CHAPTER 101 – Aftermath

Back at Clancy Hall, the rest of the cadets from the travel club were currently resting after the intense fight they just had.

The fight was suppressed quickly in the Hall, thanks to England's Heroes being dispatched, but this didn't mean that fights didn't break out outside of the place, some Djinns were scattered around Clancy Islet, and some Heroes had to be dispatched to capture them.

Sadly, no executive from Evil Society was captured during the fight, and there weren't that many casualties either, most civilians were safe while others were injured. In the case of Heroes, there were few deaths, so it wasn't the worst outcome.

Right now, while the paramedics and other dispatched Heroes were currently treating and moving any injured towards the closest medic center.

And amidst crumbling buildings and destroyed streets, Yoo Yeonha was currently sitting down, tired from the fight they just had.

{Damn it… How much time and effort would take to restore my hair at the beauty salon…} I thought while looking at my blackened hair that was damaged during the fight.

I let out a deep sigh before someone's voice entered my ears.

"Hey, did you see that?" It was Chae Nayun, who was walking towards me.

"See what?" I asked, trying to bury the annoyance I felt at her question that lacked any kind of context.

A lot of things happened tonight. Not only there were a lot of fights between Heroes and Djinns, but there was also Kim Suho with his metal attribute, cutting everything on his path, including a rain of fireballs almost at the end of the fight.

That was an image that would stay in my mind for quite a while. But as if that wasn't enough, there were also the constant tremors that attacked Clancy Islet, something that didn't make sense at all considering that this was a floating island 700 meters high in the air.

"Kim Hajin. He went off in a bike." Chae Nayun.

"Ah…" I nodded.

That's something I also saw clearly, how he simply got up on a motorbike and rode off somewhere.

Honestly, it was quite a scene, the mere speed he took was something I never thought possible, as I even had to reconsider if bikes could go that fast in the first place.

"Yeah, I saw him." I answered after pondering for a bit. "But where did he go?"

It was curious how he suddenly disappeared in the middle of the fight against the Djinns.

{Does he have something to do with the tremors on Clancy Islet?} I thought for a moment.

Those tremors were clearly the signal of a fight, but what kind of fight would you need to have for such destructive results?

"I don't know, that Cristopher guy might know, though, he went to look for him." Chae Nayun shrugged. "Anyway! Where do you think he got that bike? I want to buy one too."

I didn't pay attention to her question. I was more concerned about the fact that Cristopher was with him too.

{Those two were together? Where? Why?} The more I thought about it, the more curious I got to know what were those two doing together and who were they fighting against, that is if they were the ones fighting. {I guess I'll have to wait for the information to spread.}

It wasn't only the fact that those two were towards the same place. First, how did Kim Hajin get those driving skills? At that speed, not just any amateur could drive that bike. And what's more, how did Cristopher catch up to him. Did he even catch up to that bike's speed? If not, how did he track Hajin's location? Did he know beforehand where he was heading towards?

{*sigh…* There are just too many things to consider. Why is it that those two are always involved in strange accidents?}

After sighing, I heard Chae Nayun talking to someone.

"What's wrong…?" She asked.

I turned to look up, thinking it was me she was asking, but she was actually asking Kim Suho, who was walking here with a somber face.

"The princess is apparently gone… Have you guys seen Rachel?" He asked us.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Both Chae Nayun and I asked at the same time.

{Rachel's gone? What?} We both turned to look around, and I could notice that all the Heroes from England were constantly moving in a hurried way. I could catch the word princess in each conversation they had.

{Don't tell me…} I pondered for a moment before a mutter escaped my mouth.

"Their goal was the princess…?" I unconsciously asked.

"What? Really?" Chae Nayun asked me in surprise.

"Yeah, it makes sense. Rachel is England's most precious treasure. If they kidnapped her…" I pondered for a little bit. "If they kidnapped her to take her hostage, England wouldn't hesitate to hand over the rights to Clancy Islet right away. Their goal must have been the entire country, not just Roton Corporation. Those evil bastards…"

Rachel was a really important person to England, she was the country's Princess, as well as the future guild leader from the English Royal Court, the daughter of the Queen of England. There was no way for the country to not do anything when she's used as a hostage.

Just as I was thinking about the possible scenarios, someone snugged my shoulder.

"Hey, stop muttering to yourself and look over there." Chae Nayun spoke.

"What? I'm busy right now so… Huh?" I turned up, only to widen my eyes. There was a stiff and trembling Rachel driving a black motorbike here, she was wearing her helmet, but even then, you could see part of her face from the visor, as well as her flowing long blond hair.

At that moment, I heard Chae Nayun speaking right beside me.

