God From The Abyss

Chapter 17: Chapter 017: Dinner (1)

The tension in the hall was growing thicker when the heavy doors of the hall creaked open once more. Mikael turned.

Draped in a gown of deep midnight blue, the woman who entered first moved with both grace and authority. Alan stood up to take her hand.

"Ever beautiful, my love."

"Thank you, darling."

Behind her followed the rest of the Duke’s family—three outstanding individuals who carried both the noble grace and stern poise of their father, and the quiet, unwavering authority of their mother.

"Mikael," the Duke began, "meet the rest of my lovely children: Evander, Lucius, and Sybil. And my beloved wife, Selena."

"Quite the lovely family you’ve got, Alan."

Everyone in the room paused. The stranger had called the Duke by his name.

But the Duke did not seem to mind it at all.

The children continued towards the table, with graceful movements, as expected of a family accustomed to power. Yet the moment the newcomers set their eyes on the strange teenager with a chilling presence, a ripple of unease went through them.

Selena silently assessed the situation. She’d heard of the commotion in the palace grounds, and this must be the culprit.

But everything about him seemed... clean. His aura. His demeanor. Even the room seemed too clean. Maybe it wasn’t as serious as she thought it was....

Then her nose caught it—a faint metallic scent. Blood.

Her fingers twitched, runes flaring to life along her fingertips. Her instincts said danger as she stared at the stranger.

"So keen are we, Duchess," the stranger spoke.

His voice neither showed respect nor even acknowledgment. It sounded almost amused.

The runes at her fingers flared a little, till she felt a gentle squeeze from her husband.

The eldest son came forward, glaring at the stranger. "Who are you?"

" And who.....are you?"

Lucius turned to their already seated parents, noting their now relaxed posture, he paused. One of the strongest families in the Western part of the Romanian Empire wouldn’t just let some random stranger feast at their table. So it was needless to ask if the strange young man had been able to impress Duke Alan Limmor.

Mikael turned to the last child, who seemed to have held her breath since she had entered the room. ’And yet, a mortal creature was...able to detect it. Interesting child." He smirked.

"Father," Evander turned to the Duke. "Who is this peasant that dares sit before you?"

The Duke leaned back into his chair at the same time as Mikael, smiles on both their faces — as though they were both enjoying the moment. Then he gestured towards Mikael with an almost amused motion.

"As you all might have already suspected, this is our guest, Mikael."

Selena’s eyes narrowed. Mikael? The one Isabella had reported to them that had attacked her and her companions? She wasn’t aware they had him brought back!

She turned to Isabella. Her motherly eyes moved with quick precision over her, scanning her for the slightest of injuries, back to Mikael and back to her daughter again.

Then she saw it.

A single drop of blood, that held a little trace of mana. An awakened’s blood.

The single drop was a mere faint speck on the hem of Isabella’s dress, almost imperceptible. But to someone as sharp as Selena — to an awakened with years of experience of having honed her senses, it was a given.

Her mana flared instinctively. The magic in the air began crackling in response.

"Dear," a calm voice—too calm, began . "What happened to the knights outside?"

Silence.

Then the boy smiled.

" They’re still alive, Duchess. Most of them."

Evander moved with incredible speed, his fingers already at the hilt of his sword.

Selena inhaled slowly, her mind racing.

A few dozen guards? Gone?

Mikael chuckled. "Don’t fret, Duchess. Just a few of them were unlucky."

Lucius placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Mr. Mikael, I ask that you don’t try anything funny, or your head will be off before you even blink twice."

He merely grinned. "Interesting."

"Now, now, Limnor familia," came a familiar voice, calm yet firm. "Let’s not be rude to my guest."

Selena turned to him sharply. "Alan Augustus Limnor." A subtle warning that meant she was mad!

But the Duke merely smiled. "If he wanted the children, they’d be dead the moment they had set foot into the dining hall, dear. Besides, we are here so let’s all relax."

Mikael took a sip and set down his goblet. His eyes turned dark red as the Gaze activated.

"It’s rude to not look your hosts in the eyes while they entertain you," he smiled.

"My deepest apologies, Your Grace. And I must say, you are quite the beautiful woman."

Selena flashed him a smile that all in the hall knew hid skepticism and suspicion.

Mikael couldn’t care less. His aura had dominated almost the entire hall, with the curtains floating, the floor trembling, the servants falling to the ground coughing out blood and the Duke’s children trying hard to catch their breath.

Well he did care, because the situation here could tilt against him at any second.

And surprisingly, the backlash Mikael had been waiting for seemed to have read the room and had greatly delayed itself This granted him the window of opportunity he needed to bluff as long as he could, and test the waters. Already, he had planned his escape routes and scenarios, because one thing was sure. He could NOT win here. If the Valerian was a beast, the duo here were dragons! So he could not risk it, his life, not with a potential accident risk that would probably immobilize him for a very long while.

The Duke’s smile had vanished. Mikael wasn’t being courteous, not in the very least — he was showing off his strength, staking his claim.

And while he was being cautious of the boy’s hidden strength, he couldn’t stand that kind of arrogance.

Selena reacted immediately. A spell to protect everyone in the hall from the rather overwhelming pressure.

’How was Master Rank pulling off this kind of move?’ That was the question on everyone’s mind!

"Enough, boy. Do not test my patience," she warned in a cold, steel voice, with a murderous glint in her stare.

’ I really do love infuriating people, don’t I?’ the lad thought to himself.