CHAPTER 76: GO GET ME MARRIED

Nearly everyone turned, some getting a feeling of déjà vu.

At the far end of the arena, near the exit archway, a man stood trembling, pointing straight at Xenos, fury burning through the exhaustion on his face.

"...huh?"

Xenos blinked.

"Do I know you?"

And that only enraged the man further.

"YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME?!"

The crowd went dead silent for a heartbeat, waiting for Xenos’s response.

"Well, yes... It literally is, isn’t it?"

Again, he somehow said the worst thing one could say in that situation.

"YOU KILLED MY SON! MY INNOCENT SON!"

Ah, so that was why he was so mad.

Xenos had almost forgotten about Ephialtes.

Was he going to have to kill the father, too?

"Please, if you have grievances, wait for the Disciples to leave the arena first."

Lothar interrupted before it could get any worse.

He didn’t want the crowd’s mood to be ruined; this was all for entertainment after all.

So what came after were footsteps, the surviving Disciples leaving in uneven lines.

Some leaned on each other, too mentally exhausted to move, while others were carried by healers, their Souls feeling... broken.

At the same time, black-cloaked figures entered from the sides, moving wordlessly as they dragged away the corpses, both the very few unfortunate Disciples and the assassins Xenos, Arc, and Aspen had torn through.

Xenos, of course, didn’t move alongside the rest.

He walked up to the person who most despised him in this realm.

Ephialtes’s father was an old man of a weak Lower House.

Usually, someone like him would never even peep at Xenos.

But rage and hate did wonderful things to a man’s mind.

It tore apart its logic from limb to limb.

Something that Xenos hadn’t ever experienced.

He almost envied this pitiful man... funny, right?

"I didn’t do anything against the rules."

Xenos’s words fell on deaf ears.

"HE DIDN’T HAVE A DAMNED BUTTERFLY!"

The man’s face was red with fury.

"You murdered him for no reason! I’ll—"

Xenos leaned in.

"Go ahead."

The man froze.

"Attack me. Right here."

Xenos took a step forward.

"My House won’t back me, you know that, right?"

Ephialtes’s father didn’t move.

"I’m alone. So come on, be a ’father.’ Swing."

His lips trembled, but his hands stayed at his sides.

"Swing, come on."

Xenos pushed his chest.

"Swing at me!"

He pushed him once more.

"SWING AT YOUR SON’S KILLER."

Xenos tilted his head, watching him.

"Ah..."

He did nothing.

"So that’s it."

Nothing at all.

"You keep yelling, but you won’t move."

Xenos kept walking, forcing him to back away with every step.

"You want to blame your position? Your Class? Maybe your House?"

Ephialtes’s father stayed silent as Xenos stopped just in front of him and smiled wider.

"Please don’t blame your position for your inaction."

He turned his back and walked away.

"You’re not quiet because you can’t act; you’re quiet because you’re a coward."

The man’s breath hitched, but again, he said nothing.

Xenos had left him standing there in silence.

Outside, the midday sky loomed bright.

The air smelled of blood.

What a way to end his first game, right?

He placed his hands behind his back and chuckled.

No one knew it yet, but that "innocent" Ephialtes had already made a deal with a Daemon.

One day, he’d betray the Academy from the inside, allowing his kin a way in.

It was the first act of the game’s campaign.

Many would be sure to pity Ephialtes...

But Xenos knew better.

Sure, for now, the boy did nothing, but Daemons...

Daemons were pure evil, and delaying was how people died.

’So... one problem solved early.’

There weren’t exactly rules against killing, either.

The Academy didn’t punish it; they just didn’t encourage it publicly.

Why would they? Every dead Disciple meant two more Runes recovered.

It was convenient.

But the few Shepherds that now walked up to him didn’t seem so keen about it.

Or rather...

"The High Elder wants to talk."

Their boss, who stood for this Academy’s headmaster, wasn’t.

"Yeah, I figured."

Xenos sighed; he was going to meet that man sooner or later.

He might as well get it over with now.

...

Minutes later, he found himself standing in a richly decorated chamber.

It was of polished marble, silver lamps, and silk banners.

The whole deal.

Seated behind a massive desk was the High Elder, a Sixth Class.

Aside from the occasional cutscene that he’d skip, where the story was explored, Xenos wasn’t too familiar with him, so this appearance was far from what he expected.

Short black hair, cyan eyes, and a clean smile that was just a little too wide.

Xenocrates, son of Speusippus, of House Hades.

He looked more like a shady merchant than someone who ran a factory pumping out killers.

Still, his appearance wasn’t what surprised Xenos; it was the other figure in the room.

Veynar.

His father.

"Wow..."

Xenos smiled at him.

"You called me here for a family reunion? How nice."

Veynar didn’t smile back.

Rather, he got straight to the point...

The one thing that he came here for:

"You aren’t my son."

That made Xenos pause.

He expected them to talk about the student he killed, but...

"It’s too obvious."

Veynar came from left field, his green eyes unwavering.

"You don’t even bother hiding it."

The High Elder leaned back in his chair, amused.

"You’re a soldier... you’ve killed many."

Xenos’s hands clenched at his sides.

He breathed out through his nose, reining himself in.

And that, he managed to do so very easily.

"Unfortunately, I am your son, but just with... a little addition."

The two exchanged confused glances, and Xenos sighed.

"You know the Ship of Theseus?"

Of course, they didn’t.

"Let’s put it simply. You replace every part of a ship, one by one. At what point does it stop being the same ship?"

Xenos tapped his chest.

"That’s me. Most of my ’parts’ are replaced, yet some old ones remain, the core especially. Whether we like it or not, that still makes me your son... oh, and by the by, I dislike it very, very much."

Xenocrates’s grin faded slightly.

He and Vaynar shared a heavy look before nodding.

They both knew not to ask how such a thing happened, not when the Soul itself was involved, as they knew the Soul was in Their jurisdiction and in Their domain...

The Gods.

Mortals were never to pry into Their secrets.

"Let’s talk about the Disciple you killed."

And so, the High Elder quickly changed the subject.

"Go ahead."

Xenos played along, caring not that his secret, or at least a part of it, was out there.

This realm was far too complicated and expansive for him to think that it’d forever remain hidden within him and Eris.

Besides, he wasn’t hiding it on purpose.

If his father believed he had discovered it himself, he’d cease or at least slow down any investigations he would’ve had on Xenos, and from now on, anything unusual he’d do could be chalked up to these new additions from the Gods.

It wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan, but eh, good enough.

"Don’t worry about the man; everything will be taken care of by the Academy. Of course, since everything you did complied with the rules, you’ll be receiving no punishment or repercussion."

Xenos smirked.

"You’d better. I know you let those assassins in just before the Game started."

Xenocrates’s eyes narrowed, and he said nothing...

Which was enough of an answer.

’Thought so~.’

Xenos mused.

’They probably assumed they were Hades’ dogs sent after Arc. The Academy could never say no to its maker, so they let them in like any other Disciple... my Calamity in play again.’

He leaned forward slightly.

"Then, as compensation for nearly killing me, how about helping me establish a House?"

Veynar blinked.

"You... are you serious about leaving us?"

"Completely. Now tell me what I need."

His father exhaled through his nose.

"A manor and land. Once you own both, your House can officially stand."

"Perfect."

Xenos nodded, confirming what he already knew.

"Sorry for being shameless, Father, but... could you get me married to Gaia?"

His smile didn’t stutter even through those words.

"I changed my mind."