"I'm sorry for the untimely disruption," the man paused, "but I'm lost."
Hearing the voice of the unusually clad man, Alex and Ayami felt their combined apprehension toward the orange-haired man grow rather than quell.
Using their perception, they were only able to determine that the man was relatively similar in realm; however, their senses were warning them that this man was extremely dangerous regardless of their similar realm—and that any actions proceeding forward should be dealt with the utmost caution.
Inapplicably, Alex and Ayami felt that winning against this individual was not possible.
But the two dismissed the feeling to mere coincidence.
Alex's expression grew wary the more he probed over the man's appearance.
Thinking several things over, Alex concluded that if this man wanted to kill them, then he would have already done so rather than standing aloft.
"That looks like a combat formation," Rue commented, gesturing towards their drawn weapons.
From the stimulus of Rue's voice, Ayami's heartbeat spiked for an unknown reason.
"It's for our own safety–" Alex voiced curt.
"Who are you?" Ayami demanded interrupting Alex mid-sentence.
"Azathoth," Rue said, coming up with something on the fly.
"We don't want to know your name, but your occupation," Alex corrected.
"I don't have one."
Ayami furrowed her brow. "That makes no sense," she continued. "How else could you have gotten as powerful as you have without assistance from the Syndicate, unless…"
She paused. "You're a foreigner."
Rue shook his head indifferently after hearing the coined term. "No, no, you have it incorrect," he pointed towards himself. "I'm merely a humble wanderer who's been isolated from society for an unknown amount of time."
'Technically, I'm not lying,' he reasoned. 'Sure, I'm an inquisitor, but can I really be called that if I can't feel the Sun Goddess's connection?'
"A wanderer," Alex commented, his tone unamused. "Do you think we're morons? Did you really expect us to buy that someone who's in the Fourth Realm is a wanderer? I've heard better lies from children."
Thinking for a second, Rue spoke. "Then how else can you explain my attire?" he said evenly, not disturbed by the hidden hostility in their gazes.
Ayami scoffed, borderline annoyed. "That could easily be a forged appearance."
"Fair enough, but would you define a foreigner in the context of this?" Rue asked.
Alex and Ayami both side-eyed one another.
[Would you humor him for the time being?] Alex transmitted to his colleague.
[...I can try?] she replied.
[At least until we can find an opportunity to escape.]
[Understood…]
"A foreigner is a title usually granted to a person that is implied to be an enemy."
"Ah, I see," Rue muttered, shaking his head. "The Syndicate you're alluding to are those people with the white masks, right?"
Taking a deep breath the woman's complexion churned uncomfortable from the blunt question.
"...You can say that."
Was this guy CRAZY!?
Actually, on second thought—he might be.
Like, who even dresses like that other than the mentally unwell?
"Azathoth," she said in a professional voice, "do you know that referring to the Syndicate in such a manner could result in a punishment of, at the very least, being forced to enlist in the military for several decades?"
"No, I hadn't," Rue replied stoically, "but to my own question, my intent when referring to the Syndicate wasn't negatively connotated. I was merely asking a question."
"But…" Ayami tried to speak, however, Rue quickly cut her off.
"We're getting off topic with annoying 'what ifs,'" he said, shaking his hand. "Frankly speaking, I don't want to waste any more of your time, but I just need baseline
information regarding any current events. I haven't been able to keep up to date with the latest news due to my solitary isolation."
"What would you like to know?"
Rue thought for a moment, "Do you know anything about the current conflict between the Ptolemaian empire and Sunstone alike?"
"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of either of those places," Ayami replied, confused. "Sir, are you okay?"
"What do you mean you've never heard of those places? They're literally the two largest empires in the entire world." A disgusting sneer appeared on Rue's face when he heard that stupid statement.
Silence
Ayami's brows furrowed, annoyed, but she resisted the urge to throw back a few fuck you too's along with an ego-driven rebuttal.
"Are you sure you're not confusing these places with something else?" she asked, unsure whether to continue.
Hearing the sincerity of her voice, Rue scratched his chin, feeling his own wave of confusion wash over him.
"...Where am I?"
"What do you mean?" Ayami pressed.
"I just want to know my current location," he said, choosing his words carefully.
Ayami glanced at Alex, who merely gave a curt shrug.
'Unhelpful as always'
Biting her lip, Ayami spoke. "We're currently within the territory of the Mist That Stalks," pausing briefly, she continued, "I'm assuming you're looking for a way to exit the mist, correct?"
"Correct," he confirmed.
The blue-haired woman nodded. "Then if you continue on several clicks northeast of here, you'll be able to find a relatively large settlement."
"Is there anything closer?" Rue asked out of curiosity.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "That would be the closest, with the only other settlement being hundreds of clicks away."
This was a lie, and a daring one at that.
Ayami had lied while knowing full well that the person in question possessed superior strength to herself.
Was this risky? most definitely.
Did she take it? Indeed.
But this risk wasn't necessarily a risk—she wasn't alone.
While in one-on-one melee she would lose ten times out of ten, but here this simply wouldn't be the case.
They possessed the numerical advantage.
In arbitrary terms we could use the metaphor, "The battle is won by the first who can count the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.".
Rue was alone. He was a singular man—could he really fight and defeat two combatants who were in the same destination as himself?
Who knows maybe.
With that being said, both Alex and Ayami were above-average practitioners.
So how could he win?
Hence her logic: why tell him the truth when she could easily offer false information?
This would not only deter the risk of fighting him but also lead him back into Misty's territory, where he would most likely die from some wandering Fifth Destination beast.
And the threat dealt with—without shedding any blood.
While she contemplated the scheme in her head, several seconds had passed in the real world.
"Is that so?." Rue mused, tapping his chin.
"...."
The inquisitor lifted his gaze, momentarily meeting Ayami's before shifting to Alex's.
"Can you validate her words, or are you just going to remain as silent as a church-mouse during this?"
Alex's eyes twitched from irritation. "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know, I have a weird inkling that the blue-haired one's lying," Rue voiced, not really caring to sugarcoat his words.
A tightening, knot-like sensation began to resonate in Alex, and his apprehensiveness grew.
Subtly, Ayami began to channel Will into the weird pink cubes levitating behind her.
Rue raised his eyebrow.
"And why do you think that?" Alex commented, his tone controlled.
"You know, it's weird how I can clearly feel a weak pulse of Will surging 40 kilometers north of me. From what I can tell, this can't be added to mere coincidence, since the flow of Will lacks that abstract chaotic feeling you would get from a natural Ley line. So, I'll say it once more—are you lying to me right now?" he calmly voiced, but the undercut threat was palpable.
Ayami furrowed her brows, while Alex's eyes widened involuntarily.
"Are you threatening us right now?!" Ayami exploded venomously.
"Maybe," he retorted indifferently.
Several seconds passed before both realized that Rue wasn't going to continue.
Clenching his hands by his sides until they drew blood, Alex's shoulders trembled from the piling emotions.
He disliked this bastard's disrespect.
"How could you feel that?!" he protested loudly, buying time for Ayami to gather more of her Will into the cubes.
So it's really going to go down like this... what the hell did I even say?
Another conversation damned with fists rather than words, that always seems to be the case with the stubborn types, Rue thought.
"I may not be the keenest type of person," Rue said, summoning his axe, "but if you're going to use violence to continue our chat, then I'll have to reply as such." He smirked toothily.