He's certainly lying.
Lepaie's thoughts were calm and clear, and his magenta eyes locked on the blond boy in front of him without any pretended politeness.
To the Sea King, there was nothing that made sense; the blatant complexity and seemingly pre-planned answers lingered on his mind.
He stutters as if he rehearses it. Not only that, but those eyes…
The turquoise eyes appeared to the man as tiny slits of black, reminiscent of a snake, distracting him as the boy spoke quietly.
"The Soul Pact I have with her ladyship is quite binding… If we were to forge a second one without her permission, I'm afraid she might be displeased…"
As the boy's head dropped down with a sad look across his face, the purple-haired Sea King resisted the urge to scoff.
He said he contracted with her six months ago, yet the last Convergence was eleven. The numbers don't add up. Unless he has a method of contacting his god, as Vaelmyr can, he has to be lying.
Furrowing his brow, he remained silent, allowing the King of Souls to voice his opinion for both of them.
"I understand your discomfort with the idea of going against the will of your goddess; however, there are some things that cannot be left alone."
He glanced over at Lepaie, a tired look appearing in his eyes before he turned back to the slumped boy.
"You must be aware of the coming disaster, correct?"
Aaron gave a hesitant nod, voicing his worries.
"There's something coming from the moon, right? A terror of some kind."
Vaelmyr lifted his brow, impressed with the child's knowledge of the topic that few even pondered.
"You are correct. Through the texts we recovered from the former Library of Nautilus, we found out about the existence of creatures known as the 'Ten Great Ones.' These unique species are unlike any other sea terrors we know of or have ever fought and are even thought by Lord Thorn to be the ancestors of all currently existing types of terrors."
Aaron's posture stiffened, a look of shock coming over his face, and the momentary weakness allowed Lepaie to glance deeper into his emotions.
Is he truly ignorant of this? Perhaps he was being honest earlier…
Listening to his colleague continue, Lepaie crossed his arms and released a breath from his lungs heavily.
"An organization known as the Seven Head Order has re-emerged, intending to unseal one of the demigods. Their leader, Azaroth Pane…"
He stopped, noticing a sharp change in the boy's face, a dangerous look shadowing his features, eyes narrowing.
"You know of this man?"
Leaning forward in his chair, Lepaie spoke in a low growl, the deep-rooted hatred he had for that halfling making his blood boil.
If he is working for that Devil, I will end him myself.
The King of Dreams watched as the blond-haired boy took a strained breath, his rage visible even behind the layers of defensive spells and carefully curated lies.
"Azaroth Pane was responsible for what happened on Sea Fallen, was he not?"
There was a hostility in his voice that irked both men, and they looked at each other with light confusion, the white-haired man answering first.
"He was. He sent two of his subordinates to the island, who attempted to kill Lord Quinn and take over the city. Unfortunately for him, his plans failed when the Core of Dreams overloaded, destroyed the Great Sea Wall, and caused the virus to spread."
Shaking his head solemnly, he glanced over at the purple-haired King who mirrored his sentiment, albeit with more disdain.
If only I had arrived—
"You're wrong."
Lepaie whipped his attention back to the teenager who just dismissed the other King's words, an unstoppable rage filling his heart.
"Listen, boy. Why do you think you—"
For the first time since becoming a Sea King, a civilian interrupted him without any care for their life.
"There were three subordinates of the Seven Head Order on that island. Not only that, but it wasn't as simple as a core overload. It was tampered with and absorbed while the Wall was destroyed by them."
Lepaie sprang to his feet, his cheek twitching as he stared downward at the boy.
"How the hell could you know such a thing!?"
While Vaelmyr didn't leap forward, he was obviously concerned by Aaron's words, as the possibility of a third elite appearing on the island was something he had never considered.
"Speak, boy. Tell us how you know this."
Aaron looked between the two Kings, his eyes never wavering as he spoke up.
"I was in the Mausoleum of Dreams when Sea Fallen fell. I witnessed a man by the name of Adam bond with that so-called Core of Dreams and become something inhuman."
Lepaie moved to interject; however, something he had seen that day reappeared in his mind, and his eyes dropped to the weapon within that boy's hand, glistening a familiar turquoise.
That light that broke my spell…
His jaw tightened as he sat back in his chair, a single bead of sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Aaron Grimstall…"
Vaelmyr spoke up.
"What did that man you spoke of look like?"
The blond-haired boy leaned forward in his chair as he recounted the only image he could remember of the winged man.
