The hall was silent save for the sound of the guards praying to Lone and the occasional noise of rustling paper as the foxkin everyone was paying attention to flipped the pages of the book he was reading, presumably to kill time.

Finally, as if to break the overly tense atmosphere, the door leading to the staff offices of the Merchant's Guild creaked open.

Heads turned, Lone's included. A tall and slim man with grey slicked-back hair and a respectable beard wandered into the room.

"The chairman actually came!"

"This is my first time seeing him in person..."

"I wonder why he came down? Is that demi's threat really that serious?"

"What? Can't you feel the aura gushing out of him? He's the real deal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a triple-X-ranker."

"He isn't. I'm a B-ranker myself, so I can tell. The foxkin's an S-ranker. That tall Fairy, however. She's a double-X-ranker."

"Really? It's so hard to tell at my rank. I wish I could gain enlightenment."

"You should focus more on your business, not your strength. You can always hire the strong."

The chairman paid no heed to the peanut gallery and walked confidently towards his guards and Lone's group. "I see you've been having fun with my employees, Foxkin."

Lone grinned. "My name's Lone. I'd appreciate it if you used it."

Shaking his head, Lord Lithmon replied, "I see no merit in showing decorum to a mere demi."

Lone shrugged. "Suit yourself. The longer you don't treat me as an equal, the less likely you are to get out of this without major losses."

The chairman chuckled softly. "I believe I shall be fine." He looked down at his prostrating guards and frowned. "Would you be so kind as to undo whatever spell you're using on my soldiers?"

'He thinks it's a spell? Because I'm meant to be headmaster Erion's disciple? Heh. I wonder if he'd pass out immediately if I pressured him with my Ascending Aura? I'm kinda tempted to test him,' Lone thought.

Soph craned her head back to look at his face. "Lone. A powerful mana reading is heading our way. It belongs to a triple-X-ranker. They feel weak compared to the generals. I think it's a male human? It's a little bit hard to tell since they're moving very fast."

Lone kissed the top of her head and smiled. "I know. I can feel their soul now."

The next second, the door to the Merchant's Guild swung wide apart.

Striding forwards with powerful steps, a man clad in shining golden armour which had a holy triangle branded onto the chest plate approached Lone's group. He drew his pure-white sword and his handsomely pale face frowned.

"Really?" Lone was a bit shocked. "White hair, white irises, white sword, white skin, but golden armour? Well, that's the Triangle of The Primals, right? Are you from The Church of The Primals?"

"It's Cross!"

"So that's the Seeker the guards mentioned..."

"I thought for sure it'd be Liza that showed up..."

Cross tightened his grip on his sword as he scanned the room and assessed the situation. After a few seconds, he pointed his blade towards Lone. "Lord Lithmon, is he the one your assistant mentioned?"

The chairman nodded. "Indeed. But please, give us a few moments to speak first. I'd rather we didn't resort to violence just yet."

Lone rolled his tongue a few times thoughtfully. "I don't really know much about the church... Hmm. Eolande."

"Yes, Husband?" she replied instantly.

"How much trouble do you reckon I'd get in if I killed Golden Boy over there?" His question sent ripples through the gathered merchants. Cross himself raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'why is this demi talking about the impossible'?

Eolande tapped her chin with her index finger and said, "I can't imagine anything as bad a Ythmagobla, so I don't see a reason not to, assuming you want to kill him. It'd be a bit of a shame though. He has a nice face, so I'm sure he's loved by the people."

"Hmm... Didn't the people here mumble something about him being a racist?" Lone asked before he looked at the XXX-ranker in question. "Hey, you. Are you a demi-hater?"

Cross looked confused. "No. How can I hate something that is beneath me in every possible way?"

"Ah. God complex." Lone sighed lightly. "That's tough to deal with. Anyway," he gave his attention to the chairman once again and asked, "Asshat, you wanted to talk?"

The chairman wore a shocked expression. "Are you referring to me?" Had the seated demi with a young girl sat on his lap, really just insult him, Richard Lithmon, the chairman of one of the biggest branches of the Merchant's Guild on Altros, and a Baron of Falron?

Lone's eyes clearly showed how little he thought of the elderly human in front of himself. "Yes. If you're not going to treat me respectfully, then why the fuck should I be nice to you? Say what you wanna say before I tell you what you're going to do. I'm a busy man and I can't afford to waste all day entertaining you."

Lord Lithmon's face turned red with anger. "Such bravado, for a mere demi. Do you really think that Headmaster Erion's support will protect you here, in my domain? You are far from safe waters, Foxkin."

Lone sighed once again. "If you're not gonna say what you want to say, then I'll give you your orders now. You okay with that?"

The chairman exhaled deeply to control his seething rage. Cross was here, so everything was under control. It would be unsightly of him to allow himself to get riled up by a mere demi.

"You will apologise publicly for hurting my daughter. I also expect you to sever the hand you hurt her with." Lord Lithmon felt generous. "I can spare your life if you do these things as well as offer your soul oracles services to the guild free of charge for at least one-hundred years. I believe I'm being very fair here, Demi. I was fully intent on ending your life today."

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Lone nodded. "I can do two of those. If that bitch apologises as well, then sure, I can say sorry. As for my hand," he held his arm out, "Breena."

A dagger appeared out of the shadows and severed Lone's hand before it receded back into the darkness. Cries of shock and fear washed over the crowd. Cross looked very surprised and cautious, while Lord Lithmon was disgusted.

