Chapter 30: (Vera)

  Two weeks, and finally the day came. Was she going to die tonight?

  Vera tried her best to look as presentable as possible. Instead of spending her morning asleep, she got some fresh air. She tidied up her hair. Tried to hide her despair.

  It had been a long, long time since she’d had to face Master Muryoko. Was he going to execute her for letting Sekara die? That wasn’t her fault. Kind of.

  Vera had returned home after the battle to Horoguramu, asking for Sekara. Being angry, Vera had said that Sekara was screwed and she couldn’t save her. Horoguramu was furious. He said that Sekara had so much potential that she was just starting to grow up. His mood didn’t improve when she said that there were no Inner Ranks. The idea that Outer Ranks had beaten them caused his jaw to clench. No doubt he exaggerated her report to Muryoko.

  She’d stalled long enough. Time to head to the throne room.

  There were 2 Deviants already there. Horoguramu and Nika. It felt like they never had anything better to do than relax there. Vera respectfully took her seat, too afraid to make eye contact with Horoguramu. Nika didn’t seem to care too much about what was happening, but she’d been told to be present as well.

  “Well, Vera? What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Vera didn’t answer Horoguramu. What could she say? She was sweating and shaking in her seat, and the tension almost burst when the door opened.

  “Master Muryoko, I am so, so sorry!” She cried out before recognising the Deviant. It was Sabitsu. Horoguramu acknowledged him, but Sabitsu ignored both of them, walking over to his seat. Deviant Prime 1.

  “Your scowl looks ugly, Horoguramu. Your hair looks nice, Nika. I’m surprised you failed against Outer Ranks, Vera.”

  Everyone ignored him, except Nika, who looked at her hair and smirked.

  Sabitsu was an oddity for sure. For one, he was short. 6 feet tall, which was two feet shorter than the average Deviant. Even some humans could look down on him. Secondly, he was almost as young as Sekara and acted younger. No one took what he said personally because he didn’t have opinions. He spoke in pure, unfiltered facts like an innocent child. He never meant to insult or compliment anyone. He just pointed out what was.

  Horoguramu despised his nature. It was ironic, since Sabitsu’s aura was a pure white as opposed to Horoguramu’s toughened black.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The three Deviants sat in silence for a little while longer. The door opened again.

  A Deviant walked into the room. He didn’t look incredibly impressive, being an average height and not even having glowing eyes. His pupils were visible. The only thing that suggested any importance to him was the giant crown of horns on his head, along with incredibly refined armour. The Deviants all looked down in respect, except the careless Sabitsu. He could get away with that stuff. He was Muryoko’s favourite.

  Muryoko sat at the head of the table. At the throne.

  “Vera, what happened?”

  Horoguramu stood to answer him, but Muryoko sharply outstretched his arm towards him. Nothing happened. Muryoko looked at his arm and sighed.

  “Forgive me, I’m not used to Sekara’s absence just yet. But I believed I was speaking to Vera.”

  Horoguramu nodded and sat down, shaking. He’d just escaped a lot of pain thanks to Sekara’s death.

  As for Vera, her eyes were beginning to water. Muryoko was smiling. Did that mean he was in a good mood? Or was he excited to kill her? Would anything she said matter? In that case…

  “I abandoned Sekara when she needed me. I was angry at her for wasting my time. I didn’t want to fight, and she annoyed me. We were hunting her target, killed his friend, and then fought some Nexeans. Outer Ranks. Four fought me, four Sekara and one was healing them. I don’t know the abilities of the ones fighting Sekara.”

  “Wait,” Nika spoke up, “That’s 9. There are 8 Outer Ranks. Are you sure there were no Inner Ranks?”

  “Three of them weren’t Nexeans. It was Sekara’s target, and two of his other friends. They beat Sekara.”

  “And you couldn’t save her?” asked Horoguramu. Vera knew what he was doing. He was trying to get her to say something that would get her killed. But she was dead either way. So she was going to be honest.

  “I bet I could have saved her. I bet I could have beaten them all if I tried. But I didn’t want to. As said, she annoyed me, so I abandoned her. Happy?”

  Horoguramu’s voice had a joyous undertone. “Hear that, Master Muryoko? Vera’s laziness got Sekara killed. She spared the Nexeans from killing Sekara. I call that treachery. How shall we punish her? I think a little more than a demotion is neede-”

  Horoguramu stopped when he saw Muryoko’s thoughtful expression. His hands were clenched together, and on his forehead. Everyone went silent, waiting for him to decide how Vera died.

  “Thank you, Vera, for the report.”

  He said nothing else. He didn’t announce Vera’s execution. He didn’t erupt into fury. He was just planning what he had to do next.

  “Master Muryoko,” Horoguramu tentatively asked, “while we’re here, what will come of Sekara’s rank? I know that Jinaida is a fine replacement for Prime 7-”

  “No need, Horoguramu. Tell Jinaida we won’t need another Deviant Prime 7. And tell them all that we won’t need another Deviant Prime ever again. Nexus will collapse. It will fall. Then humanity loses its best defenders.”

  An evil glint appeared in Muryoko’s eyes. "Then they die."

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