"Hehehe…sorry about that." Benimaru humbly backed away from his mana sense, making the woman also back down.
The man gave Benimaru a short glance before introducing themselves. "I am Vio, and this is my companion Savrena. Mister Slayer, can you let us know what you want to talk to us about? I do not think you are here to fight us."
Benimaru didn't answer; instead, he sat on the chair before him. Ragnar and Fiain sat beside him.
Then Benimaru said it, crossing his legs. "Lord Vio seems like a man with wisdom."
Benimaru couldn't help but praise Vio's vision, as no leader would let a stranger with an army enter their area without knowing their goals and origin. The fact that Vio was able to deduce all of this and be confident was commendable in Benimaru's book.
However, Vio didn't show much reaction to his praise. Benimaru didn't mind it that much; instead, he started to explain. "Lord Vio, I won't beat around the bush. From what I have seen these past few days, it looks like you are having trouble trying to decide whether or not you should invade the city."
Vio once again stayed silent, letting Benimaru chuckle out. "I take your silence as a yes. Lord Vio, I wouldn't have come to discuss this with you if it weren't for the incident that occurred yesterday."
Vio and Savrena raised their eyebrows, trying to figure out what Benimaru was talking about. Savrena was the first to remember, so she asked. "Are you perhaps talking about the half breed that got discovered? Wait, it was you guys who saved him from that Paladin Captain."
"Oh my, will you look at that? The Lords already know of our works. But it helps me from explaining unnecessary stuff now." Benimaru was about to go to the main topic when suddenly Savrena cut him off.
"No, I want to know more about your organization. Why was this organization made in the first place? What is your vision?"
Benimaru went silent. 'This woman can't control her mouth for sure. A gossiper, huh? Well, let's tell them anyway. There is no harm in it.'
"Masked Fool is new and was not inherited. I made this for only one purpose, to relieve the suffering of every demon kind."
Vio squinted his eyes and added. "Even half breeds?"
Benimaru tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? They have our blood in them, so there isn't any reason for me not to save them from any injustice."
"Injustice? Just like your organization's name, you are also a fool. Can you save millions or billions of demons that are being killed by those filthy humans every passing moment?" Savrena sneered at Benimaru, feeling his goal was a bit outlandish.
Benimaru stared at Savrena, not letting anyone know what kind of emotion he was going through inside because of the mask. "Lord Savrena, do not mind my words, but you are dumb."
Savena's mouth and eyes were wide open, stumped by Benimaru's words. So was Vio, not expecting Benimaru to be so direct.
Then Savrena's face distorted in pure rage. Rising from her seat, she began to threaten Benimaru. "I am done with your bullshit. Do you think you can go away without saying anything, just by acting mysterious? You are wrong, Slayer. We do not give a damn what your strength is or that of the people with you. Because you were strong, you wouldn't be coming here, seeking our help."
However, Benimaru didn't try to go head-to-head with her. Sitting calmly on his chair, Benimaru clarified. "You are getting me wrong once again. By dumb, I was trying to question your view on injustice. Simply killing someone isn't injustice."
Savrena's eyes twitched. With a promotion, she would get tutored in front of everyone, but she had to or people might think she is irrational, especially Vio.
Seeing Savrena calm down, Benimaru continued. "Lord Savrena, do you think killing a demon that murdered a human's entire family is injustice? Or slaying your enemy, for example, demons, is that also injustice? Or is killing a demon in order to save your close ones an injustice?"
Savrena racked her brain to come up with a counter. "You are saying those from a human's perspective."
"Hehehehe." Benimaru laughed a little. "You are not wrong, Lord Savrena. They suit humans the most, but they also work on demons. What if we go berserk and kill every single one of your soldiers and you too? Won't you try to stop us, or you won't just because we are demons?"
"This." Savrena wanted to rebuke Benimaru but found no possible answer that could counter him. She would indeed stop or even kill anyone that tried to destroy her most precious things, which now were her army. She had poured every bit of her time and sweat into building this army, finally being able to sit along with someone she had eyes on.
"So, injustice is something like getting robbed of your freedom—a chance to lead a peaceful and happy life, in a nutshell, you can say." Benimaru looked at Savrena, who had her head down. "I hope I was able to explain, Lord Savrena."
Bullshit, complete bullshit, is what Benimaru just spewed. He didn't give a damn about anyone; he created this artificial goal to let people know what their organization was about. Sometimes a clear-cut goal can bring potential allies and even enemies. However, as a demon, he knew he could never mix with humans, so this goal was best suited for demons who would easily team up with him after hearing his high moral goal.
"I admire your vision, Slayer. But I want to know why half breeds? You do know the consequences of defending half breeds, right?" Vio finally spoke, asking with great interest.
"I do, Lord Vio. However, that doesn't mean anything. Like how you are willing to shake hands with me despite trying to bring justice to a mere…half breed." Benimaru smirked, pointing his finger at Vio.
Vio raised his eyebrows. "When did I say we would be teaming up with you?"
"Why not, Lord Vio? There can only be winners if we band together. Don't think that too?" Benimaru spoke softly, slowly drifting into Vio's ears. It was as if a demon was influencing his thoughts to do losing business with it.
'He is dangerous.' Vio immediately got hold of himself and looked at Benimaru with wariness. He didn't mean in strength, as Vio was having a hard time trying to identify it. He was speaking about Benimaru's communication skills. He had the skill to manipulate people, blurt out their secrets, or make them go along with his wishes with just a few phrases.
Vio knew this type of man was very dangerous; they can set you up for something that you wouldn't even notice. This thinking made Vio sweat for things that were nonexistent.
However, Vio didn't show his panicked reaction outside. With a calm face, he said to him. "If you say so, Slayer. Mind if you tell us about what you can offer other than in combat?"
'He agreed?' Benimaru didn't expect Vio to agree with him immediately. 'It looks like he has something in his mind. This is getting interesting.'
"Lord Vio, you might not know, but because we hide out demonic traits, we were able to easily establish a secret base in the city. Do you know what that means?" Benimaru could see the sparkling eyes of Vio and Savrena. He decided to explain it thoroughly to rile them up more. "You just have to siege control of the entrance, and you will enjoy victory next because we will have the city under control in the meantime."
A juicy offer that was making Vio and Savrena have a hard time thinking logically. The desire to have that city was only known to them.
Vio and Savrena stared at each other, communicating through their eyes. Benimaru gave them the time to properly discuss, as this was the most important part. He had set up enough for them to take the bait.
Alas, they didn't take much time—only a few seconds—helping Benimaru to not sit in suspense.
"When do we begin, Slayer?" Vio asked, making Benimaru laugh inwardly as he was successful.
However, Benimaru held himself back and answered. "Two weeks. Give us two weeks to set up everything. After two weeks, you will see black clouds looming over the city, which will be a signal of the start of your advancement."
Vio and Savrena became delighted upon hearing that. Their initial time for going on a full scale war was one and a half months away, so they were hoping the time Benimaru would give was slightly less than that. But fortunate for them, it was much earlier than they had anticipated.
"Hahaha….it seems you had set up your troops inside the city much longer." Savrena laughed, taunting Benimaru in a joking manner.
And Benimaru replied back with a chuckle. "Yes, we did, Lord Savrena."
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