After his brief mont with Echidna, Dantalian fulfilled his promise and took steps to resolve everything.
Standing in front of Duchess Marian's office door, Dantalian cleared his throat and knocked on the door. "Duchess Marian, are you there? Can we talk?"
At this ti, all the employees had already gone ho, and it would be complicated for Dantalian or even Echidna to explain everything to them. It was best to avoid that headache and keep them in ignorance; sotis, ignorance can be a blessing.
Dantalian didn't receive any response, but even without using the golden energy, he could already feel the murderous aura that Marian was emanating from inside the room. ' Are you angry? Too bad, isn't it? ' he thought to himself.
Dantalian activated his divine hand and snapped his fingers, sending a small wave of golden energy through the cracks in Marian's office door.
"Arghh..." A small and brief groan of pain was heard. Dantalian then repeated, "Duchess Marian, are you there? Can we talk?"
"Yes... Co in, Mr. Dantalian."
'How can he do this?' Marian thought, placing her hand on her neck, feeling growing discomfort.
Dantalian would open the door, finding Marian seated at her usual desk, maintaining her proud expression.
' Woman, you truly have nerves of steel, ' he thought to himself. However, sothing caught Dantalian's attention on the left side of Marian's face - a small swelling that could be seen even though it was disguised with makeup. ' Who could have done this? Freytan or Echidna? '
While Dantalian pondered this, he heard the sound of Marian's hands beating on her desk as she spoke, "Are you here for the reward, Lord Dantalian?" Her crimson eyes seed to lure Dantalian into a sea of flas as she continued, "Or perhaps you want to continue what you tried yesterday?"
Dantalian looked around, "Nice, it will do," he said. Then, he turned his face towards Marian, pointing his finger at her and saying, "What are you doing in my chair? Co to the front."
Marian's eyes blinked irregularly, revealing the turmoil within as she faced Dantalian, her hands tightly clasped together. "Don't venture into this territory, Dantalian. You're ddling with forces beyond your understanding."
Her frustration boiled over, and she slamd her hand on the table, landing in front of him and pointed an accusing finger at him, emitting a black aura mixed with pink traces from her body as she said, "Don't think what happened yesterday will happen again."
"Oh, really? Then what does this an?" Dantalian's arm moved, bringing his left arm close to the hand Marian was using to point at him, causing a large amount of golden energy to cover his arm and descend towards Marian's shoulder.
"Ahhhhhh! It's burning! Stop it now, you fiend!" Marian tried to remove her hand from Dantalian's grip, but whenever she attempted to bring her other hand close, she felt the sa burning sensation.
"Now you understand?" Dantalian looked apathetic, his eyes revealing the truth behind his actions. Even if she begged on her knees, her pleas would fall on deaf ears.
Dantalian brought Marian's arm down, commanding, "Kneel."
In an instant, Marian's legs gave way, forcing her to fall sitting on the floor, Dantalian guided her arm forward, making her kneel before him.
Dantalian released her arm, and her skin looked clean and silky as if nothing had happened, despite the intense burning sensation and pain she had just experienced. The only evidence of Dantalian's actions was the black smoke infesting the area.
"It seems you weren't as compatible with Krintoin energy as you thought," Dantalian said, placing his hand on his chin. "But now I wonder, how did you manage to hide this?"
After Marian's response remained silent, Dantalian moved his hand close to her face and asked, "Do you want to answer or not?"
Marian bit her lip and let out a sigh before speaking, "As soon as you speak, you'll be dead, you know that, right?"
Hearing sothing, an idea ca to Dantalian's mind, and he smiled as he said, "Oh! Are you talking about Mr. Destruction? Don't worry about him; all fifteen of them are after anyway."
'What?' Marian's expression froze, and looking at Dantalian, she said sothing he had only heard once before, "Who the hell are you?"I think you should take a look at
Dantalian stepped away from Marian, heading towards her desk. "I'll say the sa thing I told soone else who asked that," he ran his finger along the table, "Perfectly clean." Then he sat down in the chair, saying, "I'm just a simple master of a small guild."
