The walk back to the ballroom felt like marching toward a guillotine.
Elara—currently in "Holy Maiden Mode"—walked ten paces ahead of me. I stalked behind her, my cape billowing with a physics-defying majestic swoosh that the System generated automatically.
[System Warning][Proximity Alert: Main Cast Detected.][Mandatory Script Requirement: HOSTILITY.][Penalty for Breaking Character: 5000 Volts.]
I swallowed hard. My throat clicked.
"Okay," I muttered under my breath, barely moving my lips. "Showtime."
We reached the massive double doors. The guards, seeing my glowing red eyes, didn't ask for an ID. They just scrambled to open the doors while trembling so hard their armor rattled.
Boom.
The doors swung open. The noise and music of the party slammed into us.
And then silence. Again.
Every head turned. The Prince. The Knight. The King. The background NPCs. They all stared at the Saintess returning from the garden... followed immediately by the Demon Duke.
[Tension Level: CRITICAL]
The script demanded blood. If I didn't insult her right now, the System would fry my nervous system.
I took a deep breath and channeled my inner Shakespearean villain.
"YOU DARE WALK BEFORE ME, WOMAN OF LIGHT?"
My voice boomed. Crystal glasses shattered on a nearby table.
Elara spun around, her face a mask of holy righteous fury. But I saw her eyes. They were dead serious. She was reading from a mental teleprompter.
"Silence, Monster!" she shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Your very presence pollutes the air! You smell of... of..."
She paused. She forgot her line.
I widened my eyes. Improvise! Say something evil!
"...You smell of Sulfur and bad life choices!" she screamed.
The crowd gasped.
Bad life choices? That was a little too personal.
[System Voltage: 10% (Warning)]
A spark of pain zap-danced up my spine. The System didn't like her dialogue, but it accepted it as "Hostile."
I sneered, stepping closer. I loomed over her, blocking the light from the chandelier. To the audience, this was a scene of intimidation.
To us, it was a tactical briefing.
I raised my hand, wreathed in black smoke [Visual Effect Only: 0 DMG].
"You think your pathetic light can stop me?" I roared.
Then, I moved my fingers rapidly.
Tap. Tap-tap. Swipe.
It wasn't a spell. It was Sign Language. Specifically, the corrupted version of American Sign Language we used in our old guild raids to signal loot distribution without voice chat.
Translation: [Burger King. After this. My treat.]
Elara's eyes narrowed. She raised her glowing staff, aiming it at my chest.
"I shall purify your darkness, Duke Noctis!" she declared.
Her fingers adjusted her grip on the staff.
Tap. Tap. Thumb-up.
Translation: [I want fries. Large. Do not forget the ketchup.]
"HA!" I laughed, throwing my head back. "Your arrogance amuses me, Saintess! Do you truly believe you can challenge the Void?"
Translation: [Meet at the North Wall. Midnight. Bring the loot.]
"I do not believe," she retorted, stepping forward until her nose was inches from my chest armor. "I know."
Translation: [If you are late, I am pulling the aggro on you.]
The air crackled between us. My darkness vs. her light. Black smoke swirled around her golden aura. It looked like a high-budget movie poster.
[Audience Reaction Check]
I risked a glance at the crowd.
They weren't terrified.
The ladies were fanning themselves frantically. The men looked uncomfortable. The Prince was gripping his wine glass so hard it looked ready to snap.
"Oh my," a Duchess whispered loudly. "Look at the way he looks at her. Like he wants to... devour her."
"And look at her!" another noble replied. "She's not backing down. It's like... passion. Twisted, dark passion."
[Rumor Generated: "Sexual Tension Level: 9000"]
Wait. No.
"I despise you!" Elara shouted, but she was standing way too close for it to be convincing.
"The feeling is mutual!" I roared back, leaning down.
[System Alert][Script Satisfaction: 100%][Scene Complete.]
Thank god.
I swirled my cape. "I have wasted enough time on you, Saintess. Pray we do not meet again tonight."
"Leave!" she commanded, pointing at the exit. "Before I lose my temper!"
I turned and stomped away, heading for the buffet table I had missed earlier. My legs felt like jelly.
As I walked, I passed the Crown Prince. He was staring at Elara with a strange expression.
"Duke," the Prince muttered as I passed.
I stopped. "Prince?"
"You..." He looked at me, then at Elara, then back at me. "You fight with such... intensity. I have never seen Elara look at anyone that way."
[Flag Warning][Prince Rivalry: ACTIVATED][Reason: Jealousy?]
"She hates me," I said flatly. "I am the Villain."
"There is a fine line between love and hate," the Prince said poetically, clenching his fist. "I will not lose to you, Noctis."
Lose what? We were ordering fries!
I ignored him and kept walking. I needed a drink. I needed to get out of this spotlight.
I found a quiet corner near a pillar and grabbed a glass of red wine.
[Item Acquired: Vintage Merlot][Effect: Stress -5]
I took a sip, watching the room. Elara was surrounded by admirers, but she shot me a quick, covert "OK" hand sign before returning to her role as the pristine maiden.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
We did it. We survived Chapter 4.
"Well, well, well."
A squeaky, arrogant voice drifted up from waist-height.
I looked down.
Standing there was a man who was wider than he was tall. He wore a suit that was three shades of purple too many. His face was flushed, and he was holding a turkey leg in one hand.
[Target Identified][Name: Viscount "Piggy" Morcal][Role: Minor Antagonist / XP Fodder][Status: Intoxicated / Arrogant]
"Duke Noctis," Piggy sneered, biting into the turkey leg. "I saw that display. Pathetic. Letting a woman speak to you like that? In my territory, I would have had her whipped."
My grip on the wine glass tightened.
The glass shattered.
Red wine dripped down my black glove like fresh blood.
The room went quiet again. But this time, it wasn't the System forcing it.
It was me.
I looked at the little man.
[Quest Update: FACE-SLAPPING CYCLE 1][Objective: Teach him manners.][Reward: +500 Reputation.]
"What," I whispered, my voice dropping into the subsonic range of pure rage, "did you just say?"
Piggy hiccuped. He didn't realize his health bar had just turned grey.