Return of the Runebound Professor-Chapter 637: Traitor

Noah looked out over the Advanced Track meeting, which had been successfully transformed into a scene of complete chaos. Any semblance of professionalism had long since evaporated.

It didn’t even seem like most of the professors present remembered that the whole point of the meeting was to be training their students. Then again, a supposed Archdemon showing up and throwing a massive wrench into everyone’s gears probably hadn’t helped encourage anyone to continue with their normally scheduled activities.

He let his gaze drift over the room, observing everything silently. There wasn’t anything more he needed to say now — not until everyone managed to gather their thoughts. It probably wouldn’t take long. If there was one thing that he was fairly certain applied to nearly every mage here, it was paranoia.

They already barely trusted each other. Everyone had their own agenda. They had runes they guarded from the others; conflicts within their families that prevented them from ever being more than surface-level allies in all but the direst circumstances.

It hadn’t even been so long ago that Wizen had infiltrated Arbitage with his plant puppets. Everyone was still on high alert. Noah had simply introduced something for their fears to focus on. Even the most suspicious members of the Advanced Track were going to at least have to think about his claims.

Demon or not, I’ve got a damn good point. Hell, I’d believe myself if I were in the crowd. Is that egotistical? Maybe it’s egotistical.

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Noah’s eyes caught on Moxie. That wasn’t unusual per say, but her expression seemed… off. Like she’d seen something unsettling. And considering everything he’d just said had been largely rehearsed, Noah was pretty sure it didn’t have anything to do with him.

She caught him studying her and gave him a slight nod to indicate things were fine. Noah wasn’t so sure about that, but it probably meant the problem wasn’t immensely urgent.

I’ll have to find a moment after this shitshow to figure out what’s going on. There’s no way I can sneak away right now. There’s way too much attention on me as things are.

The arguments near the edge of the crowd abruptly died out. A path of silence carved through the professors, moving in his direction. Noah turned toward it. He was pretty sure he knew what was coming, but it never hurt to be prepared.

From within the sea of students and teachers emerged a woman with features as cold as ice. Plates of white and silver armor flowed across her body, imbued with depictions of gentle snowfall that seemed to change with every step she took. She left a trail of iced footsteps in her wake, each one coiling with faint frosty mist.

But, by far, the coldest thing about the woman was her eyes. They were like two glaciers that had been trapped within her gaze.

It was Inquisitor Fuyin.

In some ways, her eyes almost reminded Noah of Father’s — but at the same time, they couldn’t have been more different.

Fuyin’s gaze was flat and cold her emotions frozen; Father’s was simply dead. It was like comparing a winter storm to an empty night, devoid of stars. One was the beautiful cruelty of nature; the other was wrong.

“Spider,” Fuyin said, coming to a halt. It was impossible to tell exactly what she was thinking.

Noah had been quite confident that Fuyin had survived his little explosion back at the auction, but he was mildly surprised to see that she’d shown up so suddenly. He’d been fairly confident it would take her at least a day or two to get to Arbitage after tonight’s meeting.

Guess she’s really on top of things. Can’t complain. She was reasonable enough.

“Inquisitor,” Noah said, inclining his head. “It’s been too long. It is pleasing to see you in good health.”

“No thanks to you. You killed many good men.”

“I defend what is mine. Mortals have seen the world in shades of black and white for too long. It is as I told you before. My companions and I are far more than mere demons. We are advanced. Evolved. If the Inquisitors had been willing to deal with me in good faith, then they would not be dead.” ṛ𝒶ꞐŎВĚṧ

Godrick emerged from the crowd. The large man’s features were creased in a mixture of annoyance, distress, and just plain anger. He definitely wasn’t having a very good day. Noah couldn’t imagine why. This was probably the most exciting meeting that the Advanced Track had held in ages.

And who doesn’t love exciting meetings?

“Inquisitor Fuyin,” Godrick said. There was more than a slight amount of fear in his words. The Inquisitors weren’t known for their surgical methods of operation. “I was unaware that you would be making an appearance today. This demon—”

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“Is exceptionally dangerous,” Fuyin finished. “He killed dozens of Inquisitors a few mere days ago. And now he comes here. To Arbitage. I must wonder why. Are you so certain that you are not one of those seeking the weapons you speak of, Spider?”

Well, that’s convenient. I’m pretty sure that was meant to be a question based on the hypothetical situation I made up, but all she’s done is basically confirm to everyone here that a weapons stash does actually exist. Thanks for that. Makes things even easier for me.

“If I was, do you really think I’d be talking about them to all of you?” Noah crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t need more power, Fuyin. I have everything I need. I simply enjoy life. I would be more than content to sit back and watch things play out if you idiots weren’t so liable to destroy yourselves in your inaction.”

