Chapter 010: Old friends

I looked back at Michael to thank him again as he handed me my belongings inside a bag. "Thank you, Michael," I said, offering my hand to him for a shake.

"Uhmu!" He nodded. "See you again!" He added while opening the portal to our home. We entered the gate and found ourselves outside his armory. Glancing back, we noticed that the shop was automatically closed.

"How strange… is this related to some kind of magic?" I asked myself.

"What do you mean, Alex?" Lucy asked, putting her index finger on her lips.

"When we arrived, the shop was open. I don't remember Michael closing the shop… who could it have been?" I replied, rubbing my chin in thought.

"I don't know. But you shouldn't dwell on these trivial matters, Alex. You worry too much. Too many questions will only clutter your mind! Haha!" Lucy said, giggling.

My only certainty was the fact that Lucy loved me.

"You're probably right," I said, sighing. "I shouldn't overthink it," I added, patting her head. She blushed and smiled; she truly enjoyed that.

We then headed back to the Sleeping Eagle, walking normally through the city. Everything seemed normal, but for some strange reason, my mind and senses were still on alert, as if something was about to happen.

During our walk towards the inn, Lucy kept holding my hand, probably because she was a bit scared of something.

"Alex," she whispered. "There is someone following us," she added, indicating the person to me. I slightly turned my head to glance behind us and saw a hooded figure walking through the crowd.

The city was lively that day, and at first, I thought that this person was just a normal citizen. But then, I noticed a strange mark on their chest. They were wearing a hooded cloth to cover their face and their armor. I couldn't discern whether they were a man or a woman.

I let go of Lucy's hand and put my arm around her neck, walking like a couple to avoid raising any more suspicions.

"A-Alex… This… this is your first time showing aff-" Lucy's voice got interrupted by me.

"Lucy, act like nothing is happening," I said, faking a smile at her. She looked at me with such a disappointed pout on her face while murmuring a really cold "Okay."

We were being followed by someone, or something. I accelerated my steps along with Lucy and acted like nothing was happening. I tried to make our stalker lose our trace by hiding in the crowd and in random shops.

After an hour of randomly walking with Lucy in my arms, we managed to outrun our stalker. As soon as the stalker was gone, we finally managed to arrive at the inn.

The weather was hot that day, so when Lucy and I arrived at the inn, we were really thirsty and sweaty.

"I truly need a shower after this," I said, stretching my arms. After I finished my phrase, I saw an evil grin forming on Lucy's face. Her eyes became as sharp as knives, and her grin widened. She then put her head on my chest while her index finger was rubbing my belly. She then looked at me with her beautiful hazel puppy eyes and said, "What if we… shower together…?" That phrase was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Not even the great vampire general Murdrack scared me this much.

"Well… that sounds gr-" my voice got suddenly interrupted by someone.

"Good grief. What a nice view we have here," a masculine and light voice, but familiar, interrupted.

I turned my head back to see the origin of that voice, only to see nothing. Something was coming from above, I could sense it. I picked up my old katana from the bag in the blink of an eye and raised it up while pulling Lucy behind me to protect her. A sword slash tried to attack me from above, but I managed to block it. And then, the mysterious hooded figure appeared in front of me.

"Nice block, Alexyus," he said while sheathing his sword.

"Who are you?" I asked with a cold voice.

"Didn't you recognize your old friend?" He said while taking off his hood, revealing his long, white hair tied into a ponytail.

My expression immediately changed from a cold one to a surprised one.

"Araknedis?! Is that really you?" I asked. He nodded. "It is me, Alex. I am glad to see you again!" He said with a warm smile.

"Wait… How did you find me? Didn't you leave the hunters when I came here one year ago?" I asked him, scanning our surroundings for any onlookers. Lucy was watching us like she was saying "What the heck is going on?!"

"I never left the hunters. I was just hiding my identity to avoid trouble. You know, our corps actually became pretty bad when you left. Right when you were sent here, they sent me on a secret mission to investigate Legion, and since you and I were some of the strongest, they invented that I left the hunters so that Legion would attack our guild, as the leaders thought that there was a spy," he answered, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Well, you still didn't answer my question. How did you find me?" I asked, scratching my chin.

"Let's say that my mission brought me here. Something strange and scary is happening in this city. I was following a strange vampire and I saw you fighting last night. Two birds with one stone," he giggled.

"So you're telling me that you saw me fighting that vampire? Why were you following him?" I asked.

Araknedis remained silent for two seconds before speaking.

"That vampire was called Argras. He was one of the major subordinates of Spike, one of Legion's generals. I kept an eye on him since he received orders to eliminate "The hunter who's hiding in Lungi." I tried to fight him a lot of times, but he always managed to escape," Araknedis explained.

"But why did you follow him? Aren't you afraid that he might kill you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Well, I wasn't alone," he said with an evil grin.

He wasn't alone. That could only mean one thing.

