Chapter 52
This is a fictional story by realTensai
Alvis couldn't even blink, his body unable to move. Gilsymbato's words had already registered within his head, yet the processing took a bit too long. His words kept echoing within his mind, causing Alvis' heart to beat abruptly. His brain created a thousand scenarios, a thousand possible answers to explain what he just heard. However, the result stayed the same.
He knows.
"How?" Alvis said while exhaling. He looked the demon in the eyes and continued. "How did you find out?"
Alvis slacked his shoulders, realizing there was no point in hiding it. Gilsymbato already knew which in some ways would make the following conversation easier.
"Fuhaha~ you are smart. I thought you would panic now that I have exposed you."
"Why should I? Aren't you the great Gilsymbato who can see through everything?"
Gilsymbato just chuckled. With a light swing of his wings, Gilsymbato flew on his bed, whilst still staring at Alvis. Now sitting, he resumed.
"I appreciate your efforts, human boy, and that is why I will enlighten you," Gilsymbato said, running his hand through his red hair. "I will tell you how I saw right through you."
Alvis' heart was beating a tick faster than usual, his mana flickering in his core. He gulped as Gilsymbato deliberately raised his anticipation by taking his time.
"I noticed your odd behavior towards me and your teacher. Maybe odd is the wrong word for your brain to fathom. I mean, I noticed how you wanted something from me and this woman."
Alvis had thought he wasn't obvious, though Gilsymbato just exposed him. He seemed like someone who didn't care about others and was living in his own world, yet his observations and awareness made Alvis speechless.
"The only thing I and this woman have in common, of course, only in the eyes of someone weak like you, is our strength. But why should you need our strength?"
He asked this question and paused. However, Alvis didn't respond. Gilsymbato already knew the answer.
"Let's further expand on this. Why should you need my or this woman's strength, if your wife is this half-vampire girl and your best friend, this half-giant boy?" he said, staring right into Alvis' soul. Again, Alvis didn't answer. "They are fairly strong by your standards, so shouldn't their strength be enough?"
Gilsymbato paused, directing the course of the conversation just like he wanted.
"You are also friends with this Kris guy, who is also pretty strong. Of course, only for the likes of yours."
His assumption was spot on. Kris' estimated power level was just under Dane's, with a score of 1910. However, for the opponent Alvis had to face, he was too weak.
"If you are seeking my help, it means their strength isn't enough. Even their combined might crumble upon your opponent. Am I right?"
Gilsymbato laughed, once again not expecting an answer. He already knew.
"However, this isn't all. Your pathetic attempts to hide how you are planning something big never fail to amuse me. The way you sneak out on your own. How your mind never is in the present. How you lie to your friends. A comedic masterpiece, indeed."
Alvis' fist slightly twitched, yet his face didn't respond to Gilsymbato's obvious provocation.
"Fuhahaha! Great!"
"Everything you said was right," Alvis said, clapping his hands. "But only based on this information, you couldn't know whom or what I have to face. So again, how do you know?"
Alvis stared into his eyes, matching his intensity.
"Isn't it simple?" Gilsymbato asked, genuine wonder in his eyes. "I guess I failed to estimate your brain cells' capacity. My apologies."
Once again, Alvis didn't react.
"Fuhahaha! So let me spell it out for you," Gilsymbato said, spreading his black wings. "Your opponent is so strong that you, your wife, your best friend, and a potential third party unknown, even to my greatness, aren't enough to beat them. Even though you, a person whom my greatness would acknowledge as someone with a brain capacity not akin to a dullard, are spending all your time during your beloved class trip preparing a plan. And that your opponent is so strong that you have no other option but to plead and bow your head before my greatness so that I shall save you. Isn't it obvious who your opponent is?"
Alvis opened his mouth, but no words would leave it. His beating heart could even start to describe Alvis' feelings. Never before had Alvis felt like this.
His analysis was perfect!
