"Because I want to slaughter and absorb them all."
Eren took a step forward. His weapons hummed when he imbued them with his lightning-element mana.
Old man Rey was half stunned and half angry at Eren's declaration. He wanted to ask him many questions that would have started with 'how dare he?' But Janos beat him to it. And he zeroed in on a very particular detail.
"What… what do you mean by absorbing?"
Amused, Eren looked at Janos before answering.
"Why don't you find out yourself?"
Only now did Jason understand why he felt uncomfortable when he met Eren here on an empty road that had turned into their battlefield. He had subconsciously processed the look in Eren's eyes.
'He… he is hungry for this kill.'
Eren stepped one step forward before his feet became covered in lightning streaks. Janos saw that Eren was about to make his move again. So he was about to activate his spatial artifact once again.
"It's useless."
Janos commented as he appeared safe and sound along with Rey at a safe distance from Eren. He had plenty of charges left in his spatial artifact to do as many as 50 short-range spatial jumps.
Of course, the spatial ring had its limits. And it had to be charged before it could be used. Plus, the number of short jumps would be reduced to less than half its usual number, depending upon the ranking status of the additional person.
Once fully charged, the jump would occur instantly at the user's command. No matter how fast Eren was, he couldn't beat Janos' speed of thought.
Bzzt. Swoosh. Jump.
The same thing happened when Eren tried to approach the pair again. So the next time, he was more focused on Janos.
Eren had slightly ignored old man Rey in his follow-up attacks. He focused on Janos even though he was a rank higher than him. He could guess that the man was a mid-range fighter. But since he needed concentration to use the spatial artifact he was wearing, he was avoiding confronting Eren head-on. At least for the time being.
Janos' job was to cover up for Rey. After all, Rey's class made him a glass cannon for close combat experts. Thus, it was the Expert's responsibility to provide cover for his Lord. He'd only engage in fights when he has no way out.
Old man Rey found it amusing that Eren was struggling so much to even come close to him. He preferred to watch the show instead of taking part in the battle. And he chose to laugh at Eren's taunt while he was doing that.
"Hahaha! Target my clan's summoners, you say. Little brat, the summoner class is not as simple to beat as you might think because of the misconceptions regarding its usage.
Our House promotes summoners in our midst because of the extensive knowledge we have regarding the summoner class. We know how to make the best use of it as well as how to cover its disadvantages.
I don't know what kind of weird fantasy or fascination you have regarding our summoners. But remember that things won't end well for you today. Because I'm a summoner too."
The old man folded his hands in triumph and said, uncaring if and when Eren approaches him. He knew that Janos had things covered for him.
Janos wasn't feeling as confident as old man Rey was even though he knew he could handle him even if his spatial ring ran out of charge. He looked at Eren grimly and wondered why the man didn't look worried at all when all his attacks had been rendered null by him.
"You know, Eren. There's still time. You can have the city to yourself.
Just let us enter the previously established tri-party deal. Offer to use the same level of partnership you have offered to House Derringer and Lady Levine's faction of House Montmorency."
Janos finally decided to speak up regarding the topic even though he didn't have any right to offer this kind of deal to anybody. Targeting a House just because it specializes in summoner class. Something told Janos that Eren wasn't bluffing
"Janos lad, what the fuck are you…"
Janos ignored what Rey had to say about his impudence and focused on Eren. The latter shook his head before responding.
"There are many reasons why I shouldn't be attacking you. And I acknowledge them all.
I like to think of myself as a rational person. So believe me when I say that I don't get a kick out of targeting you guys."
Eren said and scratched his chin. He pondered a bit before correcting himself.
"Okay, maybe a little bit. But that's not the point. You see, diplomacy or no diplomacy, I don't like to deal cordially with the snakes who are bound to bite me sooner or later. I'd rather they bite me now before chopping their heads off than wait for the bite first to respond in kind.
What I said just now, however, is just an incentive for me to kill you. The main reason I want to kill you both is because of you, Rey. And your summoner class. I wouldn't have let you leave the city had I known about your class sooner."
Eren started walking towards the duo. He played and juggled with his Katars before speaking up once again.
"You see, every day I fight this urge to kill a pain-in-the-ass summoner friend I have so close to me. When I see him standing so close to me and taking advantage of me like it's no big deal, I wonder how much confidence the guy has in me.
When we are out drinking, I fantasize about what it would be like if I attacked him and maybe devoured just his hand. But luckily for him and sadly for me, I always control myself. I don't want any royal complications that would arise."
'On my mark, dear.'
As Eren looked at the Remus clan members, he spoke to someone through voice communication. Using one of his Katars, he pointed at Rey and continued.