"So… is Hikari here as well?" I asked. After I said the name "Hikari," I could sense an enormous bloodlust aura behind me. I turned my head back to Lucy, and all I saw was a void, a scary and cold expression. She raised her eyes to lock into mine and asked with a soft but threatening tone: "Who. Is. Hikari?" I gulped.

"Hikari is… a friend," I tried to say, with some drops of sweat falling from my face.

"Friend, you say…? Liar," she said while her grip on my wrist tightened, almost stopping my blood circulation.

Suddenly, a girly voice sounded behind Lucy.

"Yes! A friend!" I saw a mist forming behind us, forming the shape of a girl.

"Hey, Alex!" The voice said. We both turned our heads to the source of the voice, and we saw a beautiful girl standing right in front of us.

She had grown up a lot. She had become a beautiful woman with her ice-blue eyes and her long silver hair tied with a ponytail just like her brother.

"Hello, Hikari," I greeted her with a smile.

"Hi, Alex!" She replied while blushing a little and smiling.

"Hi," Lucy said with a really cold and emotionless voice. Her eyes were locked towards Hikari while she was holding my hand tight to "mark" her territory.

Hikari's eyes widened, and her smile was filled with enthusiasm. I could tell that she was really happy to see me again. She then took a look at Lucy. Hikari's mood changed in an instant. Her smile instantly disappeared, and her eyes lost their warmth. Instead, a cold look and a sharp voice said, "Oh? Who might you be?" Her voice became as sharp as my katana.

Lucy released her grip on my wrists and walked towards Hikari, who was still wearing her black armor.

"I'm his future wife. Are you another homewrecker by any chance?" Lucy said. Her eyes were locked onto Hikari's, not even blinking or showing a sign of emotion.

At her statement, Hikari didn't respond. Instead, her hands were touching her ice katana. The silence spoke for itself. I could see a scary bloodlust aura surrounding them.

"Oh my... this surely brings back a lot of memories," Araknedis giggled.

Well, it isn't the first time that happened. Hikari and Misara used to argue a lot because of me. Let's say that Hikari is a little bit overprotective towards me.

"O-Okay, girls, please, don't argue. We have no time to-" I tried to intervene, faking a laugh with a small drop of sweat falling from my face.

"DO NOT INTERFERE!" They both yelled at me.

"I must defend my property," Lucy said.

"Your.... WHAT?" Hikari yelled at Lucy. They started arguing over me.

I raised my hands up, reacting with an awkward silence.

Araknedis was laughing in the background, and he then looked at me saying, "Well, women are quite protective when it comes to the one they love, don't they? I've already seen this scene," he said.

*Such a clichéd scene.*

***Hikari and Araknedis were my first mission companions during my initial time in the hunters. They are the last descendants of the Icelords, an ancient family of mages who controlled and manipulated the elements of ice and water. They also are the only two remaining members of their family.***

Araknedis sighed and then talked to his sister and Lucy.

"Come on! Can you argue later? We have something important to discuss!"

Hikari and Lucy both gave him a deadly look, enough to make him shiver.

"Oh. Okay. I won't say anything," he raised his hands up.

"You're right, brother. Alex's safety is more important than this girl who randomly claims to be his future wife," Hikari said with a superior tone, putting her hand on her chin.

"Oh, homewrecker, You're right. His safety is more important. We'll deal later," Lucy said while some small red lightning appeared around her.

I sighed. Araknedis always knows how to fix any situation. I remember him saving me from misunderstandings a lot of times. The girls both walked towards me, and Lucy grabbed my hand and smiled at me, saying, "Are we going inside now? Fufufu~" Her tone changed from a murderous one to a truly happy one in the blink of an eye.

"Hmpf!" Hikari said.

"So… Uhm… Y-Yes. Let's go inside the inn," I said, in a shy tone.

We headed towards the entrance of the inn, but the door was closed.

"How strange… Lucy, why is the inn closed? Where is your father?" I asked.

"H-Huh? What do you mean it's closed? My father should be inside, but even so, the door should be open, since all the guests should return home anytime they want… uhm…" she said.

"Luckily, I have the key. I never brought it with me, but I randomly had it on me this time." Her hand then reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of keys with a little bird keychain.

She opened the door, and we entered inside.

The whole inn was filled with silence and darkness, and a strange smell was in the air, tickling our noses. The only light we had was from the sun outside.

"Huh...? There's no one... how strange... Father even closed the windows and turned off the lights..." Lucy said with a curious tone, with a glimpse of fear in it. "Alex, can you please open the windows...?" She politely asked me, rubbing my hand.

"Sure, Lucy," I replied, walking towards the windows.

Something was off, but there was nothing to fear at all.

"Vampires won't attack in the sunlight," I said to myself to calm my nervous state.

I managed to open the remaining windows of the inn, and the sun rapidly filled the whole inn.

But in that moment... we saw something awful.