Kaiden had the misfortune of knowing Varek only for a few minutes, but he'd learned a lot about the man in that short time. Varek was a man who lived in his own little bubble where he enjoyed unrestrained power.

He was the tyrannical ruler of his little tribe that consisted of a couple of hundred humans at best. Within the reservation lands granted to his people by the US government, he could do whatever he wanted.

But the monsters did not care about the sovereignty of his people. Varek seemed to want to make allies of his own with competent outsiders whom he saw on the Awakened Media Platform that enjoyed a truly global reach, facing no mortal restrictions such as language barriers.

It seemed that Kaiden was one such man he found, and Varek decided he might as well start making allies with him.

The firelight danced across Varek's broad, scarred chest as he leaned forward. The glint in his eyes turned sly as he gestured lazily toward the line of women kneeling behind him, his "adornments."

"I thought," he began, the corner of his mouth curving into a wolfish grin, "that you might appreciate Taigi. She's built like our kind of woman, no?"

His gaze slid over his harem, and though he said nothing more, the meaning was obvious. His eyes traced the outlines of their hips and thighs, the kind of unspoken comparison that made the women stiffen in discomfort. One even flinched when his gaze lingered too long.

"I was even thinking of proposing a harem member swap to you as the ultimate sign of peace and respect… But it seems," he went on, chuckling darkly, "that I was mistaken. Perhaps your taste has become more acquired with time?"

The smirk that followed left little doubt about what he meant. His eyes drifted toward Naira, who was sitting quietly at Kaiden's side. Her slender frame was cloaked in modest tribal wraps. The color drained from her face as she realized what that gaze implied.

"If you wish," Varek said lightly, "I can have some of the young ones visit you tonight. Gifts of friendship, of course-"

That was it.

The last string holding Kaiden's patience snapped.

For a brief, terrible silence, nothing happened. The distant laughter of the feasting warriors filled the hall, the crackle of the fire echoing like a heartbeat. But within Kaiden, something shifted.

Disgust.

It wasn't just anger; it was the kind of loathing that crawled beneath the skin and curdled the blood.

How could a man rot this far?

His mind flashed back to Maximilian, the man who'd treated women like property, his sins hidden behind dollar and political ties. And now, here was another monster, draped in furs instead of silk, but made of the same filth.

Is this what power always becomes?

Kaiden's expression didn't contort into rage… it simply froze. All warmth drained from his eyes, leaving behind something far more terrifying.

Cold hatred.

He looked at Varek with the same look one might give a disease that needed to be burned out.

The air around them shifted. The hall's warmth dimmed. The cheerful chatter seemed to fade as if the fire itself hesitated to crackle.

Varek blinked, confused at first, then unsettled. He didn't understand why the man before him, who had smiled politely all evening, was now radiating this kind of quiet malice toward him.

He was just making a peace offering. Why the anger?

Kaiden didn't speak for several seconds. Then, with deliberate calm, he reached into his belt pouch and retrieved the sleek artifact, a communicator.

He tapped the crystal node at its center. It pulsed once, bright and cold.

"Kaiden Grey reporting."

His words carried clearly, even though his tone was steady. Each one was laced with restrained venom.

"Negotiations have failed. The local authority has proven unfit for peaceful alliance, citing moral corruption and predatory practices. I am declaring the diplomatic mission a failure."

He lowered the device, eyes still locked on Varek's. "Our alliance only stands to lose from associating with this man."

Tessa's voice was the one that came through the communicator, audibly filled with surprise.

"... Copy that, Kaiden. Mission failure confirmed." There was a beat of silence before she continued, softer now. "Are you sure about this? I trust your judgment, but isn't it too quick?"

"I'm sure."

That was all Kaiden said.

Another voice followed immediately. Geralt.

"Do you need extraction?"

Kaiden didn't answer him verbally.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward Varek and let the silence hang heavy.

The look alone said, 'Do I?'

Varek blinked, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. Then, in an offended tone, he rose from his seat. "What is this? I've been nothing but a good host! You come into my home, eat my food, drink my wine!"

The hall went utterly still.

The laughter. The music. The chatter.

Everything stopped.

Kaiden stared at the man. He could feel it… the rage, the kind that didn't scream but boiled, eating through every layer of restraint he'd built.

It wasn't Varek's arrogance that enraged him most. It was the confusion.

The fact that this man, this human parasite, truly, honestly didn't understand what he'd done wrong.

He wasn't pretending. He wasn't mocking.

He was genuinely baffled as to why his offer of child sex slaves had been met with disgust.

That was what broke something in Kaiden.

His pulse thundered. His breath grew heavy.

And then…

A hum rippled through the air.

Shadows flickered unnaturally. The veins on Kaiden's neck glowed crimson. His irises bled into red, the color of Wrath.

Everyone in the hall felt it; the sudden, suffocating weight.

The warriors froze. Dancers stumbled and fell silent. Even Varek's harem drew closer together, trembling as the air grew thick.

Kaiden's aura roared to life like a furnace.

The Wrath Stance had taken him.

He could still think, somewhere deep down. He even heard a quiet voice screaming at the back of his head that this wasn't the place, that he needed to leave, as he could be in grave danger.

But it didn't matter.

The fury was too deep, too vivid, too pure.

His voice came out vibrating with restrained murder.

"Me… acquired taste?"

Varek opened his mouth to speak, but Kaiden cut him off as the next words erupted from him like lightning.

"You want to give me young ones?" His hand slammed against the table, splintering the wood in half. The sound made many in the hall flinch. "A 'gift of friendship'?!"

He took a step toward Varek.

"And then…" Kaiden's tone grew louder, sharper, until it became a roar that filled the longhouse. "A harem swap?! You think I'd GIVE YOU ONE OF MY LOVERS?!"

The explosion of killing intent that followed nearly crushed the room.

Dishes shattered. Wine spilled.

Naira gasped and covered her mouth. Taigi dropped to her knees, trembling. Even Vaelira looked at him in shock.

Varek had stepped back unconsciously with his grin long gone.

Kaiden's aura pulsed violently, flaring crimson. His voice turned venomous, his teeth bared in barely contained hatred.

"You sit here pretending to be a welcoming ruler, when all you are is a filthy monster pretending it's culture! I'd rather ally with the literal demons!"

One more step forward, and the floor cracked beneath his boot.

The Wrath Stance radiated through him like wildfire, feeding off his disgust, his rage, his contempt for every man who'd ever used power to take from the weak.

And in that moment, Kaiden Grey was no longer a diplomat.

He was judgment made flesh.

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