10 — THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

TEN

"I should be reporting this to the Minister."

"Don't make a fuss over small things, Lord Kaizo. Save your breath, I suggest."

Kaizo's brow twitched as he sighed deeply in disbelief, deciding to let the underlying bite in the Priestess' statement go. "I don't think you truly understand what had just happened back there, Priestess."

Briefly halting and shooting him a sideways glance over her shoulder, the Priestess' brows furrowed. "And you do?" she nonchalantly asked, sounding more laid back and uncaring in full contrast to what she let it seemed. Her hooded dark chiffon cape fluttering in the air as they trudged their way towards the south territory of the Plateau where the orchard she currently occupied was. "Enlighten me, then, my lord."

This made Kaizo released a frustrated sigh out his nose. With few large strides, he overtook, halting before the surprisingly taken aback Priestess─face gone blanched and eyes widening like a deer caught in a headlights─who even took a step back, creating more distance between them. Her reaction somewhat puzzled him a bit. More so when she put her arms around herself in a rather protective stance.

It wasn't the first time the Priestess acted in such a way─recoiling in a jiff whenever their distance almost closed to nothing─where in fact should be happening the other way around.

Choosing to ignore the horror-stricken expression she briefly sported, Kaizo propped a hand on his waist, looked down with squinted eyes at the petite Priestess, and emphasized every single word he spout, "With all due res─"

"You'll offend me. I get it."

"─pect, Priestess. Someone just shoot you back there!"

The Priestess regarded him apathetically, dropping her arms on the either sides. "And here I thought you're about to say something offensive."

Kaizo's jaw almost dropped. He didn't just hear those careless words from the Priestess, herself, did he? "Someone just tried to kill you!" he shouted exasperatedly, earning a mere raised of a brow from his companion. "How can you be so calm about this?" he added, lifting the pure obsidian-made arrow in his left hand. The very same arrow that almost pierced through the Priestess' skull had he wasn't vigilant and agile enough to prevent the imminent threat.

And yet, here she was, not even giving a littlest damn about what had just transpired back there in the town's square.

Was he frustrated? Infuriated!

The Priestess only stole a glance of it before uttering the words that irked him even more. "Overreacting would lead you nowhere, Lord Kaizo. Hold your horses, if you may."

"Unbelievable!"

Kaizo helplessly erupted to a sardonic laughter when she walked past him. He was about to give her another piece of his mind when the Priestess beat him to it.

"And besides . . ." The Priestess momentarily stopped on her track and craned her head sideways without fully looking back at him. "Was it really intended for me?" A small smile of malice grazed her lips. Under the dim light provided by the lamp post illuminating their path, her dead amber eyes glowed in a split second.  "Or yours, Lord Kaizo?" she drawled melodiously, suppressing a chuckle, then went on sauntering by the cobblestone pathway leading to the red brick cottage ahead.

"What do you mean?" he shouted out the question, but no words except for an irking chuckle was given to him.

With a heavy feet, Kaizo followed suit, thoroughly irritated and determined to get his answers.

* * * * * *

Things are getting stimulating, Verēna humorously thought as she stepped inside her humble red brick cottage. She was remotely surprised when the eldest Romulus let himself in and followed her to the kitchen where she sat on her usual table seat by the window.

To say that the lord was downright pissed off at the moment was understatement. By the scalding glare he was shooting at her as he stood like a dignified sentry by the kitchen's doorway, Verēna was sure as hell that one fallacious remark and he'd have her head in a platter. Perhaps, she had said too much than she was supposed to earlier? Or was it her taunting that was too much for his noble ego to take in?

Ah, no matter what it was, she was enjoying herself watching him in state of disarray.

Is that too much, too?

"Have a seat, my lord," she amusedly gestured to the seat across hers.

"Cut the crap and tell me what you know," Lord Kaizo snapped back, hand gripping the obsidian arrow tightening.

"And what will I gain for imparting you such knowledge?" she calmly replied, back against the chair.

"Peace of mind."

Verēna clucked her tongue. "Well that's a luxury I can't afford to give at this moment."

Her response gained nothing but a scowl from Lord Kaizo. "Are you enjoying this?"

Very much!

Verēna shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, for someone who was force to reclusion, you can't blam─"

Light flickers.

A loud clatter resonated 'round the house as the once sturdy table before Verēna broke into half. The damaged table let out a small creek before giving in apart, allowing the distance between her and Lord Kaizo who was schooling an alarmingly calm demeanor to close off.

Her brows heavily furrowed before she managed to school it back to neutral. An incessant frown fell upon her face. Holding a poker face in this certain situation was as evasive as preventing the incoming mess in the next few minutes.

Her eyes burned holes at the oblivious lord.

Right hand falling to his side, Lord Kaizo sternly took the seat across her and began again. "Talk."

Verēna couldn't help the smirk breaking off her face. How dare he to talk to her like that? His audacity to order her around was astoundingly aggravating to the extent her hands were itching to get their hold off his neck, snapping it. Her array of murderous thought was briefly cut off when her gaze fell down to her stinging leg.

Her teeth gritted. How dare he?

Holding in the hiss beneath her throat, she plucked the tiny wood splint that managed to slip into her exposed right thigh, and tossed it aside as if it didn't bother her a bit.

It shit ton times did!

It happened in a split second right after the lights flickered that Verēna almost hadn't caught it. Lord Kaizo, who was once standing by the kitchen door, reappeared in a split second before her and smashed the poor table as if t'was a mere piece of paper. All the while being surrounded by a dark haze that now receding beneath the lord's feet as his own shadow.

So this is what Miran meant that he can shadow-travel. She thought, gnashing her teeth. Now you've done it.

"I'm waiting, Priestess," Lord Kaizo prodded impatiently.

Verēna bitterly chuckled. Her voice down to two octaves lower than her usual. "You have no idea what you've just done, Kaizo Mortem Romulus."

Lord Kaizo's eyes narrowed.

You must've have a death wish, eh? She wanted to say out loud, but couldn't.

"Run," the last word she managed to utter with a weak taunting smile before the familiar malevolent sensation rippled in her gut and forcefully leaked out of her system.

It was as if Verēna's body grew its own mind. The first second she was plotting the most excruciating tortures she could possibly inflict to the eldest Romulus, and then the next second she was vehemently pushed at the back of her consciousness, watching herself lift a forefinger midair. She promptly pointed it towards the seemingly puzzled lord that even tilted his head, wondering what she was trying to do.

Nothing happened in a bit until tendrils of shadow shot out behind her towards the clueless lord in a flash of lightning.

Verēna watched as the bewildered Lord Kaizo willed the same kind of shadow beneath his feet in vain attempt to escape its impending wrath. Yet Verēna knew it was futile. Nothing escaped it once its vessel were exposed to harm. And the clueless Lord just downright led himself into its fury path.

Helpless and uncaring of the ramification she would face after its onslaught, Verēna withdrew deeper to her subconscious, handing over the reins of control to the persona wreaking havoc inside her quaint cottage all the while trying to get a hold of the lord who's persistently dodging its fatal whips and lashes around.

Lord Kaizo seemed to shout something, but her ears wasn't longer hers at that moment.

She couldn't do anything now.

Kira would be extremely disappointed of her.

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