Tensura Alteration: The Accursed One

The Question of Vengeance

"If you were to find Manus now, would you fight him without hesitation?"

Those words left Faraam's mouth in an utterly blank and cold tone.

Artorias' eyes widened, widened so much in fact he thought his pupils were going to explode.

Even his own brigade of six warriors on his side immediately tensed up at the mention of Manus, holding their weapons' hilts.

But Faraam suddenly shifted from deathly silent and still to slightly assuring, raising his left hand to calm them down.

"Be at ease, I have no affiliations to him, it is only a question that had filled everyone's minds for a long time.

You, Artorias of the Abyss, are a legend where I hailed, where I ruled.

So, it is only natural to ask such a question, though, if it is out of your capabilities to answer such a question, then please say so."

Faraam was feeling something for an exchange, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

He was feeling what people call - Cringe.

He was internally cringing quite a lot from actually expressing 'Comforting' and 'Assuring' words and motion.

That cringing was mainly due to the fact that Faraam never spoke back in his old home of Drangleic, never laughed, never cried, only grunted in pain when an arrow shot through his shoulder or a sword pierced his heart for the millionth time.

Circling back to Artorias who was still about to explode from being frozen stiff from such a question, the 'Abysswalker' quickly calmed himself down.

-"I see... I shall answer such a question at a later date.."

Faraam's lie, a perfectly crafted lie to be exact, still lied under suspicion by Artorias.

Artorias himself wasn't convinced Faraam is here just to be friends, he SAW how Faraam was so cold to Rimuru and how his attitude was more dead than a man six feet under.

To cut it short - Artorias wasn't buying a single thing Faraam said in any other tone than that ice cold tone of his.

So, responding to his refusal, Faraam couldn't do anything other than give a slight nod.

-"I see.

I only have one more question-"

Artorias stopped him before he continued.

-"We shall speak more under the supervision of Rimuru and his subordinates."

Artorias had totally composed himself by now, not backing down at all from any attempt at intimidation like Faraam did to Rimuru.

His brigade of knights had went on ahead and joined the 'Monster Leader' in the large council room, so Artorias walked off in front of Faraam off to there, a sign of no fears to show towards Faraam.

Though Faraam didn't really care less, he ordered Rimuru to leave the two alone indirectly simply to see how much of a pushover Rimuru was, to get more details for the Demoness Blanc at a later date.

Joining the others in the large but accommodating council room, Artorias quickly sat down in a chair to the right of Rimuru, his knights taken posts around the corners.

Honestly speaking, those comparatively small fellas are the very unnerving type.

They get more terrifying the more you look at them, and they haven't even made a single audible noise from the minute Artorias met them.