Chapter 27: The Rise of Foreboding

"Naytia, I think you were being a little too hard on him..."

Having just left the park, Proxer and Naytia decided to take a little detour before heading home so that they could talk things out regarding the matter about Jogrin. Well, it was just an excuse for a date. The couple were holding hands as they strode from street to street.

"Ah, well... I'm sorry about that. It's just that I can't really find a way to really communicate with him. He's the type of person to bombard you endless logic and he just reminds me so much of Dad... That's why I find it awkward talking to him..."

"And you're not the type of person to back down when it comes to debating."

"Is that bad...?"

"Nope. That's also what makes you so attractive too."

"Gosh that's so embarrassing!" Naytia blushed as she sheepishly looked away.

"I can praise you more if you ever so wish for it!"

"No stop! I beg you... Wait, is that Zenover?" As she grimaced at the thought of her love giving her unending praises, she spotted a familiar face coming out of an alleyway.

"Zenover? Where?" Following Naytia's gaze, Proxer also caught sight of Zenover.

He was staggering slightly while walking, but the most concerning thing was that, he looked melancholic as he stared into the distance. Scanning around him, he found both Proxer and Naytia standing across the road, looking more and more distressed. Before he knew, both of them were rushing towards him.

"Zenover! What happened to you?!"

"Nothing, really. Tried to save a cat and ended up falling... It got away safe though."

It would've been believable, if his eyes wasn't bereft of life. Proxer and Naytia both had a tacit consensus that something was amiss.

"Zenover... was it their..."

"Come on, Dad. You know better than anyone that they wouldn't dare to lay a finger on me after you'd intervened last time, especially knowing that you're back now..."

"But how would just saving a cat..."

"Like I said, I fell down, and I hurt my back. But don't worry, it's no big deal."

"Are you sure you're fine...?"

"I already said it's no big deal, so stop nagging me already..." Having grown impatient, Zenover pushed Proxer away with little force with the back of his hand, which rendered the both of them speechless.

...

"He shut himself in his room as soon as we're back home..." Despondent, Naytia looked at Proxer as if all her energy had been sapped out.

"Maybe I should confront him..."

"No, darling... I think it's better if we leave him alone for now."

"Right... I just hope he can cheer up soon... Perhaps I should I should contact Mr. Flarum again and "check on" him." Proxer proposed an idea after Naytia stopped him from confronting Zenover.

"... You're thinking it's that kid's doing again?" Upon hearing Proxer's proposal, Naytia appeared more dejected.

"I can't guarantee anything, it's just a possibility. I just need to make sure."

"I hope it wasn't him..."

Proxer and Naytia alike internally wished that history wouldn't repeat itself right under their noses.

"I think I should try and talk to him after all. I just can't shake this uneasy feeling."

Naytia wanted to stop Proxer again, but being sympathetic to his feelings, she retracted her arm that was reaching out to Proxer.

...

"Mom, Dad? Is something wrong?"

Zanphia, who just returned with Suzannia after picking her up from school, asked with a worried look. She received a call from Naytia suddenly, requesting that she go escort her little sister because of "an emergency". This, of course, made Zanphia be on tenterhooks. Normally, Suzannia would just be roaming around until she came home after a few hours. Meanwhile, Suzannia wore a disappointed face since she was originally planning on visiting Jogrin again after she was dismissed from school. Fortunately, she still managed to uphold her promise of not revealing the existence of Jogrin to Zanphia yet.

Realizing the absence of Zenover, Zanphia suspected that "emergency" was related to him.

"What's the emergency?" Still, she didn't want to jump to conclusion, so she asked anyway.

"... It's about Zenover." Naytia confirmed Zanphia's suspicion. "You don't have to worry about him for now. Your Dad is taking care of things."

"Zenover... What happened to him? Where is he?" Zanphia showed signs of panicking even though Naytia reassured her.

"He's currently in his room. As for what happened... we ran into him as he was exiting an alleyway while looking a little beaten up. He told us he was rescuing a stray cat, but we need to investigate a bit to make sure... Suzannia?"

