Lucien (calm, sharp, with icy disdain):

"Why has none of you asked about the Envy?"

(He emphasized the words, almost mocking, his eyes narrowing as if daring the Wrath leader to respond.)

The Wrath leader's face twitched — a brief flash of irritation flickered—but this time he swallowed the rising fury. He remained silent, lips pressed tight.

Around the table, the other leaders exchanged glances — confusion, surprise, and sudden realization etched across their features.

The Sloth leader's heavy lids lifted slightly, a faint murmur escaping. The Lust leader's smile faded, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. The Greed leader's fingers drummed impatiently on the table, while Gluttony simply chewed away on something mysterious and unidentifiable, seemingly indifferent to the tension but clearly listening.

Lucien's stare swept the room again, pure contempt thick in his voice:

Lucien (mocking, cold):

"Do you truly think such a detail could escape me?"

The Greed leader leaned forward, voice smooth like polished steel, dripping with hunger and suspicion:

Greed (snarling, sly):

"What do you mean by that? Are you trying to say you've conquered them? Or… what? If you know something, say it. Why play the mystery game?"

The others murmured in agreement — their tones a mix of sharp curiosity and begrudging respect.

Sloth (slow, deliberate):

"A mystery kept too long is no mystery at all."

Lust (soft, sharp):

"Secrets only breed suspicion."

Lucien's eyes gleamed, voice lowering with undeniable authority:

Lucien (commanding):

"Have your numbers in the field increased? Or dwindled? Have your scouts reported anything unusual?"

One by one, leaders exchanged uncertain looks — the cracks in their facades showing.

Greed (counting coins absentmindedly):

"Now that I think about it... we have lost several operatives recently."

Sloth (nodding slowly):

"Movements have been... less frequent. Too quiet."

Lust (voice hushed):

"My informants whisper of disappearances—more than usual."

The Wrath leader growled, breaking the silence with suspicion:

Wrath (gruff, suspicious):

"But how does any of this concern the Envy?"

Gluttony's eyes gleamed, his jaws crunching rhythmically as he leaned forward, eager to hear Lucien's answer.

Lucien's smile twisted, sharp as a blade.

Lucien (mocking, slow):

"As expected from you... all brawn and no brain."

The Wrath leader's fists clenched, rage flickering at the edges—but he quelled it, swallowing his pride. He wanted this information more than a fight.

The hall grew quiet. All waited, tension thick, as Lucien prepared to reveal the truth.

Bjorn's lungs burned as he crashed through the undergrowth, the rabbit just ahead, a blur of twitching fur and darting legs. His bare feet slammed against the cold earth, scraping over roots and stones, blood mingling with dirt. Branches whipped at his arms and face, tearing at skin and fabric alike, but he didn't slow. The forest was alive around him — sharp, unforgiving, like the teeth of some unseen beast ready to snap.

His stomach growled, a deep, gnawing pain that clawed at his insides. Hunger bit at him fiercely, reminding him with every ragged breath that survival was never certain.

Mud clung to his hands as he lunged forward. The rabbit zigzagged again, ducking low under a fallen log. Without hesitation, Bjorn dove forward, scraping his palms and knees on the rough bark.

His fingers scraped empty air as the rabbit slipped through a narrow gap between rocks, disappearing into a cavernous hollow. Bjorn skidded to a halt, the damp earth cold beneath him. Silence fell, thick and suffocating.

Then—movement.

A faint rustle, barely there, but enough to send a shiver up his spine. He crept forward, senses sharp, muscles coiled like a spring. The rabbit's dark eyes flashed again in the dim light — watching, waiting.

Bjorn's fists clenched tight, his breath ragged, his body tense. He didn't think, didn't hesitate.

He surged forward once more, swallowed by the dark embrace of the forest.

The room hung heavy with unease. The Sloth leader suddenly clicked his fingers, breaking the silence with a slow, deliberate sound.

