A humiliation! A blatantly malicious humiliation!
Julius had given this request in a plain tone, as if all this came natural in every way.
Most people present found themselves vacillating.
For them, their unsightly new forms were too private, not something to show in public.
Julius's request had driven them into a dilemma.
Clayton was no exception.
To him, the reason 'further our relationship' sounded downright unconvincing. Following his request was no different from licking his boots.
Clayton begrudged doing so.
Shifting into a werewolf before the crowd felt indecent as putting down one's pants in public, though a werewolf did wear no pants.
Such unbridled freedom was only acceptable at home.
Of course, some of them had a true form that would not stretch their clothes into shreds, or some simply didn't care about this.
Those people got to their feet, then their bodies puffed up, pushing aside the people next to them. They displayed their bushy hair and grotesque heads at ease, if not in pride, as if having caught an opportunity to demonstrate their strength and adaptability to a leader of the Council.
Clayton looked back at Aurely and a few other gentlemen and ladies who remained sitting still, and each wore a stiff face.
The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the candles on the table lit up their bewildered visages in a scene where monsters were wandering all around.
The atmosphere was akin to that of a few exhibitionists swaggering amid a crowd of their victims.
"Why not do as I said? Or you don't want to take shelter under the Council but instead to hide in the city alone?"
In the host's seat, Julius raised his eyebrow. "I'm warning you people, if you don't join the Council but expose yourselves in Sasha, we won't allow you a second chance to correct yourself. Or if you are captured by the Church's deacons, the consequence might not be affordable. "
After he finished speaking, more hesitant people made up their minds.
Their transformations left the space between the chairs cramped. Clayton and a few others who hadn't budged saw their chairs topple to the ground and had to stand up.
Aurely wasn't the luckiest one. On both his sides were guys eager to showcase their strength- the worker with a pig head and the tramp Simon with the appearance of a Sphinx, a human head atop a lion's body, that is.
The moment the two of them revealed their bodies as Darkins, Aurely was squeezed tight in between.
Clayton's situation was no better. Humphing coldly, he pushed hard on the long table, sending it squeaking forward.
As soon as the gap opened up before him, he leaped onto the table. The others, unable to stomach the humiliation, followed suit, crushing quite some plates under their feet.
Julius's expression had changed from a stern one to surprised, but that's all there was to it.
"One, two, three, four, five, five in total. Now that everybody else has turned to face their true selves, why are you still unwilling to do it? This is being unfair to them, isn't it?" Julius swung his gaze toward the others, "Who can properly persuade them?"
The table the three shared was too far away, so, from the start, no one had paid them any attention. Outside of those ugly, immobile, there were nineteen people staring up at the five of them.
Including Clayton, there were three men and two women on the table.
Despite knowing a fair number of them would only stand by and watch, the five of them still felt hard-pressed under those gazes.
"Are you instigating arena beast battles?" Clayton questioned coldly.
Offering no answer, all Julius did was sway his snifter in his hand, letting the green liquor ripple within it.
"Mr. Bello, I sincerely advise you to come down from the table and join us," Simon said.
His current body resembled a lion's, yet his human head, girded with a mane, remained unchanged, conjuring up the image of the Sphinxes that Clayton had once seen in Maisri, one of the West Continent countries.
Clayton couldn't see the claimed sincerity in Simon, who, apparently, would like Clayton to dismiss his advice, which in turn would offer him a chance to prove his value to the Council.
This was an ambitious guy, but that's all there was to it.
"Simon, are you seeking a fight with me?"
Holding the edge-concealed cane in hand, Clayton moved about and kicked things that might restrict mobility off the table. The shape-shifters around the table backed away, dodging the spattering food scraps.
Despite caring little about self-esteem, they seemed to have preserved their concept of hygiene as a human being.
"No, that's your assumption, Mr. Bello."
Simon's human face showed a fawning smile before he hopped onto the table. The wooden table moaned under his enormous weight.
"As guests, we should abide by the host's rules; that's what I have to say."
Given Simon's staggering physique, no one else could follow him onto the table. By then, Julius, in the host's seat, was intently watching as things developed, folding his fingers below his chin, intrigued as to who would triumph over another.
"Oh, Heavenly Father, people really don't see the need for respect here!" Aurely moaned behind Clayton. He was still a college student, the reality unfolding here struck him as unbearably cruel, whereas. If only he had walked away earlier.
"They would grasp the significance of respect soon enough."
Clayton could stomach all kinds of humiliations, but the sort from Julius, who ordered people around without justification.
He sniffed out no hint of danger from Julius and noticed that the three, who shared the far table and projected a menacing air, hadn't followed Julius's instruction. Thus, he formed a guess in his mind and decided to act more boldly.