As Naytia was explaining, she noticed Suzannia fazing out.

"Suzannia! Don't worry, okay? Nothing will happen to either you or Zenover! Everyone will protect you!" As Zanphia caught sight of Suzannia's state, she dropped her bag and hugged Suzannia tightly.

"... Are those... scary people coming again..."

"Of course not! Remember when Dad taught them a lesson? They wouldn't dare to do anything bad again! So don't be scared!!" Zanphia held Suzannia even tighter in her arms.

"Really...?"

"Really! Have I ever lied to you? Nothing bad will happen!"

"... Thank you, Zanphia... But, I also want to protect everyone too... I can't let everyone protect all the time!!"

Even though her voice and body were still shivering, Suzannia Claimed that she'd made up her mind to not rely on others' protection, but instead, she yearned to repay them for always caring for her.

"You're such a good girl, Suzannia. I'm sure everyone will be happy when they hear that." Naytia patted Suzannia as she commended her.

"Mm... Maybe Jogrin can help me too..." Suzannia whispered softly, but Zanphia caught that and became perplexed.

"Jo... grin? Who's that...?"

"Ah!! I... I didn't say anything!" Suzannia reflexively denied having muttered the name.

"Suzannia? You'd better tell me. Mom's here too you know? And you know you can't hide anything from her..."

"No! I can't! I promised Papa not to... AH!!" Another slip of tongue.

"Dad...? What are you guys..."

"Suzannia... Just go and get changed..." Naytia interrupted their conversation.

Complying to Naytia's command, Suzannia scurried into her room.

"Mom... Do you know something too...?" Zanphia didn't give up on pursuing answers.

"Well, it's supposed to be announced when everything's settled, but... your Dad is going to be... taking a boy in."

"Huh?! All of a sudden?! Is that why he came back early?? Also, who's this boy?" Flabbergasted, Zanphia bombarded Naytia with a bunch of questions.

"Perhaps they're related, I don't know."

"Who's this boy then?... Could Dad have adopted him from... a friend or something?"

"Something like that..."

"Mom, you can't just give me these vague answers..." Zanphia had a wry expression.

"I don't really know much more than you do... Well, Just know that his background is a little... complicated, but he's not a bad kid all the same, although he's a bit... quirky?"

"Sounds like you've met him already." Zanphia stared at Naytia with her squinted eyes, displaying her being dubious.

"No, I've only talked to him a few times! That's all!"

Zanphia sighed. "Let's not dwell on this matter for now... Is Zenover in any condition to talk?" She shifted the topic back to her brother.

"Your Dad's been trying to get through to him since we came back. I'm clueless on how it's been going, because I don't want to interrupt them."

"I see... Then I guess I shouldn't interrupt either." Zanphia decided to let Proxer take care of this matter. The only thing she could do now is await the news from Proxer.

...

A sigh came from within a room.

"Dad, how many times do I have to tell you... I tried to rescue a stray cat and fell, end of story. Nothing more, nothing less." Sitting in front of his desk, Zenover was scrolling his phone with one hand while the other as supporting his chin.

However, to Proxer, that indifferent attitude definitely meant something did actually happen, and it wasn't simply saving a cat. He'd known his son since he was born after all.

"Zenover, please... I really want to help you..."

"ARGH! I said nothing is wrong!! NOTHING!! JUST GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!"

Feeling vexed by Proxer's questioning, Zenover finally lashed out and kicked him out of his room. Proxer looked despondent after the door has been shut in his face. Then he heard footsteps closing in. They belonged to Naytia and Zanphia.

"Dad! Are you okay?!"

"Darling, what happened?!"

Both of them raised concerned tones.

"Well... It's as you see. I've been kicked out..." With his head down, Proxer replied in a soft tone. "The way he keeps acting just means that something did happen..."

"Have you checked with Mr. Flarum yet?" Naytia asked worriedly.

"I don't want to make any assumptions, so not yet... But since Zenover won't spit it, I guess I'll have to do it now."

"Maybe I should do it instead. You should take a rest for now... Zanphia, can you help me with caring for your Dad?"

"No problem!"

