Give Me What I Want

Alec frowned where he was hidden.

While he was touched by his subordinates' actions that indicated they cared about him, he didn't let his guard down any.

From the fox's words, it sounded like there was something she needed answers to no matter the means she had to go to in order to get them.

She most likely wasn't going to let them leave any time soon, not if she had anything to say about it.

Sure enough, the magical beast moved so quickly that she immediately disappeared from their sight, grabbing Alec's form and reappearing back at where she originally stood.

Before they had time to react, the fox already had a hand on Alec's pale neck. Her nails were sharp, digging slightly into Alec's neck.

"What is it you want to know?"

The magical beast was surprised at how calm his voice sounded, even when it held tinges of coldness to it.

She looked down at his face. He was young.

Very young.

This little kit only looked like he was barely past the first growing stage. He was still a child, and those humans protected him like he was a gem. She wasn't going to hurt him overly so, but they didn't need to know that.

When she looked at how calmly he was reacting now, she felt like she understood a little why he was so treasured.

Of course, unlike what she thought, Alec was their boss. The fox magical beast instead thought that it was because he was the son of their boss, so they were dutybound to protect him.

She tilted Alec's head up, showing them the faint rivulet of blood that was already forming because of her sharp nails.

Alec wasn't even going to attempt trying to form a bond with her. He could instinctively feel that he wouldn't be able to do it. Not with his current strength. Anyway, his magic was still pretty much depleted since he hadn't had a chance to recover most of it.

It was just one thing after the other today.

"Tell me what I want to know truthfully, and I'll let him go."

Yuki and Alec locked eyes. Yuki could almost see how Alec's expression said, 'go along with her for now', nodding slowly.

"What do you want to know?" Yuki asked.

"That man. Who is he?" the fox said, pointing at Dominique's limp body. He still wasn't waking up even after all of this!

Alec fell into confusion. Of the things that he expected the magical beast to ask, that was not one of them.

Yet, it felt like pieces of puzzles were slotting into place.

The Spectres looked at the magical beast warily. Her form was too alluring, so they didn't look directly at her face, instead looking at other body parts.

She dug her nails into Alec's neck a little harder.

Alec's enhanced skin wasn't able to hold up under the sharpness of the magical beast's claws, so the trickle of blood was more obvious now.

Rosabel's finger twitched when she saw that the blood flow was constant now, but she didn't make any moves. She resisted the urge to frown fiercely. If she could match the magical beast, she would already have thrown herself forward for a fight.

That she couldn't felt very stifling.

The Sin's natural instincts made them want to fight despite most likely being on the losing end, but they suppressed their instincts. Alec was directly in her hands, and the rest of them weren't safe either.

Perhaps, had they been at full capacity, they would have tried something, but that wasn't a viable option now.

The transformed magical beast watched the humans with cold eyes, yet Alec could tell that she was really staring at Dominique's collapsed form.

Her emotions ran hot and cold at alternate times. Alec felt that this magical beast had conflicting thoughts. Even though her nails were causing blood to run freely, it still felt like she didn't really want to hurt him. As long as they answered her questions, that was.

The magical beast was the one who had brought him back in the first place, but she had treated him so callously, as if she had reached this cave and dumped him on the floor as she waited for him to wake up.

The cogs in Alec's mind were whirling, and he spoke up instead of answering her. "…You're looking for someone."

The magical beast's eyes sharpened when she heard what he said. She let out a light laugh.

"That's right. Aren't you a smart kit?"

Judging from her response, Alec didn't think that she was here to pick a fight. Neither did she seem like she was looking for revenge or anything of the sort when she looked at Dominique.

Her eyes hardly left Dominique's sleeping face.

If she was looking for someone that looked like Dominique, then… Dorian? That was the only thing he could think of.

What frustrated Alec the most was that Dominique was still unconscious from the magical beast's earlier blow. Had he been awake, Alec would have known which course of action to go for, but he wasn't.

The magical beast dug in her nails now. There were numerous wounds instead of the single one.

She didn't want to do this, but it didn't seem like the humans were particularly forthcoming with their knowledge.

She mentally apologized to the kit. She would heal him later, after they answered her.

"He's part of the Heavenly Ascension Sect," Yuki said carefully, trying not to give away too much information before they knew about the magical beast's intentions.

For all they knew, she was actually the Falren's long-lost enemy that had been trapped in this crack between realms.

Alec would much rather be able to read her expressions when they made this exchange, but he could feel the slight tense from her body when she heard that information.

"Are you from the Heavenly Ascension Sect as well?"

"Are you the sect's enemy?" was asked in return.

The magical beast hesitated for the slightest moment before she replied. "If you truly are from the Heavenly Ascension Sect, then no."

Yuki's brow furrowed, unsure whether or not she was telling the truth. Her expressions were too controlled for him to be able to accurately get a read on her.

It was at this moment that Hayden spoke up. "She's telling the truth."

They turned to look at him.

The fox magical beast's eyes lit up when she studied him closely. "I see that human has close relations to creatures and animals. Interesting. Yes, I am not the Heavenly Ascension Sect's enemy, nor do I harbour any intentions of hurting all of you if you are indeed telling the truth."

Hayden nodded. "True."

"Yet, I do not recall the sect ever having those clothing in its repertoire. Just how long has passed in the world outside?"

They were silent at her sharp questions.

Alec gestured at Yuki, who pulled out a set of their normal sect clothing, which was blue and white. It contained the signature sect symbol of the Heavenly Ascension Sect, causing the magical beast's eyes to shake.

The symbol couldn't be easily faked, and she still had some doubts, but it was enough for her to stay her hand for now.

The previous death grip on Alec's neck loosened somewhat, and she stepped away, looking clearly apologetic.

She moved and brought some medicine, applying it on the deeper wounds on Alec's neck.

"Let us converse peacefully. If you truly are from the Heavenly Ascension Sect, then we should be allies instead of enemies. I apologize for my previous actions, as I was unsure whether or not we were to be hostile."

Now that the magical beast rescinded her heavy pressure, the room was a lot calmer, even if the Spectres were eyeing her warily from the sudden change in her demeanour.

She appeared very dignified when she bowed slightly to convey her regret and apologetic feelings.

Alec felt strange. It had concluded just like that?

Without any further violence? He had merely been threatened a little instead of facing life-threatening danger like he originally expected.

Something was wrong.

The System was just about to open his mouth to question her sudden change in demeanour when Dominique's unconscious form stirred lightly on Rosabel's back.

He went from unconsciousness to consciousness in a split second, his eyes darkly threatening.

His eyes sharpening, landing on the form that was the largest threat to his boss, narrowing in danger, before stopping on that face in shock.

"Mom?"