Silence filled the air Leonardo, Greg, Roselia and Dorian all glared at Vadus with anxious eyes as the intruder was simply leaning in beside the wide-eyed Claude.
"How strange," Vadus stood up straight and started circling around the roundtable of leaders who continued to simply glare at him. "You are not attacking me…"
"…Your Majesty?" He stopped right beside Leonardo, leaning in with an unsettling smirking smile on his face, his red gaze locking with Leonardo's eyes.
"Who are you? And how did you enter this place?" Leonardo spoke up, his gaze sharpening into a menacing glare which simply made Vadus chuckle.
"Do forgive me," Vadus walked to the other empty end of the round table, making sure each of the Five leaders of Elderngard took a good look at him.
"Though it is only temporary, I go by the name of Vadus Light," Vadus saluted with an impeccable bow. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty and his Four Cardinals."
He raised his radiant smile on his face as if amused by the whole situation.
"On the matter of how I got here, I'm afraid to tell you that I simply walked in not too long ago," he said calmly with elegance, hand against his chest, specifically over his heart. "Would you happen to have any other questions, Your Majesty?"
"None."
"I see…" Vadus's smirk stretched a little further at the response.
'Just who is this guy?' Greg's eyes stayed glued onto Vadus, beads of anxious cold sweat running down his jaw. 'It doesn't make sense that none of us were able to sense him. So how?'
"No need to fret, my good sir," Vadus faced Greg, almost as if he could read into his thoughts. "I have not come with any intentions of bringing you harm."
"Then what is it that you want?" Claude spoke up, his expression the most composed out of everyone.
Vadus's smile shifted slightly at the question, almost pleased at the inquiry.
"I've simply come to present myself to you. Nothing more, nothing else."
"Do you think this is a joke?" Dorian seethed with rage as he held himself back.
"Why no. Perish the thought," Vadus shook his head in denial. "I simply thought I'd spare you the effort of having to find out how exactly I ended the late Master Magus's life."
As the words left his mouth, the temperature in the room dropped instantly. The statement that the mysterious man had just made was delivered in such a calm manner that it could send chills down anyone's spines.
"It was you?" Leonardo's voice rang out, his voice low though the fury of his glare was aimed straight at a still smiling Vadus. "It was you who killed Hugo?"
"Why yes indeed," Vadus clasped his hands behind his back, his relaxed composure unusual considering the situation.
"I caused the rupture of a Vanishing Point to have more leeway in my execution of the Master Magus," he tilted his head as he elaborated on his answer. "How else was I supposed to eliminate one as powerful as he after all."
'This guy… He's…' Dorian's eye went wide as he wondered if Vadus was insane from everything he was saying.
Leonardo simply clenched his jaw as the words landed in his ears. In the meantime, a bundle of questions gnawed at the silent Roselia.
'He caused the appearance of a Vanishing Point? How? Is that even humanely possible?' her eyes were wide with disbelief as the thoughts settled into her mind.
"Claude, Roselia, Greg, Dorian, whatever may happen next, you are forbidden from interfering," Leonardo's voice came out in shaky, rage-seething breaths.
"Your Majesty!"
"What!?"
"Huh!?"
"…"
Roselia's, Greg's, Dorian's and Claude's reactions occurred almost simultaneously as all of them were hit with expressions of shocking surprise before being shutdown by one statement from Leonardo.
"It's an order."
All of them reluctantly obeyed as they stayed put in their seats.
"I am in awe of your foresight and levelheadedness, Your Majesty," Vadus gave a respectful bow as his voice carried no hint of falsehood.
Leonardo then released a deep exhale before leaning back in his seat, bringing one leg over the other as a golden glare settled on Vadus.
'My… Such pressure from only his gaze is impressive. Truly befitting of his status,' Vadus locked eyes with Leonardo, never faltering from the pressure.
"We have lived quite long lives and garnered enough experience over the years to know that you are not an easy opponent. If you had wanted to, Claude would have fell to your hands before even having the chance to resist. Not only that, but as you do not emanate any hostility towards us, I am entitled to ask this of you. For whatever reason have you shown yourself to us?"
Leonardo's words hung low in the air as Vadus could feel chills on his skin. A moment of silence reigned before Vadus finally gave an answer.
"First of all, no, I have not come here to surrender myself for the incident that happened at Therion Academy," he begun, explaining his motives with confident calmness in his voice. "Secondly, the reason of my presence today did not involve bringing harm to any of you seated at this table."
The unsettling, elegant smile on his face never wavered as the words continued to roll out of his tongue.
"My objective was simply to give you but a simple warning. Soon I shall unleash upon Elderngard a devastation as grand as the Cataclysm from 300 years ago, and you are more than welcome to prepare for that eventuality and hunt me down to stop me."
The room was filled with dumbfounded surprise as cracks started to form behind Vadus.
"That was all I had to report. Whether you track me down and end my life before I fulfill my objective, or I accomplish my design and you struggle against hell on earth, I leave the ball in your court, my dear gents and lady."
Vadus offered one final bow as the cracks dissolved into a small portal.
"After all," he faced the portal as he then took one step forward before looking over his shoulder with a bright smile. "Evil cannot exist with good to counter it. On that note…"
He passed through the portal which then sealed up as if it was never there to begin with.
"Tch!" Greg slammed his fist onto the table, his bottled-up rage having no other outlet as he cracked the surface.
"Just who was that guy?" Dorian spoke up followed by Claude.
"I do not know. But as he gave us his name, I'll try to look into it within our database."
At the same time, within Leonardo's mind, a thought crossed through it as he let out a deep sigh.
'It would seem that I have been much too complacent in my duties as king. Wouldn't you also agree, huh, Hugo?'