Villain: The Play of Destiny

A Hawaiian shirt with expensive gems crested into buttons, cream-colored chino pants, and then flip-flops. Yes, flip-flops!

Keith looked at the new Inheritor of Hades with a curious smile on his face.

After making him wait for nearly three hours, he allowed Qin Feng to meet him. And he did not invite him to his Stand but called him over to join him in the Restaurant for supper.

"Lord Hades." Qin Feng, in his Chinese-influenced accent, greeted him with a polite nod.

Keith could not help but smile in his heart at the behaviour of the Child of Destiny. Of course, he would not even bow to someone in a polite greeting, even when he really should have. And why would he? He was the proud Son of Heavens, the one nurtured by Fate, and blessed and chosen by Destiny.

"Sit, Mr. Qin." He indifferently said and took his eyes off the man, who was only borderline handsome. A far cry from someone like him, who was born with the beauty that even Destiny envied.

Qin Feng was a man in his early thirties, and thanks to his Cultivation, he looked like a young man in his early twenties. He had an above-average stature, standing tall at 5 feet and 9 inches, and possessed quite a ripped Physique.

Even if he was taken aback by Keith's indifference, Qin Feng did not show it in his expression and calmly took his seat.

A waiter approached them as soon as he sat down, and Qin Feng ordered his meal in broken Arabic, but unbeknownst to him, Keith knew very well that the man in front of him was fluent in this language.

However, he did not say anything or raise his head to even look at the Child of Destiny again. He just focused on his meal, whilst enjoying the wine with it.

Minutes passed, and silence lingered. Eventually, Keith finished up his meal, and Qin Feng sipped on his tea as he watched the ongoing race on the screen, not paying attention to the man he had sought the audience of.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Qin." Keith knew that this man was a little too proud, and thus, he decided to play with him.

As soon as Keith stood up, picked up his phone, and simply started walking out of the Restaurant, the proud Child of Destiny finally frowned.

Qin Feng stood up and calmly stared at the leaving back of Keith, and eventually, he could not stay silent and called out to him.

"We have something to discuss, Mr. Demiliore."

His words caused the people around them to look their way, and Keith stopped before turning around and curiously looking at the new Hades.

"I wonder what that might be, Mr. Qin. But how sure are you that it is something that needs to be discussed and not something you just have to say to me?" He asked with a light smile.

His words were followed by an awkward silence, and Qin Feng's brown eyes finally narrowed at him.

After he failed to say anything for a good minute, Keith sighed and turned around again.

"You disappoint me, Mr. Qin." He lightly said, and his words were only heard by Qin Feng.

Keith was calmly walking down the aisle when the man caught up to him.

"I am curious about what disappoints you, Mr. Demiliore." The Inheritor of Hades asked.

Keith sighed at his words and shook his head again.

"And your question disappoints me even more." He said before glancing at the man walking by his side, who was looking at him.

Their eyes met, and Qin Feng, for the first time in his life, felt like he had come across something that he could never surmount.

His eyes immediately darted toward Keith's hands, searching for the God Ring as the explanation for the suppression that was weighing on him, but chills went up his spine when he did not find Keith wearing it.

"We are not equal, Mr. Qin." He lightly said, but his words were loud in Qin Feng's mind. "It's the truth that would never change." He smiled and then looked ahead, not waiting for the man who had suddenly stopped in his steps, trying his best to regain his composure.

"Lord Erebus!"

He had not walked far when Qin Feng finally called out to him again.

"Yes?" He stopped and asked without turning back.

"Nothing ever remains the same. And that's the law of life." He confidently said.

"Then you have no knowledge about how the Laws work, Mr. Qin." Keith chuckled and shook his head before looking the Child of Destiny in the eyes. "If that was all you had to say, you have been heard."

Suppressing the uneasy gut feeling that Keith was far too dangerous of a man to deal with, Qin Feng kept his expressions under control and maintained eye contact.

"I need to talk to you about Princess Carmilla." He said and felt even more uneasy in his heart when he watched an amused smile appear on Keith's face.

"Which one? The one who's the Shadow of my Fiancee or the one you hide in your Purgatory Island?" He asked, and smiled some more when Qin Feng's expressions finally wavered.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, the new Inheritor of Hades fought against his instincts that were yelling at him that Keith needed to be killed. But at the same time, his instincts were also yelling at him to not make a rash move.

"I hope that we do not have to stand against each other in the future." Qin Feng intently said.

