KINTSUkuroi
[Chapter XVIII] - Blind Titania

A female Giant calmly strolled her way through the room, approaching Salvius and Ciel. Her extremely long, straight, lilac hair swayed with each step she took. Her physique was imposing, her height standing out even amongst most Giants. Her curvaceous body was hugged by a tight black and purple suit that only covered the lower half of her remarkably large bosom and all the way down to the uppermost part of her thighs, which also served to show off her rear quite a bit.

Yet, contrary to what one might feel inclined to believe, these features were not the first thing anyone would pay attention to when looking at her. Rather, it was the dark-purple, silken blindfold that covered her eyes that everyone would often comment on.

"I believe you have requested my presence, Mr. Astregas? Oh, nice to have you back, Ciel. Also, who's the foreigner?" the woman spoke, completely undisturbed.

"That is correct, Brigadier General. We would like to ask you a few questions, if you will. By 'we' I mean myself, Ciel, and the foreigner whose presence you've unsurprisingly sensed. Speaking of which, if you would..." Salvius asked Nicolas to introduce himself.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Exandra. I am Nicolas Mach, a Human who's here to lend what little support he can to the Giants against the imminent threat that I'm certain you're aware of." the short male greeted her.

"I see. The pleasure is mine, Mr. Mach. And by the way, feel free to call me Zeniel. Any friend of Ciel's is a friend of mine as well." she spoke warmly.

"The feeling is mutual. You may, then, call me Nicolas if you so desire. Now, I'm afraid we must leave the pleasantries aside. Allow me to go straight to the point: we suspect Giants may have been involved in Savan's assassination. The reasoning behind this theory is that Mrs. Surelle's murder is likely to serve the interests of someone —or someones— who may wish to take advantage of the instability this tragedy has caused in order to kill Ciel and rise to power through a dictatorship." the Human explained.

"I see, and I suppose you mean to tell me that I'm a suspect?" Zeniel determined.

"As far as I am concerned, everyone is a suspect. However, any investigation must start somewhere. You see, if my theory is on the right track, it would take a very strong individual or organisation to kill Ciel, and even if they were successful, they'd still have to deal with the Giant world's strongest. I would replace it very hard to believe that a force so powerful that they can deal with two such powerhouses without sustaining major losses could possibly exist, but what would happen if the Giant world's strongest was the one conspiring to assassinate Savan and Ciel? Now, like I said, this is merely a preliminary conjecture. I do not mean to say that I can ascertain whether you are guilty or innocent at this point." Nicolas explained.

"I see. A sensible reasoning. With the exception of Ciel, no Giant could possibly match my prowess as a warrior, so it should be expected that I would be suspected to have participated in this heinous act. As you said, at this point you would do well to suspect any Giant to have potentially been involved, but that wouldn't be very practical. For all you know, the time you spend trying to replace clues could very well allow the murderer to escape, or to build a convincing alibi. So please allow me to spare you that struggle: you are indeed correct. I killed Savan with my own two hands."

A cold shiver ran down Nic's, Ciel's and Salvius' spines, wrath written all over their faces. The tension in the air was nerve-wrackingly palpable. Ciel trembled with rage, wishing to give in to her desire to grow and crush the lilac-haired female on the spot. However, Nicolas was able to calm down just in time to realise how potentially terrible that could be.

"C-Ciel... P-Please... C-Calm down... L-Let me handle this..." he said in a shaky voice, fully aware of how painfully difficult it would be for the black-haired Giant not to lose her composure.

On the verge of tears, Ciel nodded her head. Kissing the short man's body, something which seemed to bring her peace of mind, she breathed heavily before rubbing her eyes to dry them.

"Why did you do it? Were you unpleased with Savan's policies for Humans' aid?" Nicolas asked.

"Not really. In all honesty, I couldn't care any less about that. You could say I'm a morally indifferent individual, I guess. I do what I want because I want to, and I don't care whether that's considered to be a good deed or a wrongdoing. That said, the reason why I decided to murder Savan was because of pride. Much like the Surelles take great pride in their ability to change their size at will, us Exandras are proud of our physical prowess. My ancestors were happy to serve the Surelles as their sword and shield, but not me. What merit did the Surelles make to earn the right to govern the Giant world? They were only chosen because they were genetically favoured. On the other hand us Exandras always strived for perfection, to the point we were able to stand in equal footing with the Surelles, and now, now I've even surpassed the Surelles. So all that's left now is killing you, Ciel, and then I will claim the place I rightfully deserve in the Giant world!" Zeniel declared.

"How dare you-!?" Ciel spat, but Nicolas interrupted her with a slight hand gesture.

"Zeniel Exandra, I challenge you to a Showdown of Honour." Nicolas declared.

Ciel, Salvius and the two soldiers beside Zeniel gasped in utter shock, but Zeniel simply burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! I didn't know you had a comedian side to you, boy! No wonder Ciel likes you so much! But let me ask you, you DO know what you're proposing, right? You ARE aware of what you're putting on the line, aren't you?" the Brigadier General asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.

"I am." the Human man answered without hesitation.

"Haha! How amusing! Very well, boy! You got yourself a Showdown! I'll meet you tomorrow at 12 p.m. at the Titans' Arena. That is, if you don't get cold feet. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must make the pertinent preparations for the clash. I wish you are able to get a good night's rest tonight, for it will be your last." she smirked before walking away.