Chapter 80 - 80 - Display Of Power

"Y-you! How dare you…" Sera was about to erupt once again. The blatant disrespect, the tone the High Elders were hitting were borderline rebellious. Their refusal to accept the Young Master was quickly making her regret ever setting up shop with these lowly humans.

Still, before she could explode with the helpless anger that burned inside her heart, she felt the boy's hand gently caress her shoulders once more.

"Don't, Sera. It's okay. I actually prefer it this way." He whispered, calming, soothing the mature blonde girl before shifting his gaze and turning it towards the slick-haired figure standing, and waiting with a theatrical smile plastered across his face.

"You… What's your name, Elder?" He asked the man with an insipid, cold tone.

The man quickly bowed, showing the expression of a humbled, respectful figure even though his display was more for the show rather than his true feelings. 

"This one is one of the 10 High Elders and has the name of Pete Curtis, young man." He introduced himself, giving only a moment before adding to it. "As a sign of good faith, you can call me Elder Pete if you would like. Also, may we ask your name as well, young one?"

He fired the question back. Although his question sounded innocent and perfectly fine since they were just introducing themselves, it was also a sign that they truly didn't think of him too much. Elder Pete's gesture, however, how he returned the offered greeting and question was just a show to put the boy instantly under him in terms of standing. He was showing his benevolence, he was extending his 'kindness' with this display.

Unfortunately, his words didn't result in the outcome he had hoped, the black-haired boy simply smirked, and shook his head as he responded with a cold tone.

"No, you can't. From what I understood, being a High Elder in this sect that Sera herself has built up, you should already be aware of my existence."

He glanced over all the other Elders as a wave of dread suddenly washed over everyone present in the room, he continued speaking and addressing everyone in the room coldly.

"You and every single one of you should be keenly aware of who I am, and what I represent. Yet, I can see it in your obstinate eyes, your adamant refusal to accept the truth you pledged to serve all those years ago. You, so-called 'High Elders' want nothing more than to push down the very person that brought you in and taught you for all those years."

His words were harsh, his eyes carried nothing but the coldness of the endless darkness, the void that he kept inside him. His betrayals, his rebellious, scheming thoughts, and greedy desires were exactly the same as he was met with during her time in the orphanage. 

They were akin to a plague, a virus. Lucien hated the thought that he is like them. He could only frown and scowl at these thoughts as he looked over these pathetic, old men and women with nothing but disdain and contempt in his eyes.

Before any of them could voice their thoughts, Lucien continued speaking. As he did, his other self, Pravitas was slowly gaining more and more momentum, merging together once again with his human self causing the boy to silently transform.

His eyes turning black as the starless night, his town donning a new, growling, deep undertone, he was no longer the innocent-looking little brat that just sat silently while the adults argued. He was swiftly turning into something that the High Elders could only describe as a 'Terrifying Demon'.

"So you want to test me, throw me in front of your treasured little children, hoping that they would do the job you are so afraid of doing yourselves? Fine, then. I will gladly join this 'Tournament', or whatever it is called, and will show you a grand spectacle."

Then just as they thought that the danger has passed and that ultimately they have won, forcing the duo to accept their terms, suddenly Lucien's attention turned towards the middle-aged man, Elder Hawthorne, who was so haughty and arrogant before but was now silently sulking.

His eerie gaze focused on him, the old man suddenly felt as an uncanny coldness enveloped him. Not sure of what was happening, he looked at the strange boy with a deep frown, his hands were balled into fists, ready to jump into action if necessary.

Yet, even so, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

As their gaze met, the boy's eerie, uncomfortable smile curved higher, transforming, evolving into a hideous, vicious grin.

"Still… Since you all want to bore witness to some proof, let me give you a show you will not forget." 

Suddenly, as he raised his right arm, three thick, black oily tendrils shot forth from the boy's right palm, sailing through the air at a frightening speed towards Elder Hawthorne. Before anybody, the man himself, the still standing but now bewildered-looking Elder Curtis, or even Sera could react, the three fleshy spears pierced the shocked elder's body, plunging deep into his flesh and organs in an instant. Immediately, he coughed, splurting a mouthful of blood on the table.

Yet, the horrific display of power didn't end there. Under the shocked and stunned gazes of the elders sitting in the room, the tendrils suddenly twitched and began to contort, lifting the listless body as if it was just a sack of flour.

"W-w-what is the m-meaning of this, Leader?!" Still, under the shock, the still standing and now somber-looking Elder Pete Curtis turned to look at the blonde woman, stuttering in his demand to get an explanation on this crude, violent display. 

Yet, before she could respond, the boy spoke again, uttering a single word, that forever changed how they looked at this outsider, this 'ignorant brat' from now on. From this moment, he no longer was a weak, scrawny little kid, but a vicious, monstrous entity that they had to find a way to control, lest they would end up as Elder Hawthorne…

Lucien's cold voice instantly filled up the room, his single word echoed, reverberated in the lustrious, glass meeting room.

"Absorb."

In the next moment, following his command, the fleshy tendrils began their unstoppable suction, rapidly eating away the flesh, gore, and essence of the already fainted, soon-to-be-dead Elder.

His body hung up in the air, began to twitch, and ripple as like the children's strawed juicy drink was sucked dry in mere moments. As the flesh and most of the mass left his body, it left behind a hideous display of a dried-up sack of skin and bones. 

Even that, only remained for a few more moments as the unnatural black tendrils sucked away even that in a rapid fashion, ultimately leaving behind nothing but the torn, shredded remains of his clothes.

With the job done, the tendrils returned to their place, swiftly vanishing inside the depths of Lucien's right arm.

—

Following the event, a long and uncomfortable silence descended on the room. None of the remaining Elders could say a word, the event was so shocking, so horrific that they were left speechless, trying their best to process what they just witnessed.

"L-leader… No… M-Matriarch Sera… W-what… W-what was that?!" After what felt like an eternity, eventually, the standing Elder Curtis managed to gather enough willpower to stutter and repeat his previous question.

Yet, once again, instead of her, the boy spoke again. His voice with the strange deep, growling, guttural undertone was all the more terrifying.

"This should prove enough food for thought, I believe." Lucien spoke with a mocking tone as he eyed the slightly shivering man.

"As I said before, I will join your tournament, I will gladly play your games… However, I am far from being a pushover that you can just bully. I will play only by my rules… Hope you are fine with that and prepared to accept the consequences…" 

Finishing what he wanted to say, Lucien slumped back on his chair, returning to his previous, aloof but nonchalant outward display, ignoring everything and everyone besides Sera in the room.

"Are we done here?" He asked with a low, whispering tone from the blonde woman sitting next to her. Unlike the rest of the Elders who were mostly shocked and even scared, she quickly regained control of her emotions and was merely smiling at the gruesome sight. 

Giving one last look at the High Elders in the room, she nodded to the Young Master's question and stood up, pushing her chair back in the process.

The screeching sound as the chair's legs scratched the floor was like a morning bell for the frozen audience, pulling them out of their frozen reverie and returning them to the cruel, harsh reality. 

Yet, they kept looking at their now-deceased and vanished peer's empty seat, thinking, pondering about what course of action they should take now.

Would it be wise to keep up with the pretenses and act as if nothing was wrong? Should they keep pushing for their selfish goals, or maybe, just maybe, wouldn't it be wiser to fall back in line?

—

Despite the eerie, awkward air in the room, Lucien was completely ignoring everything, his attention was shifted to the transparent dark, screen floating in front of him. He was doing his absolute best not to giggle like a child as he read through the shocking gains he had just got from the arrogant elder…