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After the Banquet

How much time had passed since the banquet began?

From the perspective of time, it wasn’t a brief period at all, yet the conversation had hardly progressed.

Most were shrouded in silence, and speaking up was notably scarce.

Many words could have been said, but the reason they refrained might be due to each person’s struggle for dominance.

Ultimately, the blame also fell on the host of this banquet.

Kruuuuhg.

The ruler of Yawol, Yusa, was radiating an overwhelming momentum that pressed against the surrounding guests.

Though he claimed it wasn’t intentional, Yusa sat with his feet planted on the table, wearing a fierce gaze.

Krk-!

The air pressure warped the space around him. In the midst of this, Yusa seemed oblivious, simply gnawing on his fingernails with his teeth.

After a while of silently exuding energy, Yusa finally seemed to come to a conclusion in his thoughts and opened his mouth with a fierce glare.

“White.”

“…!”

At Yusa’s call, the White Chief flinched.

“Y-yes…”

Responding in a tense manner, Yusa’s gaze shifted toward him.

His eyes were viciously slashed, filled with an intense, untamed energy.

Inside his seemingly benign appearance, a dark shadow of a monster loomed over the White Chief.

Gulp.

It felt as if he might be devoured at any moment. That sense of impending doom enveloped his body.

“You said you met that guy, right?”

Who was that guy? Upon hearing the question, the White Chief didn’t hesitate.

He understood well why this gathering had taken place.

“…Indeed.”

The existence the General inquired about was undoubtedly that guy.

Not only had he attacked the White Chief initially, but he had also made a complete mess of the Blue guy, right?

“I couldn’t grasp it entirely, but…”

Rumor had it that he had been nearly killed with a hole in his chest.

And the son, who was supposed to take the next leader position, had one eye gouged out.

It was truly a grim situation.

“Glad to hear that. This is quite uncomfortable.”

Though the White Chief found some satisfaction in the Blue guy’s misfortune, the problem remained that he was one of the Yawol leaders.

Thus, he asked.

“What did he look like?”

This Yusa, who had hardly shown his face in nearly dozens of years as the ruler of Yawol, had now suddenly appeared.

Knowing this, the White Chief didn’t evade the question.

“…He had black hair, and his hair was so long that it surpassed his waist. He wore a mask, so I couldn’t discern his face, but I could tell he was of the Moon Night Clan.”

The memory was still vivid.

The steps of that figure appearing as the sun began to set.

The darkness he conjured while looking at him with those unidentifiable purple eyes.

How swiftly he had infiltrated and struck with force.

What kind of guy is he?

What on earth was his identity?

Ever since then, the White Chief had tried to identify him, but it was like trying to catch a ghost.

And how shocked he had been when that guy intruded into the Blue guy’s home last night.

Moreover.

“They said it was the place the General resided as well.”

He made his way in, and yet they just had a conversation and came out?

When he had asked the Blue guy through a messenger what had happened that day, he received no answer.

At the time, he thought maybe it was because they had never gotten along well anyway, so he wasn’t planning to share.

Yet now it seems…

It wasn’t just that.

It wasn’t merely that the Blue guy chose to keep quiet.

What if he was unable to speak?

If there was something too dreadful to be told to others?

If speaking about it would have caused a catastrophe, thus he remained silent?

“…There must be a good reason for it.”

The White Chief directed his gaze to Yusa.

When the Blue guy and the General had faced that figure, if that guy had strolled away without a care in the world,

That would mean—

The General couldn’t stop that guy.

Which implies that guy possessed enough power to resist even the General.

Could it be that’s why the Blue guy had kept his mouth shut?

The moment that thought crossed the White Chief’s mind.

“White.”

A chilling aura wrapped around him completely.

“…Cough!!!”

Crash—!

His body, swept by the pressure, slammed against the table.

Before he knew it, Yusa had approached him, grabbing his neck and pinning him down.

“What was that look just now?”

With a sinister and chilling voice that slithered into his ear like a snake’s tongue, Yusa asked.

“What kind of despicable look was that? What impudent thoughts could have led you to gaze at me like that?”

“General…ah, no! I was just…!”

“Really now?”

Yusa repeated his question, scrutinizing the urgently pleading White Chief.

“Absolutely not…!! Not at all…!”

The White Chief exclaimed desperately.

As he silently observed, Yusa released his grip and sat up.

“I told you before, I’m feeling a bit sensitive right now.”

“Y-yes… I understand.”

“Then you better keep your eyes wide and innocent. I almost killed you back there.”

Although his tone was playful, the White Chief felt compelled to tremble at those words.

It was a moment. A moment that nearly led him to death.

“Keep talking. How did that guy treat you?”

“…”

Yusa’s inquiries continued, and the White Chief recounted the situation from that time.

Yet, amidst his explanations, questions swirled in his mind.

