Mass release In honour to the support {4/10}
The atmosphere in the grand hall thickened as the realization settled in. Poison—an idea so absurd yet terrifying that the S-rank hunters and board members began to panic. They glanced around, their gazes wild with desperation. Some immediately scrambled in search of a cure, but in moments, their eyes fixed on one man, their expressions hardening into something deadly.
Axel.
He could feel the weight of their stares—like predators ready to tear him apart, desperate to survive. Among them, *Nameful's* eyes locked onto him, brimming with worry. Trisha and Wukong stood frozen, their faces twisted in a mixture of confusion and betrayal. The question lingered unspoken between them—*Why hadn't Axel warned them before feeding them poison?*
Axel smirked internally. 'If I'm going to sell this... I need to really sell it.' His heart beat steadily in his chest, the only sign of calm in the room. 'Now, I don't seem to be lying anymore.'
The tension in the air became suffocating, made worse by the high-ranking individuals in the balcony above who were in an even worse state. A buzz of frantic conversations erupted from them, their eyes fixed on Axel like hounds staring down prey.
"You bastard! Give us the cure!" One of the S-rank hunters stepped forward, gripping Axel by the collar and shaking him violently, his voice raw with fear.
Axel tilted his head back and laughed—a chilling sound in the charged silence. "If I were you, I wouldn't handle the only person who can cure you so roughly. I'm delicate, you see."
The S-rank's grip loosened, his face twisted in frustration, but he released Axel and shoved him back. His life was on the line, and defiance wasn't worth death.
"He's lying. I saw him drink something before this," someone from the crowd murmured.
"Yeah, why would he poison himself too? That's impossible!" another added, grasping at any thread of logic.
"Wait, why are we even distressed? He's not the cook," someone else pointed out, skepticism creeping in.
The rational part of their minds began to push through the haze of panic. The poison threat seemed slim—Axel had no proof, no evidence to back up his claim. The fear was starting to subside. But for *Nameful,* it was a conflicting moment.
Whispers turned into a storm of voices as panic spread. The notion of *Metorions*—monstrous beings hidden in human form—was too much to ignore. People glanced around nervously, wondering who among them might not be human. Tension crackled through the air like static, making every slight movement feel charged with danger.
Hendricks' eyes flicked toward Wukong, who was staring back with an equally sharp gaze. Suspicion danced between them.
'This bastard,' Hendricks thought, *'He's planning something... and it's that damn Roman scientist's fault.'* He grit his teeth. 'They've figured it out... I have to stop this.'
"And what proof do you have?" Hendricks' voice boomed, trying to regain control. "You're spreading rumors not just in Kyota but across the world—to the United States and more. Do you really want to incite a global panic without concrete evidence?" His tone was a warning, a promise of death if they crossed a line.
Axel, sensing the shift, laughed once more, this time louder and more ominous. The room fell into an eerie silence again, all eyes returning to him.
"That's why we've decided to use this moment—this event, broadcasted across the world—to unmask you all." Axel's finger pointed directly at Hendricks, his smile vanishing into something cold and calculating. "You and a few others here... are *Metorions.* And I'll prove it."
Gasps rippled through the room as Axel stepped forward, his gaze never leaving Hendricks.
"You Metorions don't like alcohol, right?" Axel smirked, knowing exactly where to strike.
Some of the S-rank hunters were already sweating, glancing at each other with growing suspicion. Trisha, Loki, and Wukong exchanged silent looks, preparing for what was about to come.
Axel's voice dropped lower, almost a whisper, as he revealed, "I snuck barley into your food. All of you ate it like pigs. But it's not just any barley... I laced it with advanced nano-hydroxyl compounds. And the flesh you ate? It was human flesh from the morgue."
The horror in the room became palpable as people reeled from the revelation. Before anyone could react, an S-rank hunter lunged at Axel, moving faster than the eye could track. But Axel, expecting the attack, sidestepped smoothly.
The hunter's body convulsed, his transformation immediate and grotesque. His mouth split open, revealing rows of jagged, insect-like teeth. His forehead tore open, two large bug-like eyes glaring with raw hunger. He was no longer human. He was a *Metorion.*
"Checkmate." Axel's voice was icy, his eyes shifting to Hendricks, who stood frozen in rage and fear.
They had been exposed.