Marian stood up, looking at Dantalian's smug smile and superior gaze as he now had both legs propped up on the table.
"What are you looking at? Sit down; let's talk, Duchess Marian."
' I will still kill you,' Marian's thoughts remained resolute, her mind a battleground of conflicting emotions. She forced a smile to grace her lips, masking the intensity of her intentions, as she responded with a asured tone, "Of course, Mr. Dantalian."
Feeling the discomfort in her neck vanish, she sat down on the chair across the table her yet she couldn't help but notice his feet, audaciously propped up on the elegant table. A flicker of frustration passed through her eyes as she composed herself and requested "Mr. Dantalian, would you mind removing your feet from the table? A aningful conversation requires mutual respect and direct eye contact."
With her unwavering gaze, Marian sought to assert her authority in the face of his casual deanor, all while grappling with to assert her dominance in other ways. The room seed to hold its breath as their unspoken power struggle unfolded in the subtlest of glances and gestures
"If that's what you desire," Dantalian replied, his tone tinged with confidence as he casually seated himself on the corner of the imposing desk, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Marian.
Marian narrowed her eyes, maintaining her composed deanor even as a flicker of irritation crossed her face. "Mr. Dantalian, such behavior hardly befits soone of your stature," she retorted, her voice laced with a mixture of authority and disdain.
A small smirk played on Dantalian's lips as he brushed off the remark, tapping his finger lightly on the polished surface of the desk. "Ah, but my dear Duchess, I'm no more than a humble guild master," he said, the twinkle in his eyes revealing a hint of mischief.
"Enough with the trivialities," he continued, his finger finally coming to a halt. "Let's cut straight to the chase. The future holds grand plans, and you, my dear, are fortunate enough to be an integral part of them."
Drawing closer, Dantalian's face hovered re inches from Marian's, his magnetic presence exuding a mix of allure and intrigue. "You shall continue being the esteed Duchess you have always been," he murmured, his voice a tantalizing whisper, "and now, you shall be even more."
Clasping her fists tightly, Marian leaned in, pressing her forehead against Dantalian's. "What are you thinking?" she demanded.
Dantalian pulled back his head, showing his hand with two small golden sparks erging from his fingertips. "You'll be my shield, and in return, you'll live your normal life as always."
Marian began to laugh. "In other words, if I don't want to die and be the failure of the hero to everyone, I need to be your puppet," she said, restraining all her fury as she delivered a sharp slap across Dantalian's face. While suppressing her anger, she continued, "Alright, let's do this nonsense. I'll be your puppet." The anger in Marian's voice was subtle, but her eyes seed to want to slice through Dantalian.
"Exactly, it's good that you understood my not-so-subtle hint," Dantalian said, placing his hand on Marian's head. "It's a sha I can't do it literally, so let tell you sothing."
Making a gesture for silence when he noticed Marian was about to speak, he continued, "You'll be my shield against the others, but I'll give you the opportunity to attack whenever you want. I want to see it. Oh, and it's better not to encounter the fifteen; they probably already know you've beco my puppet."
Dantalian pointed at Marian's neck and said, "How does it feel there? The discomfort is gone, right? Seems like you were truly abandoned by the Krintoin energy."
Marian looked at her hand, activating her power as a black sphere appeared, and the energy circulating around it was pink with hints of purple.
"You were using them, and they were using you because who better to gather information from powerful people than one of them?"
Marian crushed the sphere in her hands, causing it to vanish in a pink cloud.
Dantalian deactivated his divine hand, sighing as he spoke, "Don't be so sulky. You don't need that power amplifier; being my shield, I'll make you the strongest, so forget about them."
"So, that's why they're after you," Marian bit her finger, pointing it at Dantalian as drops of blood fell to the ground. She continued, "The mont I die, you'll die too."
Dantalian smirked with disdain, flicking her head as he walked past her. "Don't talk nonsense."
Stopping in front of the office door and grabbing the doorknob, Dantalian turned his head, saying, "You better pick a nice dress; you need to be prepared for the king's party."
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