The woman remained standing at the foot of the altar.

The frost creeping across the parish walls continued spreading quietly behind her while snowflakes drifted lazily through the open doorway. Her white eyes remained fixed on Faceless without blinking.

Several seconds passed, then she slowly nodded and a mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

Their attack had been delayed for months because of one simple problem. Nobody could determine which of the two Princes of Hell appearing publicly was the original.

The rings concealed far too much.

Even when Damian or Faceless used their abilities, observers could only detect the power itself.

They could never determine who truly cast it. Every investigation ended in contradictions or created more confusion.

It had taken months of surveillance, infiltration, and analysis to finally reach a conclusion.

"Only the original can summon the Throne of Power." The woman smiled proudly.

She sounded pleased with herself as though she had solved a difficult puzzle. Yet her declaration failed to provoke any reaction.

Faceless simply stared at her, silent and motionless. The burning eye behind the fox mask remained fixed on her face.

Several seconds passed before he finally spoke.

"Are you here to kill me?" Damian’s voice echoed softly throughout the frozen parish.

The woman giggled. The sound contrasted strangely with the deadly atmosphere.

"What if I am?" she nodded.

Again there was no reaction. Faceless merely continued staring at her before asking another question.

"Did you send others to my home?"

This time her smile faltered. A faint crease appeared between her brows as she realized something felt wrong.

Very wrong!

Ever since entering this parish she had felt it. This human should not be behaving this way.

He had inherited demonic power less than a year ago. He should be arrogant.

Instead he carried the same detached boredom she had witnessed countless times among other princes.

It was as if he had already seen everything life could possibly offer wnd that irritated her.

What exactly had this human experienced to earn the right to wear such an expression?

"Two."

The number left Faceless’s mouth abruptly and the woman blinked.

At the same moment, disappointment appeared in his eye.

"You brought three people to assist you and sent two toward my home?"

His voice remained calm.

Yet somehow the disappointment carried more weight than anger.

"Don’t tell me you truly believed I would have my real body sitting here all day like an oracle granting mortal wishes."

Buzz!

Her heart skipped as shock exploded across her face. The first problem was obvious.

There was no possible way Damian should know how many people were currently moving toward his residence. Not without some form of advanced clairvoyance qnd according to every report they possessed, Damian should not have access to such abilities yet.

The second problem was even worse.

The figure seated before her wasn’t the original?

That didn’t make sense.

Why would a clone carry such an overwhelming percentage of power over the main body?

Why would anyone risk that?

The entire arrangement suddenly felt wrong.

"Don’t tell me that one is the main body..." The words escaped her unconsciously.

Faceless slowly shook his head. At that moment he finally understood the mistake these assassins had made.

They believed his strength was divided amongst himself and a clone. They thought there were only two bodies which meant they had no understanding whatsoever of Damian’s current situation.

That explained why only six demon nobles had been dispatched. The realization annoyed him deeply.

"It doesn’t matter. If we kill this body, your main body permanently loses a large portion of his strength." The woman hissed defensively.

However, Faceless simply shook his head again.

"We are both clones."

His answer made her expression freeze.

"Both of us together make up only forty percent of the original’s power."

The parish became silent. Even the wind outside seemed quieter.

"You should have done proper research before attempting to assassinate me." Faceless’s voice remained calm.

Yet every word felt heavier than the last. For five months he had waited. Every day spent sitting upon the throne waiting for someone brave enough to test him.

And now that they finally arrived, they hadn’t even prepared properly. The thought genuinely irritated him.

The woman stood frozen.

For the first time since entering the parish, uncertainty began appearing in her eyes. Meanwhile Faceless leaned slightly against the throne.

His posture remained relaxed.

"Are there others?"

The question pulled her from her thoughts.

"What?" She genuinely looked confused.

Faceless let out a long tired sigh.

"If there are others, gather them all here at once." He lazily waved a hand. "There is no need to bother my main body. He’s got quite a temper these days."

The woman stared at him. Completely unable to process the conversation. Something about this situation felt fundamentally wrong.

She had come here expecting fear, resistance or even negotiation.

Perhaps even desperation.

Instead she found herself standing before a man who seemed disappointed that the assassination attempt wasn’t larger.

He hadn’t asked her name.

He hadn’t asked who sent her.

He hadn’t demanded explanations.

He hadn’t even threatened retaliation.

If anything, he sounded annoyed that the attackers had failed to meet his expectations. The woman’s fingers tightened unconsciously. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

A strange feeling began creeping into her chest. For the first time since arriving, she found herself wondering whether she was the hunter or the prey.

[Don’t play with your food, get rid of her and be done with it] Rin scolded

’If I show my strength now, wouldn’t the next be better prepared? ’ Faceless shook his head inwardly. ’On the larger scale of things, that would be our best course of action.’

In his opinion, I was better to get rid of all the assassins on this planet once. That way they cannot prepare counter measures.

[You already gave out your strength to them, don’t be silly!] Rin wasn’t having it.

However, even now Faceless didn’t budge on his decision.

’Do as he said. Kill them.’ Damian’s voice interrupted their conversation.