He parted his legs and stood sideways, his cane pointing forth like a pointer in his right hand and his eyes intent on Simon, who seemed set for a fight.
"Simon, have you ever seen a lion?"
The Sphinx was rubbing his clawed paws together when the question struck him dumb.
"What do you mean by this question?"
"How soon you will be brought face to face with your defeat depends on the answer."
Simon's face underwent a marked contortion, his fangs poking from his lips. "No, I haven't, so what if?!"
No sooner had his line been finished than he pounced upon Clayton, who sprang backward just in time to miss Simon's claws while choosing his moment to land a cane strike on the bridge of the assailant's nose, eliciting a crack of bone.
The gigantic lion tumbled down from the table, crushing yet more plates.
He covered his nose with his forepaws in an attempt to alleviate his pain.
Clayton weighed his cane and performed a flourish with it.
Lauren was home to lions, where Clayton had learned from the indigenous people quite a few tricks to tackle a lion, and even taken his part in bringing down two.
Although a Sphinx had a human face, its offensive moves were no different from a lion's.
Since he had never laid eyes upon a lion, Simon was unlikely to intentionally catch his opponent off guard by changing his fighting style.
"I don't think we should lock horns over such a trifling matter. What's your opinion, everybody?"
Clayton, his cane in hand, pointed at every head down around the table. By then, none dared to climb onto the table and throw down the gauntlet once more.
Given their freshness as a monster, a human who had soundly beaten a lion loomed menacingly in their frame of reference.
The other four on the table offered a respectful nod to Clayton, thankful that he had defended their dignity.
Clayton hadn't let his guard down and, from the periphery of his vision, saw Julius rising from the chair and reaching to his hip.
'Is he pulling out a pistol?'
Without the luxury of time to deliberate, all his sense of dignity and honor faded away all at once as he changed into a werewolf, charging at Julius.
In front of Julius seemingly stood an incorporeal barricade, but Clayton's momentum enabled his passage through it such that Clayton dashed into Julius, smashing even the host's seat into pieces.
Julius, the self-proclaimed Elder of the Council, seemed fragile as glass. After Clayton subdued him, Julius stopped resisting but showed a pained grimace, then, looking mortified, said breathlessly,
"Your speed is indeed excellent. I haven't even pulled out my wand..."
Clayton studied him with hesitation and confusion, unsure what to do with him.
The Council didn't seem very reliable, but were he to leave now, more battles within the Mansion's boundaries were not unlikely.
He had to hold Julius hostage.
The werewolf wrenched Julius to his feet, then turned back to recover his cane sword.
Despite a victory, Clayton was now possessed by a sweeping sense of melancholy.
He had offended both the Holy Grail Society and the Council of Elders. Never a believer of the Church, perhaps he had to flee from the city unless he resumed giving his soul to the Queen.
The other invitees witnessed Clayton dragging Julius away, neither interfering nor trailing behind.
Tonight's events were too thrilling for any of them to react in time.
Just as he was about to walk through the doorway, Clayton noticed that an old man with a deep green head of hair, a feature shared by Julius, paced toward him from the opposite direction. He was attired in a plain gray suit, with the moustached man in a red tailcoat, who had commenced the banquet, hot on his heels.
As soon as the two of them took in the sight within the ballroom, the senior frowned while the moustached man gaped aghast.
"Julius, what have you done this time?" The senior queried.
Clayton sensed an imposing aura from the old man, his alarm bell tolling from deep down.
He released his grip, dropping Julius to the floor on his knees. After a flurry of hard coughs, Julius looked toward the old man, forcing a broad, white smile.
"I'm here only to welcome the newcomers."
The elderly man walked up and inclined his head, looking down at Julius. "And you have made a mess here, just like you have handled everything else?"
All eyes in the chamber were now directed over here.
Julius turned away. "I want to find out more about them, nothing wrong there."
The elderly man shook his head, in no mood to argue with him. He turned to the moustached man, ordering, "Philip, take him to the confinement room. After I'm done with the meeting, come to me to find out how long he is to be locked up."
The man with a parted mustache, upon hearing this, helped Julius to his feet and then out the door, during which his gentleness hardly looked like he was escorting Julius to confinement.
Having arranged the punishment for Julius, the senior turned to Clayton with a beam. "Mr. Bello, I'm glad that you have helped discipline my good-for-nothing son. We're now back to business. I wonder if you are still willing to look into a close cooperation with us?"
In the presence of such a reasonable senior, a refusal seemed no sensible choice.
After mulling this over, Clayton responded, "Give me a pair of trousers, and I will act like nothing has happened."