Chapter 23: A Predator

"Even if what you say is true, it still doesn't address my question. If anything, it adds to the confusion. If your name truly contributed to the current state of the world, how come you haven't been brutally maimed by these people?" It was easy for me to disregard the achievements associated with Professor Hathaway's name since I hadn't directly experienced their effects. 

However, I understood the implications of his admission

"Hmm..." Professor Hathaway's smile weakened as he contemplated his next words. 

"Well, that's a bit more complicated, actually," he confessed.

"According to the surface world and the Domes, I should be dead—brutally murdered and maimed by the Natives, as you claim. But I'm still here."

"Yeah, that's just not adding up, Old man," I said, holding back the urge to facepalm.

Professor Hathaway chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

"You know what's really puzzling? You," he interjected, clearly attempting to shift the conversation away.

"I find you more intriguing than anything else."

"Yeah, I don't swing that way, Bling," I retorted.

Professor Hathaway choked and coughed, then awkwardly clarified, "I didn't mean it in that way..."

"I'm just someone looking to be pointed in the right direction." I replied cryptically.

" Well, you'll find out what I mean soon enough, " I said as we arrived before a thick steel door. The door slid open, giving our way in and disclosing the room on the other side.

Quite distinct from the Professor's office, the chamber beyond the door was notably larger and more expansive. Adorned with exotic burgundy-colored mats and carpets, the ground bore a striking contrast.

 Despite its size, the room maintained the subterranean atmosphere consistent with others I had encountered thus far. Lacking any windows due to its subterranean location, the only illumination emanated from Mana crystals suspended from the ceiling, casting a dim glow throughout. 

Positioned on either side of the room were three wooden chairs, each accompanied by an elderly figure, with a wide, round table situated between them at the room's center. 

Across from this arrangement stood an imposing figure—a towering, bare-chested man twice the size of Barack with a mane-like cascade of hair, deep, piercing blue eyes, and a rugged brown beard.

His cascading black locks were braided and adorned with colorful feathers, a tell-tale of his position, and was donned in similar Native attire with blue accents and more grand differences from the once I've seen. 

The man sat authoritatively untop what resembled a a big throne of carved wood; his figure made a silhouette by a glowing Mosaic window behind him, covering a considerable part of the walls and suffusing his figure in bright light, living only the otherworldly glowing azure eyes of his to stand out among his countenance.

"Your Majesty, Hathaway Bling and our esteemed guest from the Surface," Professor Hathaway inclined his head in a respectful bow beside me.

"Why isn't he in restraints?!" The raspy voice belonged to one of the six Elders, an elderly man with dark, wrinkled skin and feathered hair, rebuking aggressively.

"And he's armed!" Another Elder, an elderly woman, chimed in, her tone accusatory. "Guards, explain yourselves immediately!" She turned her venomous gaze toward Iroq and the other boys behind us.

"I'm entering hostile territory. What kind of fool wouldn't be armed?" I shrugged indifferently, maintaining a steady gaze across at the Chief.

The Elders seethed with anger, and Hathaway shot me a tense look.

"What's this, you devil?!" The elderly man from before turned crimson with rage.

"I knew we should have just disposed of him. What was Barak thinking, allowing this scum into our settlement?" Another Elder spat out.

"To hell with his purpose here! We'll slaughter him and use his skull as a trophy. Get him out of here now!" A third voice roared, prompting the guards into action toward me.

"Don't move," I commanded, infusing my words with venom. The guards all froze in place, sweat trickling down their strained faces as they quivered under my pressure.

Slowly, I shifted my gaze among the frozen Elders on both sides, deliberately meeting their eyes. None dared to speak, each holding their breath with eyes filled with fear. The first Elder to confront me earlier gulped audibly when our gazes met.

As a second oppressive pressure descended upon the room, a hush fell over the assembly.

"Do not threaten my people," the Chief warned sternly from his throne, his deep azure eyes locked onto mine with unwavering intensity.

"How dare you?" he repeated, his voice resonating throughout the chamber. The ethereal glow in his eyes intensified, his aura overpowering.

'Ho!' I stifled the urge to exclaim aloud. The pressure and bloodlust emanating from him were unlike anything I had encountered in a human before.

Strangely, it was exhilarating. My heart quickened, and my restrained instincts began to stir.

Suppressing an excited grin behind my aloof mask, I intensified my aura and bloodlust, meeting the Chief's opposition head-on.

There was no way I was going to lose this one. I had to establish my position firmly here because the outcome of following negotiations depended on it. I wasn't someone they could easily disregard; I wasn't just another Surface dweller or a Devil of the wall to be disposed of effortlessly. I was a predator from a plundered World.