Lone grabbed his severed hand with his other one and tossed it at the chairman. With a wet thud, it landed at his feet. Using a bit of worldforce on his Stamina Redirection, and a sliver of mana, Lone regrew his hand in front of everyone.

"Impossible! Such healing magic is unheard of!"

"He... He must be a Saint-ranked healer!"

"What a shame! I really hope this doesn't end with his death..."

Soph took a small handkerchief out from the front pocket of her shorts and began wiping away the blood that now covered Lone's wrist. "Idiot. You shouldn't have done that."

Everyone was still trying to hold in their breakfast after hearing and seeing what had just happened, or they were discussing Lone's healing powers, so he took this opportunity to state his terms to Lord Lithmon.

"You'll get your daughter to sign a contract created by me to never get involved with me again. Also, you and she will apologise to me publicly. You'll give me a plot of land or a building which I can use as a store to sell my wares. I'll let you decline one of these since I refused one of your terms." Lone smiled. "Well?"

Lord Lithmon held his nose. The scent of Lone's blood was making him nauseous. "I refuse. I will not negotiate with a criminal. If you don't agree to meet all of my demands, then I have no choice." He glanced at Cross and said, "Please dispose of this filth and his friends."

Cross stepped forwards as he got into a battle-ready stance.

Lone groaned. "Look, tough guy. If you attack me or my buddies, then you'll die. I'd rather not start shit with the Church of The Primals, but trust me, I only need to think about you dying, and then boom, you're dead. I'll also capture your soul and put it hard to work. I may be an S-ranker, but I wouldn't think of myself as superior to me were I wearing your shoes."

Cross laughed faintly. "Confidence is a good trait to own. It's a shame it led to your death. A lowly being such as yourself should know your place."

Like a flash, the golden-armoured man disappeared. A loud clanking sound drew everyone's attention. Looking at its source, they all saw Cross' body lying down in front of the seated Lone. Blood was flowing out of all of his facial orifices.

The silence was deafening. Lone slowly got to his feet as Soph clambered off of him. "Saturn, take his soul."

The floating orb happily did as it was asked. A mere XXX-ranker had no chance of resisting Saturn unless they were an incredibly skilled soul oracle like the Monarch Vampire Van, was. Cross' soul was easily taken into the Divine Soul Prison.

With that done, Lone touched the man's golden chest plate and stored his body and then the pure-white sword into his Dimensional Storage. "I warned the idiot. Oh well, at least I got enough exp to rank up from that."

Status Name: Lone Immortus Sex: Male Age: 27 [+1] Level: 1,479 [+491] Species: Foxkin Rank: SS [Up from S] Race: Ascending Foxkin HP: 37,970/37,970 [+21,130] SP: 150,321/152,080 [+60,080] MP: 538,976/546,450 [+12,310] WF: 1,432/1,500 Basic Stats Strength: 6,945 [+4,700] Vigour: 3,797 [+2,130] Dexterity: 5,872 [+421] Agility: 6,806 [+303] Vitality: 15,208 [+6,008] Luck: 556 [+55] Secret Stats Charm: 352 [+73] Charisma: 49 Magic Power: 54,645 [+1,231] Control: 940 Rage: 5  

"Wow. He had a lot of vigour, vit, strength and charm. Like, a lot a lot. As expected of a triple-X-ranker, I guess. I'm kinda hoping the other 'Seekers' aren't reasonable and seek me out for revenge now too," Lone said to himself a bit jokingly.

He rubbed Soph's head and asked her, 'What power now?' via The Summoning Room's telepathy.

'Phasing... One more rank until I have immortality again!' Soph replied excitedly. She, Sophie and Lone were all greatly looking forward to her final power unsealing.

'Shame it wasn't Immortality now. Oh well. We'll explore your phasing tonight or tomorrow as well as your Armour Creation, 'kay? I have an idea for how your Armour Creation can be useful,' Lone suggested.

Soph nodded in response and lightly gripped his hand.

Lone walked right up to the still-stunned Lord Lithmon and said, "As you can see, I killed a triple-X-ranker just by thinking about it." He smirked. 'Mental Destruction is too overpowered...'

"Are you still going to refuse my demands, or would you rather join 'Cross' in the Land of The Primals? The choice is yours. I'll get what I want either way," Lone casually stated.

"I... I..." Lord Lithmon was sweating heavily. "I will do as you wish... Lone." He valued his life far more than he did his pride. 'Retreat for now, Richard. You can have this filth punished in other ways... I need to make sure I live through this to tell the King of this national-level threat. I also need to ask for protection from the church... It was my foolishness that led to Cross' death, or at least, that's how it will be seen.'

Lone smiled. 'Good. That look in his eyes... Send more powerful people my way, please. The more, the better. I need more strength to deal with people like Clicker, Tapper, the Ancients - if I stumble across them - and of course, those shitty gods.'

He turned around and made for the exit with his group. "I expect a decently-sized plot of land or building by tomorrow morning. I don't really care about its condition, so feel free to give me a trashy lot if there is a huge one. The bigger it is, the better. Also, I'm expecting your and Anita's apology by this time next week. I'll make mine after hearing yours."

"Yes... I'll see to it." Lord Lithmon smiled handsomely with his aged face. He was acting like nothing bad had happened at all and like he was sincerely indebted to Lone.

That was perfect. A hardworking double-edged sword was just what Lone needed when he considered the dangerous side of the blade to be too dull to even come close to scratching his skin.