"Is that so?" He smiled brightly. "Well then, all you have to do is return Ingvild Carmilla to her older sister." He said and laughed in his heart when Qin Feng's eyes narrowed at him. "You were mistaken if you believed that anything was up for discussion. Think well, and take your time." He said and turned around.

"Conflict within the Pantheon should be avoided at all costs, Lord Erebus." Qin Feng stopped him again. "And that is why I am here."

"No." Keith shook his head. "You are not here to avoid the conflict. If you did, you would have brought the little princess with you to hand her over to me." He pointed out. "I have already made it clear to you, and it's your choice."

Qin Feng clenched his fists hard, trying to reign in his brimming anger. His eyes bore daggers into Keith's back, and when he heard the Lord of Darkness' next words echo in his mind, he nearly lost all his composure.

"Always remember, Mr. Qin. We are not equal."

Keith devilishly smiled as he walked towards his Stand.

He knew very well that the new Hades could not afford to give up on Ingvild anytime soon. If he did, he would have no cards on his hands to deal with the Vampires if they decided to rebel against Purgatory Island.

And he knew that after his words, Qin Feng's pride would never let him make the right decision. He would not hand over Ingvild Carmilla and would choose to leave the matter to the future.

As the proud Child of Destiny, Qin Feng had the belief that he was not beneath anyone embedded in his bones. And Keith had hurt his pride today, something he promised himself to return in kind in the future.

"How about a gamble, Lord Erebus?" Keith heard the voice from right behind him when he was about to enter his Stand.

He was not surprised in the least that Qin Feng had approached him again.

"Humor me." He smiled and said, turning to curiously look at the man who was several inches shorter than him.

"Let's bet on the Final Race of the night." He said. "In case I win, you would not pursue the matter of Ingvild Carmilla in the future."

"And if I win, you would hand her over to me?" He curiously asked.

"I am afraid that is not possible, Lord Erebus. I have responsibilities that can not be neglected."

Keith laughed in his heart when he heard Qin Feng's words. It was the very man who would leave Purgatory Island in the care of his subordinates in the future to return to his homeland, intending to live a quiet life and open a meat-skewer stand.

"Then don't you think that you have nothing to offer that would balance this wager?" He amusedly asked.

"12 Years." Qin Feng suddenly said. "If you win, Lord Erebus, I will hand over Ingvild Carmilla to you after 12 years." He conceded, much to Keith's amusement.

"It still does not add up. Why should I wait for over a decade?" He smiled and asked. "And not to forget that she's still a child. And Children could be easily brainwashed." He meaningfully said.

His words made Qin Feng frown.

"5 years, Mr. Qin. I will give you 5 years to deal with all the matters of concern. But after 5 years, you will return Ingvild Carmilla to me." He said. "And to make me wait for these 5 years, you will bet a sum of 10 Billion Euros."

Even though Qin Feng did not show his anger, Keith knew that he was seething in rage. However, the proud Child of Destiny nodded his head, agreeing to the wager.

The sum of 10 Billion Euros was too huge even for him, but he was confident that he would win the wager.

"We will pick the winner..."

"No, Mr. Qin." Keith shook his head, cutting him off. "Picking Winners is boring." He said. "We will pick the Horse that comes fifth in the World Cup."

His words took Qin Feng by surprise.

"And what happens in case we both fail to pick the right one?" He wanted to seize this opportunity to secure himself a leeway.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I will come to retrieve the Princess one day, and you will be helpless against me." He chuckled. "However, I will still give you your five years. And you will give me 10 Billion Euros."

"Seven years." Qin Feng clearly said.

"Okay." And to his surprise, Keith readily agreed before picking out his phone and checking the details of all the horses that were going to take part in the last race.

Qin Feng too looked at the information, but before he could make up his mind, Keith called out the number of the Horse that would come 5th in tonight's World Cup.

"Horse 17." He said.

The Chinese man felt a sinking feeling in his stomach for some reason.

He kept looking at the details of all the horses, but he could not make up his mind about which one he wanted to bet on.

A part of him was telling him to name Horse 17 as well, but Keith had already picked it. And so, he eventually settled on the one that resonated with him as the next best choice.

"Horse 8."

Keith smiled in his heart when he heard Qin Feng's choice. The one that the Child of Destiny had picked was meant to come sixth in tonight's race.

And Keith wanted to see if Destiny would come to the rescue of its favorite Child or if everything would transpire as he remembered from his Dream.

No matter what the outcome, he did not intend to pursue Hades over Ingrid's little sister just yet. So, it was all good to him.