Time passed as the two of them waited in the corner. Droh watched the room as he thought up their next plan. "We could… No. That wouldn't work…" He had been going over different ideas in his head for some time now, mumbling aloud every so often.

Across the room, a sudden bout of shouting could be heard. "Move, little vermin!" A behemoth of a man shouted a fair distance away from them. The man's skin dark and red, as four protruding horns stabbed out from his forehead, with a slight crack on the left-most one. His eye, too, was covered by a scar that stretched down his cheek.

Before such a beast, stood a much smaller figure. He appeared to be more fragile looking as he hid his face beneath a dark shroud.

Everyone within the chamber turned to face the noise, watching the larger man face off against the smaller one. An almost choking pressure lowered itself into the room as everyone held their breaths.

Seeing this confrontation, Deus pondered. 'They're not going to fight, are they? Didn't Droh say that any fighting went again the rules? Are they suicidal or just that confident?'

The cloaked man, holding the top ridge of his hood, turned to face the larger obnoxious one. Beneath his hood, one could barely make out a cold gleam in his eyes. Not distaste, more so pure apathy.

"...How annoying." He mumbled under his breath as the room's security finally took notice.

"I said get out of my way you insect!" The behemoth roared, gesturing aggressively with utmost confidence.

'Wait, something isn't right here…' Deus thought to himself. Normally under normal circumstances, he'd assume that the larger, more intense man held the advantage. Yet, he had this gnawing suspicion that his original belief was more accurate. The true monster here wasn't the behemoth, but instead the shrouded figure. He felt fear with a mere glance.

Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had picked up on this, as there was an almost mutual fear from everyone present. Everyone, of course, except the larger, dumber giant of a man.

"Move! Or die!" The brute shouted, his patience running out as he noticed everyone but one clear out of his way.

Several seconds passed in silence as this sinking feeling shot through the air. Not one person worth their salt dared to even breathe through the pressure.

"...I choose death," the man calmly said. Yet, his actions went in opposition to his tone.

Everyone went wide-eyed as the larger beast of a man collapsed to the ground. A thunderous crash shot through the room as if steel struck roughly against steel. Without even moving, the giant opposite him had practically dissolved into gore, only leaving behind a broken corpse similar to the one Deus himself had made before.

Seeing such a scene, the security officers rushed forward, as not a single soul besides them even dared to approach the man.

"You there! Killing isn't permitted within city limits!" One of them shouted.

As a single, organized unit, the soldiers all moved into position and surrounded him. Each of them drew out their weapons, from hand cannons to these heavy-looking blades.

"Stand down," the target of their squad grunted, raising a single black seal out from beneath his cloak.

All at once, the soldiers throughout the room fell to their knees in a subservient manner. Without hesitating, they shouted in unison. "We recognize the Military Captain!" With a salute, they continued. "All hail Sir Roch!"

Deus's mouth sat agape as he watched this whole exchange. 'Military captain? What are they on about?' He glanced downward toward Droh only to find the young Faun shivering in his seat. Without a doubt, there was true terror in his eyes as he didn't even dare to match their eyes.

The man's voice carried through the room. "Send word to the Spire. That bastard Androma is still on the run."

'Androma? That name sounds familiar. Wait… wasn't that the name of the person who had been exiled by the City Lord earlier? The cause of that whole event...'

"As you order, Captain." One of the soldiers shouted out as he began speaking into a device.

The cloaked man, Roch, glanced down toward the puddle of blood and innards, which had liquefied from his mysterious attack. "Still… That man was an idiot for annoying me. I suppose even the inner-walls get its fair share of fools."

"Sire, a report back from the Spire!" The black-armored soldier paused for a moment as he received the message, mimicking it in return. "Hostile force detected in the Onyx District. Requesting sword intervention."

"Onyx... Sword?" The cloaked captain, Roch, murmured to himself as everyone present held their breath. With a faint grin, he replied. "Fine, you lot get going first. Consider yourselves reassigned."

"Yes sir!" Several different soldiers shouted in unison as they stood in a respectful, straight posture. The kept their poses for a while longer, perhaps afraid of turning away from him.

"What are you all still standing around for? Get going!" Roch ordered, glaring across the room as the soldiers around him stumbled out, heading toward the Onyx District.

Only Roch and another single soldier remained in the room as he gave a few glances around, staring at each person present, their gazes not daring to meet his.

His eyes stopped on Deus as he slowly approached, drawing everyone's attention. It had been so quiet one could claim to hear even the faintest of sounds. Down from the creaking of the metal beneath their feet, to the grunts of the few nervous men who stood around.

"You there," Roch hissed out with a cold stare. "...Androma? but why? No, that's not right..."

Deus practically fell over his own two feet as he slowly backed away. "I'm afraid you're mi-mistaken, Sir."

Silence bled its way through the air, weighing down everyone present as captain Roch raised an eyebrow.

