Standing Together

Vincent got Jekel's messages and read them. He was standing in the middle of the room, speechless. He looked around the room and then decided to look at a wall. 

"What the FUCK! You have got to be shitting me...." Everyone looked at him with concern. Garfield looked at his teammates. "Um, does he normally curse at himself?" Vincent was still going on a tyrant of curses. 

"Right, you don't know about us being watched. The awakening is being broadcast worldwide, continent, and country." Bruno told him casually. Garfield's eyes almost popped out of his skull. "WHAT!?" Bruno covered his ears. "Don't worry; all of your private moments are protected."

Takashi nudged Talia. "The captain is losing it. Go over and bring him back." Talia had calmed down and recomposed herself. "Why should I go over? In case you hadn't noticed, he almost killed me a few moments ago. Whatever or whoever has pissed him off this badly is nothing I want to be in the middle of." Takashi sighed and looked at Trent. "Trent, you go talk to him. He seems to like you."

Takashi pushed Trent over next to Vincent before he could protest. Trent looked back and saw everyone giving him a thumbs up. 'You traitors.' He squeezed his hand into a fist before turning back to Vincent with a smile.

"Uh, hey, boss." He waved as he addressed Vincent. Vincent turned to Trent, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Trent flinched but got closer to him. "The others and I are waiting for you to tell us what to do. Talia has calmed down enough to talk. We need to come together." 

Vincent took a deep breath and let it out. He looked at the wall one more time. "This conversation isn't over. I also want to say it is my honor to meet you, Grandmaster Caden." He did a little bow and grabbed Trent by the back of his collar. Trent could only be dragged over like a rag. 

"My apologies for losing my temper like that. I have some horrible news. I also have some bad news, which you would all like to hear." He said the last line sarcastically and glanced at the wall again.

Talia sighed and leaned against the wall. "Give us the horrible news first." Vincent rubbed his forehead. "The horrible news is that your parents showed up and talked to my Grandmaster. They told them about a creature hunting you. To be specific, it is a glutton. My Grandmaster has told me to protect you with my life." Talia's eyes went wide at the news.

"The bad news is most of you will die." Garfield fell to the floor on his knees. Isabell started to shake. Trent tried to console her. Bruno groaned and hit his head against the wall. 'What did I do to deserve this type of punishment?" 

Takashi didn't react negatively. "Shut up! Vincent isn't freaking out, so there must be some more news." Vincent nodded. "I do have some news about the glutton. It is weak towards fire and lightning. You have seen how well I can control fire, and with Meredith controlling lightning, we have a strong chance of fighting. If we work together and stay calm."

"I won't expose Talia's information. You can ask and force her to talk about why a glutton is hunting her privately." Vincent emphasized the word privately since that would ensure the people watching did not learn about her origins. The system would protect their conversation since it was supposed to be private.

Everyone knew what he meant by saying to do it privately. Talia frowned but didn't try to deny them. Vincent clapped his hands. "We know what we will face; now, we must decide whether to fight or evade. One will give us a chance to live to see old age. The other one, it is guaranteed three of us will die."

"I vote evade." Garfield quickly spoke his thoughts. Bruno and Meredith also voted to evade. "Why did you put the option to fight on the table? You were upset about this news earlier; what is in it for you?" Takashi asked as he smiled. 

"I wasn't trying to hide it or be sneaky. If and that is a huge if. If I can get a body part from the glutton, I will receive a technique from my Grandmaster." Takashi and Talia grimaced at the news.

"Why are the both of you making those faces?" Trent asked in a worried tone. Garfield looked at Talia. She sighed and banged the back of her head on the wall. "His Grandmaster is the infamous Caden the Reaper. The man who single-handedly destroyed three planets in the Twiskararian war. That was before he ascended to Godhood."

Garfield directly fainted on the floor. Bruno slumped on the floor, staring off into space. Trent and Isabell froze at the news. Meredith and Takashi tightened their fists. Takashi gritted his teeth and looked at Vincent. 

Vincent looked him in the eyes. "Is there a problem?" He asked as he let a little of his baleful aura leak out. "Not for me, but for my ancestors; yeah, there is a big fucking problem." He looked down at his feet and then relaxed.

"The problem can be solved if you help me tame a certain animal." Vincent narrowed his eyes at Takashi. "I will not make any promises or sign any contracts, but I will help you if it doesn't endanger the others." He held his hand out for a handshake. Takashi took it. "We have a deal then. I vote we fight."

Trent looked at Isabell and then made his decision. "I vote we evade. I am sorry, Vincent, I can't afford to take risks we won't benefit from." Isabell stood next to him. "I guess that is it then. We evade the glutton until it leaves us no choice."

They all nodded their heads and began talking about different strategies.

Planet Strara.

Richard and Patty let out sighs of relief when they saw Vincent wasn't going to fight against the glutton. Their kids felt the same as they all slumped in their seats. Markus smacked his lips at Vincent's actions. Jekel and the others were also satisfied with his choice. Caden wasn't mad or disappointed. He wasn't thrilled either. He didn't have any outside reaction.

Talia's father appeared by his side again and handed a box to him before leaving. Caden chuckled as he felt the weight of the box. 'Vincent, when you graduate and finally earn your halberd, I will give this ore to you. The halberd that is sealed will become even more terrifying.'

He put it away inside his inventory and returned to watching the screen. There was no audio since they discussed their plans, but that didn't stop Caden from listening. As a God, he could listen to anything as long as his mark was present. The cloak Vincent wore had a huge one on its back.

Caden wasn't even upset when Vincent cursed at him. He had been around for a long time, and Vincent wasn't the only disciple of his who had cursed at him before. He fondly looked at Vera and Simon. He smiled while remembering how the three of them had met.