here, but this time, he didn't listen.

"No, I can't leave your side. It is my duty to stay with you and protect you under all circumstances."

"I will be fine, Joseph. Please stay here, I will be back soon."

"I cannot do that, princess. You are a member of royalty, and you cannot be left unprotected. You aren't even carrying any means of protection with you right now!"

"Princess?! Damn, no wonder you found me first..."

"Shut up! Don't interrupt me, criminal. I do not know what you guys are talking about in such cryptic words, but I cannot allow the princess to go somewhere suspicious alone, especially with some bloody killer like you!"

"What the hell are you saying, Joseph?! I told you I would be fine, moreover, watch your words, you are overstepping your boundaries. Challenger, please excuse-"

"Pft, Hahahaha! Wow, what a hassle. Is this knight slow? I feel sorry for you."

Xavier laughed, but Seraphina could see he was not a bit amused by the antics of her knight. His cold eyes were evident that he was getting irritated by Joseph's presence. She was extremely stressed, this was one critical situation where things could go very wrong if not handled carefully.

Moreover, she could see that Joseph was looking down on the Demon King, who was right now a Novice Initiate, just because he was an Advanced Expert.

'Why is he being so overprotective suddenly? Is he blind? Does love make idiots like him blind? Even I can't guarantee a victory against that monster, yet this idiot is running his mouth...'

"Watch your tone, plebeian. You can get punished for being so rude to a noble like me."

'FUCK! And now he's saying exactly what he shouldn't say!'

Seraphina was right on the mark. By trying to show her his protective side and being dominant in front of this mysterious man, Joseph was trying to win some cookie points from Seraphina. He was sure that he was stronger than him, since during the group battle, he only displayed the prowess of an Elite.

'He's talented, but that's it. There's a huge gap between an Elite and an Expert, and I have mastered Aura too. He can't win against me.'

Usually, Joseph's reasonings would've been valid, but today, he met an unusual exception.

*sigh*

Xavier lost the smile he carried till now. He looked at the knight with utter disinterest and annoyance. There was a limit to his patience, and it was really limited.

"You know, I have been observing you ever since I arrived here. I noticed that you started looking down on me the moment you concluded that I was a Novice Initiate. You did not look at my techniques, my fighting style, my sense of surroundings, my skills, nothing.

When I approached you, you started your little peacock dance to impress this little girl, not even grasping the situation properly. You assumed your superiority in this situation with your inflated rank and started acting like your word rules all. You even started insulting me.

I can tell easily now, I have dealt with your kind multiple times. You are just a young master with an inflated rank, gained from consuming the resources of your rich noble family, thinking that you're all that.

Listen now, dumbass. I do not give two shits about whatever you decide to do, or want to do, or wish to do. Stay quiet and obey whatever your crush is telling you right now. It's better for you. We have business to attend to."

Xavier went out of his way to explain the situation, with irritation clearly visible on his face. He was truly appalled that a junior of Advanced Expert rank was behaving this foolishly. He noticed that the princess, on the other hand, was extremely tense. He could tell that the princess had an idea of his true power, explaining her efforts to defuse the situation.

Unfortunately, Xavier's words hit Joseph right on the mark. It was now too much for him to sit silently when he was insulted in front of the one person he did not wish to be insulted.

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