Sloth (stretching, then speaking with a lazy drawl):

"Wait… you're not saying they—"

Before he could finish, Lucien's sharp voice cut in, cold and precise.

Lucien (cutting off, with icy certainty):

"Precisely."

The Greed leader's eyes narrowed, lips curling into a calculating smile.

Greed (slow, intrigued):

"Hmm... seems they plan to strike us all—at once."

Across the table, the Lust leader's gaze sharpened, lips curving knowingly.

Lust (soft, confident):

"They're bold... or desperate. But I've already pieced this together. The Envy won't wait for us to weaken each other first."

The Wrath and Gluttony leaders exchanged confused glances, brows furrowing.

Gluttony (chewing thoughtfully, voice low and deliberate):

"Is there no reasonable person here willing to explain what's really going on?"

His gaze swept the room, landing finally on the Sloth leader.

The Sloth leader yawned, looking as if he wanted to protest but was forced to speak.

Sloth (reluctantly, slow):

"Fine... The Envy... they've been infiltrating our factions for some time now. Quietly, carefully—like shadows creeping beneath the floorboards. They've sown seeds of doubt and discord, they were trying to weakened us from inside. Their plan? To take us out slowly but surely, while we're too busy fighting each other to notice."

Gluttony nodded, crunching on whatever he was chewing.

Gluttony (smirking):

"Hmm… so that's why our food stores have been going missing lately."

Some chuckled, shaking their heads.

Various Leaders (teasing):

"No, you guys just eat too much."

Except for the Wrath and Pride leaders, who remained grim and silent.

The Wrath leader's jaw tightened as the pieces fell into place. The slow burn of rage mixed with grudging respect for the cunning behind the Envy's moves.

He shifted forward, voice sharp and demanding.

Wrath (cold):

"Has any of your factions suffered infighting?"

The question hung heavy in the air, the silence answering before any words came.

Lucien's eyes narrowed, the air around him almost vibrating with restrained calculation. A memory surged—one he'd buried but never forgotten.

After Kane's defeat, some of the men who had once stood at his side had been dragged before him. Under his cold stare, they confessed: they had been pushed into rebellion by shadowy whispers, encouraged by members they now could not find—men who had seemingly vanished into the forest itself.

His gaze slid toward the Wrath leader. It seems… you've also suffered an infighting, Lucien said, voice low but laced with intent.

The Wrath leader met his look without flinching. "Yes… though only minor injuries. No losses."

But even as he spoke, his mind drifted back to that day—passing a cluster of his own members, their voices just loud enough to carry.

"Bjorn's trying to take over," one had muttered.

"That's why he's gathering strength," another hissed.

The Wrath leader had walked on, silent, but his decision had been made then. That was why I was trying to eliminate him.

Across the circle, the Gluttony leader kept chewing on the revelation, eyes darting from face to face. The Sloth leader's half-lidded stare sharpened ever so slightly—remembering Aira's close brush with humiliation at the hands of Lust's men. The timing… the sudden disappearance of the perpetrators… yes, it reeked of outside interference. Envy.

The Lust leader's own memory stirred—Aira's defiance, the stab, the injured men who had been carried away… yet when she returned from the Sloth camp, those very men—who had once reported to her—were gone. Vanished.

Greed leaned forward, fingers steepled, a faint smirk curling on his lips. In his mind, the pieces were moving. Now… what exactly has shifted in my case?

The weight of suspicion thickened the air, and though no one said the word aloud, all of them were thinking it—Envy's shadow was here.

Greed Leader leaned back in his chair, a sly smile curling his lips.

"This really is information worth millions. If it were me holding it, I'd have sold it already. Are you trying to hold us in credit for this?" he asked, eyes narrowing at Lucien.

Lucien didn't answer right away. He simply studied the man in silence, his expression unreadable, the faintest shadow of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth before he finally spoke.

"I don't deal in small trades. If I share, it's because it serves a purpose… not because I'm begging for your gratitude."

