TRUE ABILITY Chapter 67

The One Being Tested

"Hmm hmm hmm~"

A girl with flaxen hair, named Zwei, hummed cheerfully as she skipped ahead of me.

Meanwhile, behind me, Fia-san mumbled things like "This is bad" or "What should we do?" under her breath.

Led by the two of them, I found myself walking through an old, large building in the town of Kanna.

It's unclear what era it dates back to, but it was probably the mansion of some prominent figure. The long stone corridor, gray and weathered, was intermittently adorned with rusted, eroded metal ornaments that reflected the moonlight seeping through the windowless openings.

"......"

The sound of our firm footsteps echoed alongside Zwei's incongruously light and bright humming, creating an uncomfortable contrast that made me feel uneasy.

I’ve never seen a ghost before, but if one were to appear, it would surely be in a place like this... or so I thought.

And more than anything――

"Yuno-kun, are you scared?"

The girl called Zwei turned and looked at me as she spoke. Every time her dark eyes met mine, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"...Just a little."

"Ahaha, don’t worry. There are no ghosts here, none at all."

She said this, and with a dance-like motion, continued down the dim corridor. Fia-san, meanwhile, kept muttering to herself behind me, as if she were chanting a spell.

It really felt like we were walking through a haunted house.

After a while, Zwei came to a stop. I stopped too. In that moment, I felt something bump into my back, followed by a small groan of "Oomph."

I said nothing.

"We’ve arrived~"

Zwei’s cheerful voice rang dully through the dark corridor. What greeted us at the end of the hallway was an old, double-door made of wood.

"I’m opening it~"

Zwei looked at me as if to confirm, and I quickly averted my gaze while nodding.

"―Wait."

Fia-san brought her face close to my ear from behind and whispered,

"Don’t forget what I told you. No matter what happens, stay strong."

I could only nod in response to her words.

"Open it."

Fia-san’s stern voice rang out. At the same time, the doors opened with a creaking, damp sound.

"Let’s go!"

With a bright smile, Zwei led the way into the room, and I followed her――in that moment.

"...!"

I gasped.

Numerous gazes pierced through me. But that alone wouldn’t have surprised me.

The problem was the nature of those gazes. Killing intent, hostility, and perhaps even curiosity... all mixed together into something profoundly unsettling.

"......"

I glanced around the room to take in my surroundings.

The gray walls were lined with numerous candles, whose flickering flames cast shadows over the figures in black robes leaning against the walls.

But the most striking sight was the large round table in the center of the room.

Several empty chairs were arranged around it, but one was occupied.

A man sat directly across from me, a fierce smile on his face, reminiscent of a wild beast.

"Yer late."

He whispered in a low voice, then casually placed his right foot on the table.

A shiver ran down my spine at the sight and sound of it.

His golden hair reached down to his shoulders, and his thin, aristocratic features were strikingly well-formed. The two golden eyes on his face radiated a powerful presence in the dimly lit room.

"......"

Everyone in the room was abnormal, I was sure of it. They were the top brass of the dark side. None of them could be considered ordinary.

Yet, even among them, my eyes were drawn solely to those golden eyes.

――They were almost reminiscent of Lucifer.

"Ha... don’t be scared. You’re one of us."

He spoke with a laugh, but his gaze was directed not at me, but at Fia-san behind me.

"So? What kind of joke is this?"

The man’s sneer deepened as he spoke.

"A joke? What are you talking about?"

Fia-san’s cold voice sent another chill through me.

"It’s ridiculous. With how rare it is for us to get summons like this, almost all the top brass are here just to welcome a new recruit? Seriously?"

"It wasn’t mandatory. Those on missions were excused. From my perspective, it’s a joke that someone as careless as you even showed up."

In that instant, a blast of magical energy surged not towards me―but Fia-san. But Fia-san merely tilted her head slightly to dodge it with a calm expression.

The door behind us shattered into pieces with a loud crash.

"――――"

I was terrified.

Not from fear, but from the absurdity of it all. Without Fia-san’s warning, I would have surely screamed.

As she stared coldly at the remains of the door, Fia-san sighed.

"How barbaric. You really aren’t fit to serve under Lloyd-sama."

"Hah! Don’t make me laugh."

The man grinned, but his expression quickly darkened with anger.

"It’s not up to you to decide, you damn elf."

His voice was low, as if it came from the depths of hell. At the same time, a violent wind of magical energy swirled around him.

It was a tense standoff.

Just then, a figure along the wall plunged a great sword, almost as tall as themselves, straight into the ground.

A thunderous sound shook the entire room.

Before the dust had even settled, the man’s voice rang out.

"Geese. Stand down."

Still holding the greatsword, the man turned his gaze to Fia-san.

"Get to the point."

Perhaps it was due to the impact of the blow, but the hood that had been deeply covering the man’s face fell back, revealing his features.

I recognized him. He was the man who had been with Fia-san and Lloyd-senpai during the martial arts tournament.

"...Very well. But Lloyd-sama is not yet here――"

"He left today’s matters entirely to you."

Geese, the man with the golden eyes, spat out the words as he leaned back in his chair again.

His face clearly showed his displeasure.

"That’s the real joke... What on earth is he thinking...?"

Fia-san muttered to herself, a look of anxiety on her face.

I couldn’t agree more.

"Well then. You."

Geese’s languid gaze turned to me.

"Who the hell are you? At the very least, I know you saw my attack coming..."

I noticed Geese’s eyes glance at the remains of the door behind me.