Zion stared at Ravel for a moment, truly observing him closely.
'No protective gear or weapons,' he thought, eyes slightly narrowing. 'Not that he'd need those with his C-rank nanosuit anyway.'
Without hesitating further, Zion sat down and reached into his pocket. Before Ravel got the chance to start speaking, he unfolded the schematic and slid it to the center of the table.
"This is the schematic," he said calmly. "My end of the bargain is done now."
Ravel glanced at the paper, his eyes narrowing slightly. Instead of reaching for the paper, he looked up, observing Zion calmly.
"…Is that so?" he said, voice low and muffled.
His fingers tapped once against the table, the metallic noise echoing through the silence.
"Then allow me to check your work," he said, finally reaching for the paper while keeping his eyes on Zion.
Zion waved his hand calmly, signaling Ravel to go ahead while his eyes carefully kept each of his movements in check.
After Ravel scanned the schematic for nearly an entire minute, he set down the paper slowly.
"It's accurate," he said. "Good."
Then his gaze suddenly changed.
"But that doesn't answer the other half of the matter."
Zion raised an eyebrow while his body tensed. "This was our agreement, was it not?"
Ravel leaned forward while he let out a scoff. "Don't bother pretending you don't know, Zane."
He paused for a second, his eyes growing cold. "After giving you nearly two days, I want an answer."
"Are you joining my crew… or not?"
Zion remained calm, his expression completely neutral as he locked eyes with Ravel.
Then, he spoke. "I'm grateful for the offer. But I can't join your crew."
Ravel remained silent, only a slight change in expression on his face as if he already suspected this answer.
"…No?" he repeated quietly, almost as if he was speaking to himself.
Zion nodded once, his face unchanged.
Silence fell between them while Ravel's eyes narrowed as he looked at Zion.
Then, very slowly, Ravel leaned back in his chair.
Before Zion even noticed, Uriel's voice echoed through his head.
[Host! Be careful!]
But it was already too late.
Zion's eyes widened as Ravel's entire arm changed in a split second, morphing into a thick, armored barrel.
He reacted nearly instantly, activating his scale armor and raising his forearms to shield his face.
Just as Ravel's barrel lined up with Zion's face and started to churn loudly, Zion's muscles tightened as he braced himself for impact.
Then, a blinding flash erupted from Ravel's cannon.
A heavy shell blasted out of the barrel, colliding with Zion's armor in less than a heartbeat.
The impact broke the chair he was sitting on and sent him flying a few feet back, nearly colliding with the wall behind him.
Zion gritted his teeth, immediately forcing himself back on his feet while his eyes quickly searched for Ravel.
Suddenly, Uriel's voice rang through his head.
[Damage negligible,] the AI said. [It was a blank.]
Then, his eyes locked onto Ravel, who had remained seated on his side of the table.
'Blank my ass,' Zion thought, glancing at the smoke still rising from his forearms. 'Had that thing hit my face, he would've at least permanently blinded me.'
Before he could think any further, Ravel suddenly stood up.
"Now do you understand your situation better?" he asked, walking around the table toward Zion. "You are merely an E-rank without access to any basic weapon transformations."
His eyes narrowed on Zion's forearms for a second before he continued. "Even if you have something like that unique armor in your suit, you'll still fall prey to the countless mercenaries and scavengers on Daresk."
Ravel stopped a few steps away from him, the smoking cannon still humming faintly.
"I want you to understand something clearly," he said, his voice low. "Had I intended to kill you…"
He raised the barrel slightly, the glow inside it fading.
"…you would already be dead."
Zion didn't respond. He kept his breathing steady and his stance balanced in case of further conflict.
Inside his mind, Uriel whispered:
[Host, the captain is exaggerating. Even if that was a live round, your armor would've redirected the impact at that distance.]
'Exactly,' Zion thought, running energy through his body. 'But I don't think he knows that. And neither does he know about my other weapons.'
Ravel studied him for a moment, then lowered his arm.
"Now," he said, tone tightening again, "do you still plan to refuse my offer?"
Zion straightened slowly, brushing dust off his coat.
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "I do."
Ravel didn't react immediately.
Instead, he exhaled a long, almost resigned breath.
Then the cannon began to retract, the plates sliding over each other until his arm returned to its normal form.
"…Very well," he said, nodding once. "No use asking any further then."
His tone held no anger anymore. Just acceptance… and a faint trace of disappointment.
Ravel turned away, adjusting his coat as he walked back around the table.
"We'll be arriving in a few minutes," he added. "Get whatever you need ready."
Zion remained silent as Ravel reached the door.
Ravel paused with his hand on the door panel. "You seem dead set on something. I respect that. But try not to die down there, Zane."
The door slid shut behind him before Zion could answer.
Zion let out a slow breath.
He glanced at the dented floor, the broken chair, and finally his own armor.
'A C-rank is still two full stages above me,' he admitted inwardly. 'I can't afford to get careless.'
He rolled his shoulders, dismissing the scale armor before turning toward the exit.
'Ravel and his crew… they really weren't a bad choice,' he thought. The captain's final words lingering in his mind longer than he expected. 'But even so… I need to follow my own path.'
With that thought, he stepped out of the room as the ship had nearly finished its descent toward Daresk.