"Two… I suppose I should have expected the one named Eve…" The ex-overseer muttered to herself.

Devon and Eve stood there in the doorway frozen, neither sure what to do.

"Well, I suppose I should ask, in case I can spare myself additional curses." With eyes that radiated an intense third for blood she asked, "Was it both of you, or just one that killed my soulmate?"

Eve was the quicker of the two to break out of shock and answer, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hoh? Feigning ignorance will not save you. I found where my soulmate's body was dumped nearby like a heap of garbage, and there have been no other humans who have come to this place in the past day. So if you two knew this place was here, it can only mean…"

"We learned about this place from a friend," Eve insisted, "Neither of us have ever been here before ourselves, we just had directions to guide us."

Kal'o Kir paused, then said, "And what was this supposed friend called by?"

"Devon."

I know I'm still under the effect of The Mask, but isn't it a bit cruel to throw the guy right next to you under the bus so readily?

Still, he had to admire Eve's quick thinking. If there was one name within the tutorial that would give the overseers a pause, it was his.

Kal'o Kir's eyes widened a bit, then focused on them, "Devon, you say… And where did you last see this human called Devon?"

"...In Arkania."

"Impossible. We surveil that place at all times. We would have known, would have seen that human if they had dared to come or go."

"They teleported into the town and left the same way. Even if you lot keep tabs on the place it isn't like you can see through the solid walls, right? And it's not like you can examine everyone at once."

Kal'o Kir glowered at her, but said nothing in response. Then the ex-overseer calmed herself and said, "Perhaps I should take a visit to the oversized camp you call Arkania then."

"Wouldn't recommend that," Eve said, "You'll find it a lot less hospitable than Plainstown, especially after the stunt you pulled over there."

Kal'o Kir stayed silent and gave them a small waving motion. It was clear that in her eyes their conversation was over.

Devon turned to leave, but Eve's voice stopped him in his tracks, "Don't think we're bugs that you can just wave off, you arrogant lizard."

Huh?

Kal'o Kir seemed equally surprised that Eve still had something to say.

"Tell me, I want to know just what it is you reptilian fucks are doing, messing with our heads like you are."

"...What?"

"Did you think it wouldn't be obvious that you shady motherfuckers have some hand in what's going on in the camps? I'll bet you think you're so smart, getting us to turn on each other, to soften each other up before you vultures swoop in at the end to clean everything up."

A vicious smile spread across Kal'o Kir's face, "Is that what you think, little human? What an interesting theory. Yes, I suppose it would be the natural inclination of a lesser race to blame their problems on their betters. Does it make you feel better, to deflect any and all responsibility of your own pathetic species onto another?" The vishan laughed mirthfully, amused by Eve's accusations.

"Why you…!"

"Eve!" Devon shouted, grabbing her arm, "This is neither the time or the place! Stop trying to pick a fight with something that's got such a massive level advantage and use your damn head!"

She glared at him, then shook his arm off and stormed out of the cave. Devon followed her out with the sound of Kal'o Kir's chuckles filling his ears.

It took Devon a minute to find where Eve had moved off to, but found her atop the cliff over the cave. After climbing up to stand beside her he asked, "What the hell was that?"

"Isn't it obvious? Who else would benefit the most from the division between the two camps but the overseers? First that bitch murders somebody in broad daylight, then immediately afterward everything starts descending into chaos? Tell me that isn't strange."

"But that one isn't even technically an overseer anymore, what would they have to gain?"

"Even if they aren't defined as an overseer by the system, it doesn't mean that their connections as a group suddenly dissolved, does it? I'll bet that she volunteered to piss off the system to further the ends of the group as a whole! She's at the center of it all. If I can take her out then maybe it'll send a message to the rest that we humans aren't simply cattle they can mess about with as they please!"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Shit, I messed up.

It wasn't so much that any of his actions had been mistakes, but that he hadn't anticipated Eve's reaction to everything. It was only natural for people to look for someone to blame when things started to go wrong mysteriously. But he hadn't paid it much of a thought because for the vast majority of the humans the overseers were still an incredibly imposing presence, something they wouldn't risk their lives to confront even if they thought they were the cause of all their misery.

But Eve was somebody who rushed headlong into her problems, no matter how bleak the outcome looked. The 10 levels between the two of them was simply something necessary for her to overcome in her eyes.

And now he had one of the worst possible situations on his hands. Her suspicions weren't directed at him, which was good, but the fact that she had her sights set on the executioner he wanted to be kept alive was a stroke of terrible luck.

