"What's your name?" The girl who had just sat down with a tray full of food asked, her gaze settling on the young man across from her. His own tray held a meager portion in comparison.
"Oh, a rich kid?" He thought, briefly meeting her eyes before returning to his meal, uninterested.
"Hello...? I asked you a question," she pressed, her voice carrying a hint of impatience.
Without looking up, he scoffed. "Can you not bother me? In case you're blind, I'm eating."
The girl paused, then let out a small chuckle. "Oh... I see. So, you call 'that' food?" There was something about her tone that grated on him.
He exhaled sharply, setting his utensils down. "Sigh. Fuck off before I break some rules to put you in your place. I'm not a gentleman—I don't discriminate when it comes to teaching people like you a lesson."
To his irritation, she only grinned. "Oh~?" she mused, tilting her head slightly. "But it's you who doesn't know your place. I could have you expelled without even breaking a sweat."
Something in her voice sent a cold shiver down his spine, though he didn't let it show. Instead, he grabbed his tray and began to stand.
"Go fuck yourself, bitch."
But then—
"Why do you carry a gun around?"
The question came out of nowhere, making his blood freeze. His eyes snapped to her, widening in shock.
"What...?" He frowned, trying to mask his sudden unease.
She leaned in slightly, her expression unreadable. "I saw what you did yesterday."
His entire body tensed. His eyes darted around the cafeteria, scanning for anyone who might be listening.
"I... don't know what you're talking about," he said carefully, lowering himself back into his seat.
She smiled knowingly. "Oh really?"
Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, she raised her phone, flipped the screen toward him, and—
His breath hitched. The image staring back at him drained all the color from his face. His heart pounded violently in his chest, so loud it felt like the walls themselves were closing in.
"Who else saw me?" The thought clawed at his mind, his fear swelling.
"Wh-what do you want?" he asked, his voice tight.
Her grin widened. "Simple..."
She leaned in, eyes gleaming with amusement. "First, answer the question—why do you carry a gun around?"
<....>
"HAAAH!" Eren lurched forward as he woke up.
"Haah... haa... haah..." He panted, his whole body drenched in sweat.
'What the fuck just happened? Why did I have that damn dream again, and why now?' he thought, annoyed.
"Huh....?"
It was only now that he realized he was seated on the ground.
"The pain... it's gone," he remembered, then placed a hand on his abdomen and chest. He gulped before standing up, with some difficulty.
"Damn it," he groaned, then looked at the cracked mirror.
"My hair... it changed again," he murmured, closing his eyes to calm his racing thoughts.
'Wait.'
His eyes widened as he recalled a crucial detail of his plans he had forgotten.
"Angelica," he muttered.
Yes, Angelica.
From the moment he had decided to destroy the so-called goddess of life, he had realized that there were some important variables he had to deal with, variables that would destroy his plans if left unchecked.
He knew Angelica.
Perhaps even better than she knew herself.
He knew how smart she was—and how dangerous she could be to the fulfillment of his plans.
She could ruin everything before he even got the chance to begin his revenge.
So, he planned to attack her before she attacked him...
Yes.
He knew what Anna would do before she even did it.
It wasn't mind reading—it was simply using her frame of thought to predict her actions.
He knew she would lead someone to him, hoping to save herself and Jason.
There was an 80% chance that Angelica would be suspicious of her. Given that he had requested Anna leave early to come to him, Angelica's suspicion would only rise. Adding to that, the fact that he had rendered Anna unable to reveal what she had been doing all this time—or even lie about it—only strengthened his plan. He had instructed her to remain silent whenever questioned.
Angelica was smart.
Dangerously so.
But it was that very intelligence he counted on.
He hoped she would pick up on all the clues he left for her—and surely, she would.
He anticipated that the moment Anna left, Angelica would follow her, driven by curiosity and the need to piece together the puzzle he had left behind.
She would follow Anna, but Anna wasn't some an idiot. In fact, she was one of the strongest in their team. The only reason he had overpowered her that day was because he had taken her by surprise—coupled with the fact that he had continuously fed her mana-flow blockage potions.
Otherwise, she would have killed him at some point.
So Anna would definitely pick up on Angelica following her. But she wouldn't react—she would act as if she hadn't noticed, allowing Angelica to tail her. Perhaps in the hope that she would find and kill him, or at the very least, confirm that he was still alive and find a way to stop him.
He banked on that mindset.
His plan was to keep Angelica's suspicion of him being alive lingering. He wanted her to question the authenticity of his death, to suspect Anna. And it was in that uncertainty—her inability to decipher the truth, her growing curiosity—that he placed his bet.
That was how he would deal with Angelica.
"But I can't let her see me. She's probably on her way now," he muttered, biting his lip. His gaze fell on the spatial ring on his finger.
"Alright." He sighed. "Let's get this over with."
He channeled mana into the ring, and in an instant, three items materialized before him.
A cloak. A unique perfume. And the final potion—the last piece he needed to complete his transformation.
A slow grin stretched across his face.
"Let the game begin."
....
[Author's request: Drop reviews and power stones guys]