"Black wings, pale white skin, red hair, fiery orange eyes similar to that of Lord Thorn… And also…"
He paused.
"When he absorbed the core, something else seemed to have consumed him… A type of darkness that tried to kill me. Tentacles of liquid black that allowed him to float and a magenta undertone that covered his body…"
Lepaie's brow furrowed again as he pictured the sole creature he knew that could cause such a scene.
"He was possessed by a Dormyrr King."
Aaron's posture straightened, his gaze focusing on the purple-haired man who fell silent, deep in thought.
Seeing the King of Dreams acting like that, Vaelmyr Droskyn spoke up, a calm but tense voice coming from his throat.
"Why didn't you meet up with Lord Quinn on your exit from the island? He reported no other vessel within the waters around the city, so you must've exited on one of the rescue ships and passed through his gaze. Otherwise, how else would you have made it?"
The two men watched as the boy clenched his jaw tight, his body shifting uncomfortably in the chair as if he wasn't expecting the question.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Then his face lit up, and he finally responded, perhaps just a tad too eagerly.
"I was teleported."
A laugh escaped the purple-haired King's mouth, the sheer craziness of the claim making him sure of the boy's lies.
"There isn't a need to fib. Please just explain to us how you actually—"
Both Kings tensed, the sentence left unfinished, and their heads whipping around towards the doorway where a golden light burst forth.
Leaping upward, they reached for their weapons but were immediately stopped by a surge of white radiance.
Vaelmyr was the first to react, his head bowing down ever so slightly, Lepaie following soon after.
Still seated yet with his weapon brandished, Aaron stared blankly as the magic faded, revealing a figure he had not expected to see.
"T-the Angel…"
The purple-haired King shot him a surprised and equally puzzled look, blurting out an inquiry.
"What? You know of…"
He stopped himself as a pale white hand patted him on the shoulder, and the room trembled lightly, brimming with the power of a woman so Holy that she could even soothe a raging Sea King.
Slowly, with the grace of a dove, she sat down in the seat formerly occupied by the King of Souls, staring straight into Aaron Grimstall's eyes.
Why is she here? What could she possibly…
Yet again, a realization struck him at once, the impossible statement he had laughed at only moments before coming back to bite him.
It couldn't be…
The sound of chains clattering echoed through the room, followed by the hurried opening of the bedroom door and the appearance of Camilla Buckley, who watched the unusual scene with even more shock than the two Kings or Aaron.
"What the hell is she doing here?"
Looking between the three adults and then to the turquoise-eyed boy, Cam noticed the boy's expression flicker oddly.
Taking a step forward, she tilted her head, focusing her gaze straight into his mana core, a place that, with Absolute Tranquility enabled, she shouldn't be able to see.
At that very moment, Lepaie Quinn, Vaelmyr Droskyn, and Maria Elaris all felt the boy's nearly untracable presence surge like a sudden flame, as the sound of the clock striking twelve thirty echoed through the room.
THUMP!
Aaron's body fell to the floor, his consciousness gone and his mind entrapped in a barrier so strong that one could've wondered if it were made of obsidian.
The purple-haired Sea King looked down in utter confusion, blinking slowly.
Is he dead?
Camilla Buckley stared at the unconscious boy with a weird expression, half-concerned and half-embarrassed, a tinge of confusion lacing her mind even after knowing about Absolute Tranquility and the issues involving Sea Kings.
In the wake of another powerful individual who reeked of the Divine, he had passed out, the deity within him staying completely, and absolutely, silent.
If there were even one more godly individual within the chamber, perhaps what had happened with Cauron Thorn in the auditorium would've occurred again; however, for now, Aaron Grimstall lay fast asleep, dreaming of crabs while the stupefied individuals simply stared at him.
Slowly, very slowly, the Marshal of Ancients walked over and bowed towards the Pontiff, who blinked rapidly, her complexion pale and wrought with displeasure.
After that, she leaned down towards the passed-out boy, picking him up and holding him gently in her arms like a baby.
Looking between the Sea Kings, she nodded curtly before taking her leave alongside her student, the noise of the door closing resounding through the large chamber for long seconds even after she had left.
A minute later, the clock chimed at exactly twelve thirty.
Lepaie Quinn was left absolutely flummoxed by what had just occurred, his hand rubbing against his forehead slowly as he spoke to the remaining two in the room.
"Lady Elaris… Do you care to explain your presence in our meeting here? Or do you perhaps want to start with how you knocked that boy out?"