Nothing good could come from their clash. If Kal'o Kir killed Eve then his strongest piece would be broken before the final confrontation even had a chance to begin. And if Eve won then the position of executioner would become an unknown that could be filled at any time by any other vishan.

Yet another element of the stage that I must dance around.

His hands had already been full with manipulating the two camps and finding time to grind out levels. And now he would have to keep a closer eye on Eve to make sure she didn't do anything reckless.

"I agree that everything happening is strange, but there's just no point in antagonizing them right now. You think a people as self-centered and egoistic would simply give up if you killed one of their members?"

He lowered his voice, "I've killed three of them, and they still don't seem very put off, do they? Hell, you saw how that one reacted to us. All you'd manage to do is piss them off!"

"Then why shouldn't I just go around and kill them myself before they have a chance to do any more damage?"

"Kill one and you'll lose the protected status, meaning you'll be free game for every other overseer out there. What are you going to do if they gang up on you? Can you deal with all of their level 50s and Val Kazar by yourself?"

"I can at least kill that one! It's not bound by the same restrictions as the others, which gives it free rein to fuck with us however it pleases!"

"And what if it isn't the one that's been messing with everyone? What if you're wrong and they decide to take care of you the same way that one took care of Terance?"

"I'm not that weak! I can take care of myself!"

"When I had my ascension quest to kill Irin you didn't think I could do it. Why?"

She stared back defiantly, "Because you're not as strong as me."

"Really? You want to test that, right here and now?" She looked at him incredulously, but he stared back completely resolute, "Come on, I'll show you that you aren't as above us all as you'd like to think. And you certainly aren't far enough that you could take on every overseer left within the tutorial by yourself."

She scowled, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then closed it and continued scowling. Then she turned and said, "Come on, let's go clear this stupid dungeon already."

Eve led the way for a while up the mountain until she remembered she didn't actually know the correct path and let Devon take the lead again. They ascended much slower now, as he wanted to take whatever time they needed for them both to cool off. It wouldn't help going into a dungeon completely wound up as they were.

"You do realize," Eve said, "That I essentially saved your life today."

"...Yeah."

If he had unknowingly teleported back there to that place he had always assumed to be his safe haven then he would have been dead before he even had time to register that Kal'o Kir was there as well.

"Although, if I'd gone there alone I also probably would be dead."

"Really?" Devon asked, surprised.

"I think that she was poised to strike down the first human who entered that place, no matter who they were. The fact that we entered together probably threw her off guard, and our combined levels stayed her hand long enough to give us the chance of a dialogue."

Well, if she's cooled down enough to realize that then she's probably fine now.

There was one other thing he'd noticed in the encounter that piqued his interest, but he'd been too on edge to notice at the time. The way the executioner had spoken made it sound like if they continued killing humans they would continue to get marks of karmic disdain, further amplifying their curse.

But why? When I killed successive overseers it never gave me more marks. Maybe the system is harder on the overseers if they keep going against the rules they agreed to in the first place. Or perhaps she's simply mistaken.

He didn't know what message the system had given Kal'o Kir personally, but it was possible that if it had been as vague about the marks as it was to him then she could have assumed that it would penalize successive human kills.

Though it doesn't actually matter how the system works right now. What matters is that even as an executioner Kal'o Kir still won't go full psycho and kill any human she pleases. Most likely, she'll only hunt me and whoever Val Kazar wishes for her to kill. Which is also me.

Devon wasn't sure how to feel about the information. On one hand, it was nice that she wouldn't go around killing people who could potentially be useful, but it also meant that the ways he could manipulate her were limited.

He'd been toying with the idea of prompting somebody to go ahead with some hair-brained idea to get off the island to see if it would instigate Kal'o Kir to come in and kill them, but it seemed far less likely now. Still, that didn't mean it wasn't worth a shot still.

They finally reached their destination, the entrance to the mountain den.

Eve stood at the edge of the platform and looked out over the rest of the tutorial environment below, "Wow, this is quite the view. But what's up with all the weird geography around here?"

"You'll see once we go inside. But…"

"What?"

"It's strange. I feel like the monkeys should have posted another guard out here by now but there isn't one."

"I'm kind of surprised they were smart enough to post a guard in the first place. None of the monsters I've encountered have been that smart."

"I imagine monsters probably come in all kinds, so it doesn't surprise me very much that some are smarter than others. But still, it's weird that there's no guard. Are you sure the rest wouldn't scatter once the leader was dead?"

"Only one way to find out," Eve said, stepping into the opening of the dungeon.