"That's the bike Hajin ran off on."

"…" My eyes widened more when I heard her.

{Did Kim Hajin go behind those that kidnapped Rachel? Did Cristopher go with him because he also found out about it?}

I started to think about what could probably happen.

Maybe… The fight that happened not far away from here was both Cristopher and Hajin rescuing her. And once they did so, they sent her back with the bike while they distracted the kidnappers.

{But then… What happened to them!? Did they win against the Djinns that kidnaped her? Did they lose? I can't believe one of them losing… But Djinns are strong, and they usually go in groups…}

My mind was full of possible theories as to what happened. But neither of those make any sense, I know that those two have power that they haven't shown to anyone, but even then, to defeat so many Djinns by themselves…

{And to think they would face that much danger for the sake of Rachel… Why would they do… Wait. Kim Hajin may not have a reason, but Cristopher's suspected to be close to her, and if I consider the fact that it was the butler of the Royal Court that gave him a ride this morning… Then, with Kim Hajin being his friend, it wouldn't be weird for him to help Cristopher…}

I just kept thinking about the possibilities. Until I reached a conclusion.

{I have to find out what's Rachel and Cristopher's relation.}

If anything. I couldn't let someone as strong as him to get into the English Royal Court. It would mean an astronomical rise in power for the guild. And also, it could make Kim Hajin get into the guild too.

{I can't lose those two to her.} I frowned.

***

At the same time, in a suite in one of London's many hotels, Cheok Jungyeong, Khalifa and Jain were entering the room.

"We're back, Boss~." Jain spoke once they made it inside while raising the suitcase. "We also got it~."

"Good job, Jain." Boss nodded at her with her eyes on the suitcase.

"I was the one that found the White Crystal." Cheok Jungyeong frowned.

"You didn't take it." Droon, a 13yo kid, that was also a member of the Chameleon Troupe, and arguably the strongest person on all this world retorted.

"Shut up, kid. This isn't a conversation for children to interfere into." Cheok Jungyeong frowned at him, but did nothing else, after all, it was his sole rule to never hurt young children.

"He's right, Jungyeong." Boss intervened with a chilling gaze. "Not only did you fail to retrieve the Crystal, but you even made a ruckus in Clancy Islet and London, alerting a lot of people."

"But-"

"I don't want any excuse." She interrupted him, before looking at him from head to toes. "And what happened to you?"

"!" Cheok Jungyeong, the giant, flinched for a moment, before scratching the back of his head. "Well…-"

"He lost a fight." Before he could start speaking, Jain interrupted with a smile. "He couldn't defeat a kid~"

Khalifa, who was at one corner of the room, chuckled for a moment, even Droon had a smirk that was ridiculing Jungyeong.

"What…?" Boss's eyes widened for a moment, before frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"That was not a simple kid, Boss." Cheok frowned. "That guy… He's strong. At least, probably as strong as me, but that's only taking into account his Magic Power, I'm still physically stronger by a lot more."

He tried to smile to make things better, but Boss didn't have any of it.

"…" Boss looked at him for a moment, before turning to Jain. "Who was it?"

"Cristopher. The same cadet that fought against Shin Jonghak during the mid-terms, and the one you tried to fight against during the final exam." Jain said with a serious face.

Even if she was mocking Jungyeong, she knew very well how strong Cheok Jungyeong was, it didn't make sense at all for a simple cadet, someone that was only 17 years old, to fight to a draw against him, and even less, to give such injuries to that brainless giant, he may be stupid, but when it comes to fighting, he may as well be called a genius with monstrous physical power.

"…" Boss pondered for a moment, inside her head multiple thoughts were currently ragging. "Maybe… Should we invite him to join us?" She muttered for a moment.

"…" Jain was shocked.

She knew how much Boss wanted to invite Kim Hajin to join them, after all, Anti-Magic was a precious attribute for her, and for all the old members of the group that lived through the betrayal.

It was the only weapon that could bring down that man…

"Are you sure?" She asked in a serious tone.

"You said it yourself…" Boss didn't look at her, she was still contemplating. "He fought against Jungyeong, that's something we can't ignore. His potential is absurd if he can already win against Jungyeong at his age."

"Well…" Jungyeong frowned. "It wasn't as if he won… We just were interrupted, at most we ended up in a draw-"

"Even if it was a draw." Boss glared at Jungyeong. "We're talking about a 17yo kid, someone that hasn't even matured and that still has a lot of possibilities to grow."

"…" Jungyeong got quiet.

"So, in the end. Is choosing between Kim Hajin's anti-magic and Cristopher's raw power?" Jain asked.

"It seems so…" Boss nodded slowly.

