A hearty meal

Auriel entered the Weaver mansion with Clint on his side. Then he led him to one of the elegant but still dark bathrooms and shoved him inside. 

"Take off your armor and remove the scent of blood from yourself, brother. I will send a few maids to bring you some clothes and assist you." Auriel said, winking at Clint. However, Clint wore a confused expression and simply nodded. 

After that, Auriel proceeded to the grand kitchen of the mansion, bustling with dozens of servants scurrying about. 

"Prepare a big, hearty meal that is to my brother's liking, and bring high-quality wine!" Auriel ordered loudly.

The servants, already in a hurry, became even more frantic, bumping into each other and breaking dishes, but Auriel paid no mind.

Normally there was no need for Auriel to order them like this but he wanted Clint to hear this and lower his guard against him. As a Grandmaster, it was pretty easy for Clint to hear his order if he wanted. 

Auriel made his way to his room and found Elise practicing walking with the staff he had given her. Without saying a word, he changed his clothes as they bloodied a bit after getting a hug from Clint. 

Turning to Elise, he asked, "Would you like to meet my brother, or do you still prefer to stay here?" Elise nodded and continued to walk awkwardly.

"Okay, I will order Daisy to bring you a meal. Don't talk to her and if she tries anything, you can hit her head with your staff. I will take the responsibility." Auriel said while he got out of the room. 

After that, he descended the stairs and sat down on the dinner table that was currently prepared by the servant, and waited.

Sometime later Clint came with slightly wet hair and sat down on his side. 'As if God blessed this bastard.' Auriel thought while staring at Clint and his muscles that were discernible through his wet shirt. 

"So, what happened, Riel? Are you alright?" Clint asked, raising his glass of wine.

"I am perfectly fine, brother. It's just that my butler died after we encountered Monstrosities and Shapeshifters. Fortunately, Gordon was with me and carried me here while being chased by a pair of Monstrosities." Auriel explained, raising his glass to clink it against Clint's. 

Clint's face contorted with obvious disdain. "At last the useless piece of shit did his job properly. I would give him to dogs if he wasn't useful."

Then his expression completely changed as a smile appeared on his handsome face. "Then where did you find this bird and who is the lady in your room that is walking strangely?" 

Although Auriel didn't want to tell Elise or Loki to someone else, he didn't have too much choice in this situation. "This bird is a raven which I named Loki. I found him while experimenting with my powers, it was completely luck." Auriel said and added silently. "They are a bit special, it would be better if I tell you when there is no one else to hear." 

Clint nodded with understanding and turned to the servants, who were waiting for extra orders. Then ordered coldly. "Get out."

In less than a minute, all of the servants ran out, leaving Auriel and Clint alone. 

Auriel sighed and drank his wine and turned to Clint. "This guy on my head can become invisible, I assumed that he is Awakened in animal terms."

Clint's eyes widened slightly and smiled. "How unique, it is befitting to my brother." He said softly and waited for Auriel to speak about the 'lady' in his room. 

Auriel took a deep breath and began to explain with minimal details. "As for the girl in my room, I bought her at an auction house. She had an affinity for revelations and I felt something different from her, as if she was special."

Clint's eyes sparkled as he looked at Auriel. "Riel, did you fall in love with that girl?" 

Auriel frowned immediately after hearing Clint. "What the fuck are you saying? How did you even deduct this from what I said?"  Auriel said with a clear aversion. 

Mentally Auriel was an old man and even the thought of falling in love with a teenager felt foolish for him. Too idiotic that he blurted out a few of his real thoughts. 

Fortunately, though, Clint didn't mind it and answered. "Well, you said you felt different and she was different, so I thought like that."

Auriel hit his palm to his forehead and poured wine for himself and Clint, quickly gulping down. "Anyway, what happened with the gate opening? Soldiers' atmosphere was a bit gloomier than normal."

Instantly, Clint's aura changed, and quietly sipped his wine, then he let out a sigh and made himself comfortable in his chair. "A few hundred normal soldiers, more than a hundred Awakened, and 23 Masters died." 

Auriel sucked a cold breath as he didn't expect to lose Masters while Clint was with them. Masters weren't that important in the great scheme as there were more powerful beings but this was still strange. Hence he looked at Clint with curiosity and waited for him to continue. 

Clint sipped one more time from his wine and resumed his story. "There was a Spectral Aberration around the gate. I tried to kill it but it was impossible for me as I didn't have any way to damage the soul. Before the Grandmasters on my side kill it, the Aberration slaughtered our loyal soldiers while running away from the Grandmasters. When they at last kill it, it was too late for most of the Masters that encountered Aberration." 

"Well, they were believers of the God of Afterlife. I don't think they had many regrets anyway." Clint muttered and changed the topic. 

"Now that I remembered, a few days later a Bishop from Afterlife Church will come to ask questions about the priestess that died after looking at you. You don't have to answer him but don't lie, and don't be rude. They can cause troubles that we don't want to deal with."

----

Hey you! Gimme power stones. I need it, you know?