“You’re very confident about all of this,” Fuyin said. “Why? Do you have proof? Confirmation? You are asking us to go against everything that we have already seen to be fact. Such a request must have evidence. Is there a traitor you can point us to? From the way you have things framed, there should be one here, right in this room. Is there?”

Goddamn it. I really don’t need logical questions, Fuyin. I’m looking for panic. It’s way easier to bullshit through panic.

Oh well. Panic can be manufactured.

“Yes,” Noah replied simply.

Murmurs ran through the room.

“Bullshit,” Frederick said. “The Advanced Track professors are heavily vetted. All of us are—”

“Those plant puppets certainly felt well vetted,” Silvertide drawled from the side of the room. “I’m glad to know we were on top of everything there from the start, and that all the people that died were just deemed unworthy.”

“That was an exception due to never before seen circumstances…” Godrick trailed off, not even bothering to finish the sentence. His expression creased in thought and he squinted at Noah intently.

Fuyin took a step forward, her gaze affixed on the eye holes in Noah’s mask. “And you are aware of their identity?”

If I say no, then my position is going to look pretty weak. Whelp. Time to find a scapegoat, I guess. Sorry in advance to whoever this ends up being. Maybe I can choose some dickhead that nobody likes. Too bad I already killed Verrud and Jakob.

“Humans tend to blend together. I can locate them, given time.”

Fuyin nodded slowly. “I see.”

Then she snapped her fingers.

A frigid wind screamed through the room, whipping through everyone’s hair and sending cups and plates tumbling from tables. Noah yanked power from Unstable Pandemonium and braced himself, preparing for a surprise attack.

But no magic came. Instead of driving into him, ice blanketed the walls and floor beneath his feet. It stretched over the ceiling and painted the entire room in a gentle, blueish-white frost. The magic passed over everything so quickly that it was done even as Noah realized what was happening.

“Inquisitor, watch yourself,” Godrick said, a note of warning in his tone. He may have respected her power, but Godrick was also a Rank 6 — and not a weak one. “There is only one demon in our midst. There is no cause for overuse of power.”

“This is not an Inquisition,” Fuyin said. Her gaze remained locked on Noah. “It is an opportunity for the demon to prove his words. I have locked us off from the outside world with the full strength of my domain. Nobody will be able to leave this room without an immense use of force. Not even through spatial magic.”

Ah, bugger. She’s making it so that I can’t claim someone was here but made a run for it. No escape unless they brute force their way through her domain and basically prove that I’m telling the truth. Shit.

“How convenient,” Noah said. “Thank you. I don’t suppose everyone would be so kind as to line up for me?”

“You can’t possibly believe the demon. You’re an inquisitor!” a professor exclaimed.

“My purpose is to inquire. Those who blindly make their own truth are blinder than fools. I will determine if the demon speaks the truth or not. Decisions must be made on evidence, not emotion.”

Just my luck. The one Inquisitor that isn’t a fucking nutter. Then again, I feel like most Inquisitors would have just tried to kill me and turned this whole thing into an even bigger shitshow.

Noah let his gaze sweep over the room. He didn’t exactly know who he was going to try to call a traitor. This part hadn’t been in his plans. He felt a bit ill at ease just tossing some random professor under the bus — not to mention he’d need some sort of proof.

“Anytime today, demon,” Fuyin said.

“Would you prefer I rush things and give them a chance to escape?” Noah asked, continuing to search the room. “Be patient. I will unearth them in due time. Just hold your domain.”

And then Noah paused. His gaze, which had just drifted by a pillar, was pulled back to it. A woman stood in its shadow. She was clearly trying not to draw attention to herself — and Noah knew who she was.

A flicker of surprise passed through him.

Isn’t that Janice? What the hell is she doing in the Advanced Track meeting? Don’t tell me Father has her spying on me.

Noah took a step toward her.

Janice’s eyes widened — for some reason, her features were awash with disbelief.

Then she thrust a hand into her pocket. A loud, audible crack echoed through the room.

Tongues of purple energy exploded out and encased Janice in a buzzing cocoon of molten energy. The power leapt upward like a bolt of lightning. It slammed into the ceiling with a resounding crash.

Ice shattered and rained down. It was only the smallest of cracks, but that proved to be enough. The energy, and Janice along with it, wormed through the hole and vanished.

A moment of silence hung in the air. Everyone stared at the damaged ceiling.

The fuck?

Noah was still standing there, staring in complete befuddlement, when every other eye in the room turned back to him.

“It seems,” Fuyin said, “that the demon was not lying. We have traitors in our midst.”