With that, Zanphia dragged Proxer to the living room downstairs and forced him to sit down. In the meantime, Naytia went to check on Suzannia who was in her room which was a few meters down the corridor. As she opened the door, she saw her beloved daughter sitting in a corner on her bed, hugging her legs, seeming to be sobbing.

"Suzannia... Are you scared of Zenover yelling?" To express her concern, Naytia tried to pamper Suzannia genially.

"Mm... Why is Zenover angry? I don't want him to be angry... He's scary when he's angry..."

As Naytia sat next to her and patted her head, Suzannia muttered with a shaking voice.

"That's because Zenover has been hurt, but he doesn't want us to be worried about him. That's why he's pushing us away, even though he's acting hostile to do so... He won't actually get angry with us, so it's going to be fine."

"... So the bad guys are hurting him again?"

"I... If I were to be honest, we don't know yet, but like I said, your Dad has already taught them a lesson... Even if they're doing horrible things again, we can all go teach them a lesson again!"

"Will we teach them a lesson like heroes do? Will we defeat them together...?"

"Defeat them? Of course not. There's a much better way than defeating them!"

"Better way...? But all the superheroes defeat the bad guys who did bad things..."

"Of course! This is a secret skill that even the superheroes don't know about. I'm only telling you, so keep your lips sealed, got it?"

Suzannia's curiosity was piqued as she turned to look at Naytia with an anticipating look.

"Alright listen up. This super awesome skill that's privy to me, and to you soon... We don't defeat the bad guys. Instead, we turn them into one of the good guys."

"Turn them into good guys? But why...?"

"Think about it. If they become good guys, that means we will have more allies. In other words, we'll be even stronger! Then we can turn more bad guys into good guys, and we can have a huge alliance where everyone can be good friends!"

"... Be friends with everyone...?"

"That's right! Just like how you befriended Jogrin and played together! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yes... I want to play with everyone. I want to be friends with everyone too!"

"I knew you'd like this idea, Suzannia. Being friends with everyone is such a happy thing after all!" Naytia patted Suzannia again. "Now, Mama needs to go and call someone, can you be a good girl and stay here?"

Despite having assuaged Suzannia, she still seemed hesitant to be let Naytia go.

"Mama..."

She was holding Naytia's hand tightly.

"Are you still scared? It's OK, Suzannia. It's OK to be scared, but you can't let fear restrain you. I'll always support..."

"Mama... Do you think Jogrin can help Zenover?"

Suzannia raised a question which took Naytia aback. She became speechless for a moment as if her mind was wandering, but she managed to snap back to reality swiftly.

"Suzannia, why do you think he can help Zenover?"

"Because... he has super powers right? He can surely help us all become friends!"

Even if one has super powers, that didn't instantly mean that they had the ability to befriend others. On the contrary, displaying unnatural powers, especially Jogrin's would only induce fear, as proven in the soldiers' cases, not only that, their existing animosity would be further exacerbated, or be completely overtaken by the fear. With all things concerned, it'd better a better call to leave Jogrin out of this matter, which brought back to the problem of taking him in. If that were to happen before Zenover's troubles were resolved, Jogrin would unavoidably be embroiled in this matter. If what Proxer said about Jogrin was true, and Jogrin were to actually involve himself in this, his way of dealing with this case would be... unconventional, especially since what was presumably happening to Zenover currently was uncomfortably similar to Jogrin's past. But normally, one still wouldn't want him to be involved as an outsider anyway. That was what Naytia thought, but she couldn't just outright tell Suzannia all of that since she wouldn't be able to understand. At the same time, if she were to tell her that, she would be contradicting what she told Suzannia just now.

Unable to come up with any excuses to convince Suzannia, she just muttered something to put her at ease for now.

"It's not good to just ask someone to solve our problems when we just met them. It'll leave a bad impression, so... keep this a secret from him for me, can you do that?"

"OK Mama. I'll be a good girl."

'If only you listened to me when I told you not to wander around so much...' Naytia griped a little inside, but it was understandable, given her predisposition.

"Now I really need to make this call. Don't worry, I'll be close by."