"You are the best Gilsymbato!" Alvis said, laughing. "Everything you said was right. No, simply perfect! Now I want you all the more on my side!"
"Hah, shouldn't you ask how I knew it was the Devil Cult you want to face and not some other powerful entity?"
He was right. From the information presented, this should have been the next logical question. However, Gilsymbato wasn't someone who would just reveal all his secrets. His question just now confirmed it.
"No, I already know you wouldn't answer this."
"Fuhahaha~ indeed! Seems like you are starting to grasp my greatness!"
I knew it.
"All the cards are open on the table and you already know what I want," Alvis said, preparing his pitch. With firm eyes, he continued. "I want you to join my side and help me fight the Devil Cult."
The tension in the room thickened, the mana density rising. Their eyes clashed, testing each other out within this icy silence. A mental warfare was going on, both of them trying to top the other.
"Fuhahahahah!"
However, Gilsymbato just laughed. It wasn't his normal laugh, though. It was a pure demonic one, laughing at Alvis' very existence.
Yet Alvis wouldn't give in.
"You are also a demon from the Demon Continent. Aren't you interested in taking down a leader from the cult that is terrorizing your country?" Alvis said, starting his well-thought-out offer. "It would only add to your greatness if you take down a priest from the Devil Cult, making even the less fortunate understand how great you are. And if you help me, all the glory would, of course, be yours."
"Hey, are you kidding me?"
For the first time, Gilsymbato's smile vanished, replaced by a murderous expression. Alvis almost fell to his knees, as unimaginable killing intent threatened to end his life. He couldn't breathe nor move, his life solely depending on Gilsymbato's mood. Only now did Alvis truly realize Gilsymbato's might and how foolish he had been.
He wasn't someone Alvis could control.
"My mistake."
The pressure faded away, and Gilsymbato turned normal again.
"Yet I stand by what I said. I want you to join my side."
Alvis wouldn't just give up. Gilsymbato was powerful, but not nearly as fearsome as the insane man Alvis had to face. It would take more to intimidate him.
"Fuhahaha~ I see! You have some backbone."
"Of course."
"But you got something very wrong," he said, shaking his head with a frown. "I don't need you to take down the Devil Cult. If I wanted, I could wipe out every single one of them."
Alvis gasped, not finding a hint of doubt in his voice. His facial expression didn't change, his confidence never wavering.
Is he insane?
Gilsymbato really believed in what he just said. However, there was no way he could beat a priest of the Devil Cult on his own. Alvis had seen their might with his own eyes. Gilsymbato wouldn't stand a chance against them.
Or would he?
His sheer confidence had Alvis wondering about the impossible. Of course, he wasn't strong enough to take down the entire Devil Cult with six priests on his own. It was the logical, only right answer. Someone as rational as Alvis shouldn't even doubt it. Yet Gilsymbato's outstanding display of his analytic abilities proved his intelligence. Someone as smart as him couldn't make such a delusional take.
I can't understand him.
Alvis shook his head, sighing, tired of trying the impossible. He focused back on the task at hand.
"I will rephrase my question then," Alvis said, only now grasping Gilsymbato's nature. "Do you want to lend me your strength and wipe out the Devil Cult?"
"An interesting offer indeed. I wouldn't have anything against a little sparing with the Devil Cult."
Alvis' eyes widened.
Wait, does that mean…?
"But I won't," Gilsymbato said, toying with Alvis' feelings.
"Why?"
"I want to see what you are capable of. I want to see you struggle. I want to see you despair. I want to see you slowly but surely turn insane. Entertain me, Alvis!"
Alvis' eyes turned cold, his mana flaming like blue fire. He clenched his fists, the veins on his arms bulging. His pulse speeded, and it took all his mental fortitude not to punch him in the face here and now. The Devil's face kept popping up in his mind, his similarities to Gilsymbato being too great to oversee. Even their smile was the same.
"You are a demon, Gilsymbato."
"Yes, the greatest demon to ever exist!"