Her head was a complete mess right now. Cadets like Kim Suho or Shin Jonghak also had immense potential, that's obvious. But they couldn't even make her reconsider her decision about Kim Hajin.

But someone that's in their same age group, that's also able to fight against Cheok Jungyeong directly. That's someone that could make any group grow insanely fast in power.

{Black was always the seat of the strongest…} The thought passed quickly through her mind.

But just as she remembered the Black Seat of Chameleon Troupe, a man's face crossed her head.

Odin. The previous Black Seat of Chameleon Troupe. A completely invincible man, someone that they couldn't win against even if all Chameleon Troupe joined hands.

Intense rage surfaced in Boss's lifeless eyes.

{The only way to kill him. Is to bring Hajin to our group.}

The decision was between taking revenge or making their group reach new heights at the cost of forgetting revenge.

After a few moments of pondering, Boss turned to look at them all, especially Jain, who, like her, kept an intense hatred against that man.

"Kim Hajin." Boss spoke in her lethargic voice. "For the moments… We'll keep Kim Hajin as our main priority."

"*tch.*" Cheok Jungyeong clicked his tongue.

"Why are you clicking your tongue?" Droon asked him while tilting his head.

"…" But Jungyeong didn't answer, he just sulked.

"The idiot just wanted to fight again against him." Jain was the one to answer Droon this time, but differently from her words, her face was serious, she just looked at Boss directly.

She knew why Boss made that choice, and deep in her mind, she knew she would make the same decision if she were to be in her shoes. But she still had her doubts about Kim Hajin, after all, even if he had the ability to kill that man, he was really weak, not even close to Kim Suho or Shin Jonghak in terms of power.

"Well, this conversation is over." Boss said, noting Jain's glance. "Let's see the White Crystal."

With that, they started focusing on the White Crystal that Jain stole from Kim Hajin and Rachel.

***

On another place on Clancy Islet, Kim Hajin was currently on the elevator, going up towards the last floor.

{Who would say that things would be so difficult…} I thought for a moment.

Even when it seemed that we could keep the White Crystal, Jain appeared along with Khalifa, something that I didn't expect at all.

The elevator opened its door, and I was finally inside my suite. Being the most luxurious suite in the hotel, you had to insert the keycard in the elevator, and it would bring you all the way up towards the room.

{Damn… Even if those two are probably the weakest of them all, they're still strong… Just what happened with Cristopher…}

While I was going inside the suite, which was given to me by the guys at the casino after making bank, my smartwatch rang.

I quickly raised my arm up and turned it on.

[Cristopher: 'Supp? Are you fine?]

[Kim Hajin: I should be the one asking that. Are you alright?]

[Cristopher: Yeah, nothing I can't handle. I saw Jain with the suitcase, did she ambush you guys?]

"Huh? Did she appear in front of him too?" I tilted my head.

[Kim Hajin: Yeah, did she appear in front of you too?]

[Cristopher: She went there with some black guy with dreadlocks to pick up Cheok Jungyeong.]

"Oh, right… Boss did tell her to pick him up. So, they were still fighting at that moment." I nodded before a sudden quest got in my head.

[Kim Hajin: Did you win?]

[Cristopher: Nah, it was more of a draw, we couldn't end our fight, Jain got there and Heroes were on their way, after all, we made quite a mess in the Thames River.]

[Kim Hajin: …]

"*sigh…* I know you apologized to Rachel first, but couldn't you just keep everything at the bare minimum? Repairing the city will be expensive for her family…"

[Kim Hajin: But in the case that you kept fighting, who would win?]

[Cristopher: Hard to say. That guy's a monster when it comes to physical power. Magic Power almost bounces from his skin, it would take a special type of attribute to bring him down with Magic Power alone, though, to be honest, I still had cards to play, and I don't only use Magic Power. In a sense, it would be gambling, 50/50 I guess.]

[Kim Hajin: … He's one of the strongest characters at the moment, and probably the strongest in Chameleon Troupe if we take out Boss and Droon, and that's only because of the type of power those two have.]

I answered him while walking towards the biggest couch in the middle of the living room of the suite, sitting down there.

[Cristopher: It's quite ironic honestly, I may have more of a hard time fighting him than fighting Boss, but that's only because of Yasha's power.]

"Eh…? Are you joking? How could that be possible?"

[Kim Hajin: How?]

[Cristopher: I'm tired, I'm not explaining, but just think of it like how Cheok Jungyeong can push through problems with his physical power, I can burn Yasha's power with the mix of my three main energies.]

[Kim Hajin: What about Droon?]

[Cristopher: Who?]