Before Greed could retort, the Sloth Leader leaned forward lazily, voice unusually sharp.

"It seems we're not taking this as seriously as the Envy are… they mean business."

The table fell silent.

"I have information worth mentioning too," proclaimed the Wrath Leader, his tone carrying an edge of frustration.

---

Meanwhile…

Bjorn stumbled barefoot through the forest, his stomach growling loud enough to echo in the quiet undergrowth. His eyes locked on the rabbit bounding ahead of him, ears twitching as it darted between roots and low branches.

(It seems we're closing in on some settlements… I wonder which faction's territory I've wandered into. Nevertheless… I'm not giving you up.)

The rabbit darted toward a break in the trees, unaware that its path was leading Bjorn straight toward the gathering of faction leaders.

---

Back at the meeting…

"One of my members has gone rogue," the Wrath Leader began.

Several leaders exchanged unimpressed glances, one of them starting to scoff, "And what does that have to do with—"

"He's not just any member!" Wrath Leader snapped, slamming his fist onto the table. His voice was laced with frustration.

"He's strong. Strong enough to take on almost forty of my men—"

Gasps rippled through the chamber, some leaders leaning back, others muttering under their breath.

"—including me," he growled, pointing to the deep wound across his shoulder.

"This injury… was his doing."

Lucien's eyebrow twitched, his eyes narrowing slightly. In his mind, a single thought surfaced: (Including this brawn?)

"Interesting," Lucien said aloud, his voice low but carrying across the room.

Greed Leader leaned forward, his smirk razor-thin.

"What name does he go by?"

Lust Leader crossed her legs slowly, eyes gleaming with a mix of curiosity and mischief. Her voice purred like velvet over a blade.

"Yes… tell us. What's the name of this wild dog that dared to bite you?"

Lucien sat back, gaze sharp, tone casual but probing.

"I'm curious as well."

The Wrath Leader's lips curled in something between a sneer and a reluctant smile.

"Hmph… I know what's running through all of your minds."

He trudged barefoot through the undergrowth, the damp earth clinging to his soles. The rabbit hopped ahead, weaving between roots and shadows. Smoke and faint voices drifted on the breeze.

…Voices?

He slowed his pace. The tone was strange—sharp in some, amused in others, but all of them carried that same… weight. Predators sizing up prey they hadn't even seen yet.

His jaw set. 

The rabbit dashed into the clearing ahead. Bjorn followed without hesitation.

The Wrath Leader's tone deepened, each syllable heavy as stone.

"But he's not the type to be under someone…" His eyes swept the gathering, daring any to scoff. "No… he's not the type to be commanded."

A pause.

"He's the kind of man you don't find… you survive meeting him.

He's name-

Branches shifted. Bjorn stepped into the clearing barefoot, shirt torn at the shoulder, strands of hair clinging to his temple from the forest mist.

A guard from the Greed faction moved to block his path, hand resting on the hilt of a blade.

Without breaking stride, Bjorn's hand shot out—one sharp twist of the guard's wrist, a muffled crack, and the man collapsed to his knees clutching a shattered arm. Bjorn never looked down, simply stepping past as if the man didn't exist.

The rabbit darted behind a log near the Lust leader's seat. Bjorn didn't chase it—his gaze drifted, slow and deliberate, over the people before him.

The Wrath Leader's voice cut through the stunned silence.

… is Bjorn."

Greed Leader: A flicker of surprise, quickly smothered by a calculating grin—like he'd just spotted an unclaimed fortune.

Lust Leader: Eyes widened with predatory intrigue, lips curling in a slow smile as if she'd found a new toy to break.

Lucien: One eyebrow arched, the rest of his face unreadable—except for the faint shadow of recognition.

Wrath Leader: Arms folded, chin lifted slightly, watching the others as if to say, "Told you."

---

Bjorn's Inner Thought in the Clearing –

So these are the voices… these are the eyes I felt even before I stepped in.

He scanned them all once, his expression as cold as his voice was silent.