"A mistake?" Roch repeated, a look of confusion showing on his face. "Wait, you... Who are you?"

Deus didn't even know what to say. Why had he been picked out from among the crowd? Was there anything special about him that drew that man's attention?

"My name is Deus... Sir."

"...Deus?" Roch stood there for a moment as their eyes met. A slight grin began to form on his lips. "I see… Good, very good. Quite promising in fact."

Roch paused for a moment as he stared, only after several seconds passed did he begin to speak. "Well Deus, you're an interesting one... Aren't you? Let me guess, you believe there's more to your story than just wandering the streets for eternity, right?"

Caught off guard his sudden question, Deus continued to listen.

"You see, there's still plenty I'd tell you now, but you're not ready... No. You may have potential, but you're still nothing significant. I do imagine the two of us will meet again, though... In another place. Another peak."

'I don't understand...' Deus's mind wandered as he listened. Was this in regards to that event from before, or something more predetermined? How and why did such a person know about him in the first place?

Laughing, Roch went on. "Once you've matured and grown, we'll meet again. How about this... Survive, and I'll recruit you myself. That doesn't sound too bad, now does it? Of course, I have no place for weaklings so I'll wait a bit longer." He finished with a nod, satisfied with what he's said.

As time passed silently, Droh faintly lifted his head toward Deus. He stared blankly at him for a moment as Roch's words seeped into his and everyone else's mind, crashing down on them like a mountain.

"I don't understa—"

"No, don't answer now," Roch interrupted. "Wait and think things through first and figure out what you want from this place and what you can give in return. Learn the truth and gain some experience... Only then will I welcome you."

He turned his gaze away from Deus. "Enough of that, though. I have things to do. Remember my offer, and don't disappoint me."

With that, the military captain, Roch, turned away and left, walking past the crowd of people as they cleared out of his path.

Everyone stared at Deus in both shock, awe, and fear. Someone worthy of the captain's recognition and interest was someone to whom they couldn't dare offend, or so they believed. But who was he? How had they never heard of anyone with such a curious name before?

"Deus… what's going on?" Droh asked through several grunts. Surprise and confusion apparent on his face as his tail practically snapped against the floor like a whip.

"I'll explain later..." He claimed. "We should go somewhere a bit more private first, though."

"You're kidding me, right?" Droh sighed. With a glance around, both of them found everyone staring. Some of them were even trying to listen in on their conversation, all the while not making it overly obvious. "You see? There's no sneaking around this…"

With a whisper, Deus rebutted. "I see. Wait, if we can't sneak past, then why not just charge forward? Use this to our advantage… Just look, no one is going to stop us, not even that soldier."

Across the room, Deus nodded his head toward the lone soldier left behind after Roch had ordered the rest of them to move out. To their surprise, he had turned his entire body to face away from them as if to announce that he had no intention of intervening in whatever happened. "Hah, see? Simply being talked to by that guy was worth all this…"

The young Faun's ears slanted upward as his eyes followed along, a faint smile finally erupting from his mouth. "Heh, fine let's do it."

The two lifted themselves back up straight and confidently walked further inside. As they did, several human-appearing figures who had previously stood in their path quickly cleared away, creating a gap.

'I can't believe this is working…' Deus thought, trying his best not to let a smile show off his face. He had to hold a perfect poker face, otherwise, they may get discovered. At that moment, everyone around them believed they held some connection to Direfell's most dangerous warrior, a man who had made a name for himself through both massacre and death.

No one here wished to cross paths with such a person to whom could call Roch a friend, and so they had all simply chosen the most passive, friendly option instead.

'I just have to confidently walk past… No weaknesses, no hesitation. The more obnoxious and threatening, the better.' As Deus thought this, his eyes dashed around the crowd, landing on a few intimidating-looking men, scavengers most like. He glared at them through gritted teeth as they simply pushed their attention downward, as if the floor was the most interesting thing in the world.

'Hah!' He found this almost satisfying, the weird sense of power and security. He could easily get used to this.

As they approached the final door leading up to the upper levels, Droh confidently spoke up to the older woman who blocked their path. She stood behind a kiosk. The one soldier remaining turned away again and directed his attention outward, toward the rest of the group.

"We need a room, preferably one high up with a good view," Deus ordered out as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Right… One moment please." She looked down at an old folder and riffled through several pages before answering back. "Room H23 is available, would that work for you both?"

They both nodded, Deus showed clear impatience as she made the proceedings.

"Very well. Here's your access pass, please confirm here." She lifted an old electronic device as Droh grabbed it, pressing down on a thin touchpad. He handed it back to her. "Done. The room is yours, please head up through those doors."

Room H23, seven floors above ground, the twenty-third room on the floor. Droh and Deus stood side by side as they entered. A large room opened up before them as they slammed the door closed behind.

"...What the hell just happened?!" Droh shouted out as he finally sunk to the floor, letting himself be enveloped by stress and nerves.