Ch 19: A cause for Concern - part 1

Camelia's feet landed solidly on the ground, and she felt no moment in her head. She had been able to avoid getting hurt even after all that happened.

"Good, this makes me feel much more relaxed now. Doctor, are we done here?"

Camelia asked, but the doctor had gone quiet. It seemed that Camelia's performance had shocked her, and the doctor refused to move, even when Camelia called out to her.

When Camelia thought she was fine to walk out of the room, she felt a stronger presence sneaking up behind her.

She was about to shoot when someone else ended up killing the beast behind her.

A black scythe was the first thing Camelia saw when the beast fell, and then the cold expression on Zayne's face made a shiver go down Camelia's spine.

She clutched her gun harder as her instincts instructed her to run to save her life.

"This experiment is over. Doctor, I expect a report of what happened with the last beast and how it got mixed with the basic test monsters."

Zayne's attitude made him look imposing, and the doctor flinched but opened the door with a flushed expression. 

The door girl seemed to be having difficulty meeting Zayne's eyes, but she glared at Camelia as soon as she walked outside behind Zayne.

"Remember to send me the report. Camelia, we are leaving for home now. You can keep the gun with you for your safety. I will pay the full price for the gun, so mail me the bill."

Zayne's mood seemed to get worse by the second, and Camelia had to stop herself from reaching around and guiding him consciously.

The corridor outside the training room was filled with people, but none dared to look Zayne in the face.

Camelia stood beside Zayne so that no one could look at her face. But Zayne still did not look satisfied. He quickly turned around and pulled her hood over her head before tucking her hair inside.

"Don't let anyone see your face. Otherwise, you won't have a single moment of peace. Follow me silently, and if anyone reaches out to grab you, tug my shirt. I will help you out."

Zayne proposed as he extended his hand toward Camelia.

She grabbed it, and Zayne pulled her through the crowd, which looked like they were not there to see him. But a single look at their eyes told the truth behind why they were here.

Camelia felt undisturbed for the most part, but then she felt someone reaching out to grab her hand from behind.

It made her feel frustrated, and she was about to tug Zayne's shirt when her instincts got the best of her, and she snapped that wrist.

There was a howl of pain, but no one knew where it came from.

Zayne used this moment of distraction to grab Camelia's wrist and tug her toward the elevator. 

Before the pair knew it, they were out of that facility and heading home.

"I…that was dangerous. I thought I would get stomped on because of all the crowd. What about you? Are you alright?"

Zayne asked as he looked at the person he had dragged behind himself.

The person said nothing, but the L-ranked hunter still felt his heart drop when he looked at the different-colored hoodie before him. This was not the person he had been looking for.

"Who are you, and why did you follow me? Did you think I would not notice that you are not my companion?"

Zayne asked, now stuck in the same elevator as the person who took advantage of this chaos.

But the hoodie person did not say anything to him. Instead, the silence became even more jarring.

There was something familiar about the person in front of Zayne, but the longer the silence lasted, the more he felt unnerved.

Finally, the hooded figure moved, and golden strands fell out of the hood.

"Y-You betrayed our master! A new life and a new identity…we forgave you…but a new companion…will not be forgiven…we shall end her life…"

Zayne grabbed the hooded figure in front of her, but when the hood fell from that face, what looked back at her were not human features.

Instead, the soulless eyes of a doll looked back at Zayne, and he felt the sudden rush of magic.

'Shit! This doll is going to explode any second now. I need to contain this explosion-'

Before Zayne could say anything, the doll became unstable and exploded. Zayne threw it away and, at the last second, created a barrier around it. 

The barrier had been created quickly to contain only a part of the attack.

The lift ceiling collapsed, and debris fell on top of it, crushing it from both sides. This impact was felt throughout the tower, but there was no casualty.

People rushed toward this loud noise in confusion, and soon, the news of what happened and who was in the elevator spread around.

Mass panic began to spread around the floors of the hunter's association headquarters, and by the next hour, everyone knew that someone had attacked their L-ranked hunter.

"President, what should we do about this? We cannot let the media get wind of this, or we will all die. Also, Zayne Trusdale has not yet come out of that debris, so we cannot comment. What should we do now?"

People asked Lucas, but he felt nothing but a jab of headache at what happened.

He felt he knew who was behind this, but it was impossible to tell what had happened until the debris was cleared and the facts came to light. 

"Keep all the operations on stand-hold. Our priority is to clear out debris and ensure no one is unaccounted for. I am sure this is the work of the calamity 'Doll maker. After a century of calmness, she has decided to strike back."

Gasps of disbelief were heard around the room as people denied the possibility of it happening. But Lucas was sure of what he was saying.

His instincts told him so.