The General had undoubtedly seen that figure as well.

Even if circumstances were what they were, why ask about his appearance?

Doubt arose, but he lacked the courage to voice it, so he remained silent.

“…I see… you fell victim in an instant…”

At the White Chief’s account, Yusa wordlessly walked away from the table.

Ugh…

Afterward, the White Chief painfully raised his body.

cough cough.

Suddenly, a mocking laughter floated from beside him.

Upon hearing the sound, the White Chief shot a sharp glare toward the source.

The Red-haired Moon Night member, the leader of the Red Family, was grinning as he regarded the White Chief.

“…That damn girl…”

“Oh, my apologies. I couldn’t help but laugh.”

Covering his mouth with a hand, he waved away the humor, but that didn’t erase his smirk.

“Honestly, it’s a bit funny, isn’t it? Not only were you blindsided by someone you couldn’t even identify, but you also seem devoid of pride.”

“Y-you…!”

“Shut both of you up before I rip your mouths apart.”

“…”

“…”

Under Yusa’s warning, the White Chief bit his lip, while the Red member pretended to seal his lips with his hand.

Seeing this, Yusa frowned but didn’t scold them further.

Then he turned to the leader of the Black Family.

“Black.”

“Yes, General.”

He addressed the previously silent leader of the Black Family.

“What do you think about the current situation?”

“…”

Suddenly finding himself in the direction of the question, Black, keenly aware of it, maintained a neutral expression as he answered Yusa.

“I believe it’s a perilous situation.”

“A perilous situation? Can you describe it more intuitively?”

Yusa questioned with interest, and Black seized the moment to elaborate.

“The emergence of an entity opposing the nobles, coupled with its corresponding power, isn’t necessarily an issue. However…”

He paused to breathe.

Then he succinctly summarized and added.

“The fact that Yawol is now in turmoil is the greatest concern.”

The nobles had been attacked. That fact alone disrupts the established order.

Those within the castle would feel apprehensive, and if this continued, it could stain the honor the nobles held.

Moreover.

“I expect this ambush won’t be the last.”

Both the White and Blue had fallen victim to the mysterious entity, with devastating results.

“The leader fell.”

Black’s voice was resolute.

Even as the White Chief glared at him, nothing changed.

“The Blue guy is on the brink of death. The White Chief can only seethe with anger. That’s the reality.”

“You—!”

“Further, the leader’s loss may not seem like an issue, but the fact that he was a member of the Moon Night Clan could become problematic.”

“What problem could arise?”

Ignoring the White Chief’s protests, Yusa inquired.

To which Black replied.

“The leader’s weakness could, in turn, be a problem for the Yawol created by the General.”

“…”

“And the Yawol’s problem might eventually become the General’s problem as well.”

Black’s words twisted Yusa’s expression.

Not only did he mention Yawol, but he also implicated himself.

Would he not get angry? The tension among everyone escalated.

“Hahaha.”

Instead of growing angry, Yusa burst into laughter.

But.

“My problem, indeed.”

That laughter held a weight beyond mere amusement, something everyone inside the room understood.

“The weaker you all seem, the more foolish I’ll appear.”

Kruuugh—!!!

The aura emanating from his laughter merged into a heavy, powerful strike.

The pressure of Yusa’s presence dwarfed what had been felt earlier.

“So what shall we do? What do you suggest I do?”

“…”

A bead of cold sweat formed on Black’s brow.

Cautiously regaining his composure, he spoke to Yusa without trembling.

“We need to capture that guy swiftly and eliminate him.”

He peered through the slit of his torn pupils, catching sight of his reflection.

Confirming this, Black spoke toward Yusa.

“Eliminate?”

“Yes.”

In front of many eyes.

They would eliminate that entity that bared its fangs toward the nobles.

And thus reclaim the diminishing honor and presence they had once held.

“That’s only possible if we catch him, right? What are you saying, acting as if that were a given when we haven’t found a single trace of him?”

They had yet to locate any trace of the ambusher.

The idea of capturing him felt absurd.

“…It is true we haven’t found his trail, but you need not worry about this matter.”

“Mm?”

Yusa raised an eyebrow, his expression turning curious. Why need he not worry?

Wondering, he stayed quiet and waited.

“…I don’t know exactly what his intentions are, but from observing the pattern of his attacks on the leaders, I believe there is a purpose of the noble’s downfall or something rivaling that.”

“And?”

“If the friction with the Blue guy wasn’t the end of it, it’s highly probable he aims to target another leader soon.”

As he said this, Black’s eyes shifted towards a woman.

“Mm?”

The woman whose gaze met his widened her eyes.

“Me? Why are you looking at me?”

“…Utilizing the next target could make it relatively easy, I believe.”

Leaving the flabbergasted Red member behind, Yusa’s beady eyes found her.

 

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