With that, Naytia headed out of the room.

"Mama said that he mustn't know about the bad guys. That's why I can't let them go to the park and meet him, or they'll start fighting... I can't let that happen!!"

Despite Naytia's attempts in soothing Suzannia, the little girl just couldn't seem to shake off the uneasiness. In fact, it appeared that Naytia's words fueled it. As a child, one couldn't think about the bigger picture, but only what was in front of them. However, in Suzannia's case, she could see a little further than what most other kids could, albeit still much more short-sighted when compared to what an adult could. In other words, albeit being able to foresee the case of Jogrin helping resolve this dilemma, she couldn't foresee the risks and possibly the aftermath of what she'd decided to do at that moment... Even with Naytia's kind words, Suzannia still insisted on her beliefs about Jogrin's "impressive" power.

"Hello. Is this the Flarum's residence?... Yes, this is Naytia of the Maladin household speaking. May I ask where the brothers are currently?... Oh please do not be anxious. I merely want to confirm something..."

After entering her and Proxer's room, Naytia attempted to dial Mr. Flarum several times before he finally picked up the phone. As soon as she mentioned about "the brothers", she heard noises of glass shattering.

"I apologize in advance if it sounds like I'm making assumptions, but Zenover has sustained some mild injuries. May I ask whether you know of anything?"

While she was discussing Zenover's matter with Mr. Flarum, Zanphia and Proxer were beside each other on the couch in the living room.

"I'm fine, Zanphia, really..."

"Gosh, Dad. Now you're acting like Zenover... Whatever happens, just know that we're always at each other's backs, because we are a family!"

"Thank you... and I'm sorry. I shouldn't act like that, but still.. I can't bear to see Zenover becoming like that again when he just got over it..."

"..."

Reticence was rare for Zanphia, but even she couldn't come up with any words at that moment. She wanted to put a stop to this once and for all, but easier said than done. She felt an abrupt chill from her left, which left her dubious, so she stood up, turned the corner, only to see the front door left ajar.

"Say, Dad... I closed the door after I returned with Suzannia, right?"

Proxer immediately felt uneasiness surging within him. And unanimously, they rushed upstairs and entered Suzannia's room.

"What? Why would she go out now? She was feeling scared just a while ago!"

Zanphia began to panic.

"M... Maybe she just left her room and still somewhere in the house!"

They searched the house, but to no avail. To their dismay, what they'd anticipated was indeed the case.

"Suzannia... So you decided to get Jogrin involved, didn't you..." Proxer unconsciously muttered, which was heard by Zanphia who scowled in suspicion.

"Jogrin? Mom mentioned that name, but she wouldn't tell me what this is about... So... who's this Jogrin?... Wait no, now's not the time to talk about this! We need to chase after Suzannia! What if it's actually those guys and they caught Suzannia?!"

Without taking a breather, Proxer and Zanphia alike dashed out of the house, chasing after Suzannia.

"Follow me! I know where she'd gone to!... As for Jogrin, I believe you'll see for yourself later..."

"Huh?! What does that mean?" Instead of answering Zanphia's ,Proxer's words only gave Zanphia more questions.

After turning corners a few times, they were met with a crowd... Rather than a normal crowd, it felt like mobs on a riot, as they were surrounding something and aggressively yelling at it, but it seemed no one dared to step forward to actually engage with it.

"What's gotten everyone so riled up?" Zanphia felt something portentous about the huge crowd. "Hey Dad, do you know what's up with this...?"

"... I think I actually do... And I don't like where this is going..." Gazing at the people who were acting like mobs, Proxer couldn't help but be reminded of the events back at the military hospital. His expression turned somber and he froze in place for a moment.

"Dad...?" Noticing the way Proxer was acting, Zanphia also felt her anxiety reaching the high-end.

"I'll try to figure out what's going on. Meanwhile, you should stay here and wait..."

"No! I'm going with you too! Did you forget what I said already?!"

"... Sorry... Then, let's go, shall we?"

"Yeah..."

While pulling Proxer's sleeve, Zanphia towards the crowd together with Proxer.