[Kim Hajin: Oh, right, he didn't appear yet when I went on hiatus. Droon is a kid, the seat of violet, that's contracted to a black rabbit that's probably the strongest creature in this world at the moment.]

[Cristopher: Tamed?]

[Kim Hajin: More like a summoned alien that he called from the chaos of the dimensional boundary with his Gift, it's closer to an Authority, actually.]

[Cristopher: That's child play.]

[Kim Hajin: Huh? How so? His rabbit could basically devour everything! Even a Devil.]

[Cristopher: I have one way, and will have another soon. But long-story-short, you just have to break the 'connection' between them, which would send the rabbit back from where it came and would shut Droon's gift temporally. I can do that with my Spirit Fire.]

[Kim Hajin: That bunny is immune against Spirit Speech from Aileen, which is one of the strongest heroes thanks to her Gift.]

[Cristopher: The so-called "Human-Dragon"? Meh. Her Spirit Speech and my Spirit Fire are fundamentally different even if they share the same modifier. Just to put an example. She can't end the connection between a Devil and a Djinn, while I can burn it, and that's a lot harder to burn than Droon's connection with the rabbit.]

[Kim Hajin: And that's one of two methods?]

[Cristopher: Well, three. But I would have to see the damn rabbit for me to be sure of the third one. In any case, the other way is to use my other ability that's currently sealed, it would make things a lot easier, but it would endanger Droon in the process, and forgive me for having to kill a kid. In a sense, his strongest card against this world became his worst weakness against me.]

"I sometimes wonder how or why someone like this came to this world like me…" I muttered while reading his text.

Just why is he here? Heck, why am I here in this world? I know the co-author has something to do, but I doubt that he would bring someone like him here without any reason.

{Ha… Things are just so complicated…} I let out a deep sigh.

[Kim Hajin: Well… I just hope things don't get to that point. By the way, you better write Rachel, she was worried.]

[Cristopher: I'm texting with her right now. By the way, I'm not going to be staying in Clancy Islet. Portals leading there are closed to the public for the moments, and I pushed that brute giant off the island, our fight ended down here in London haha.]

"*sigh…* I just don't know what to say anymore."

[Cristopher: By the way, can you finish transfer the rest of my money? I want to invest some money before things go crazy.]

"…" I looked at the text, before letting out a deep sigh and transferring him the rest of his money.

[Kim Hajin: Done. I'll go take a shower and rest.]

[Cristopher: Thanks, dude. A pleasure to make business with you! Also, if you can, pick up the stuff in my room!]

"Whatever…" With those words, I stood up and went towards the bathroom to take a relaxing bath.

***

On the Portal Station that led to Clancy Islet from the Thames River. Rachel was being escorted by a group of England's most powerful Heroes, while Randy was slowly making way towards the limousine in front of her.

Her dress was slightly damaged from the time Cheok Jungyeong caught her, but what worried the Heroes and Randy the most, wasn't the dress, but the face she was currently making.

She looked lost, worried as if something really horrible happened and she couldn't stop thinking about it.

The Heroes' blood boiled just thinking about the bastards that tried to kidnap the princess, while Randy was trying to look for a way to cheer her up, trying to distract her from the horrible experience she may have had.

Randy quickly opened the door for her to go in.

"Thanks, Randy." Rachel thanked him with a weak smile, which tugged at Randy's heart.

"No problem, Princess." He smiled at her, closing the door once she sat inside before turning to the Heroes. "Thanks for escorting us. We'll be in your care."

With a nod, the Heroes went towards two cars that would be used to escort Rachel's limousine, while Randy went towards the driver's door to get in the car.

Inside the limousine, while Randy started the car and drove off, Rachel was constantly looking at her smartwatch. She was hoping to receive some kind of message, but nothing came yet.

It was when she was starting to think something went wrong, that her smartwatch rang. She quickly turned it on.

[Cristopher: Hey, how are you? You aren't hurt, right?]

"He's alive…" Rachel muttered to herself while a smile appeared on her face and tears started to slowly form in her eyes, not even noticing the butler that was paying attention to her every move.

She quickly replied back.

[Rachel: I'm fine. I'm on my way back to the Royal Court, what about you? Are you okay? Did you get hurt? What happened to that giant?]

Before she even noticed herself, she was already asking a lot of questions, but it didn't matter, she wanted to know and be sure.

[Cristopher: I'm glad, then.]

A short answer came back, one that tugged at her heart. She pouted, wanting to know more about his situation.

[Rachel: You didn't answer my questions…]

[Cristopher: Don't worry, I'm fine, just some minor injuries. I'm resting right now in some bar in London.]

Rachel's eyes went wide while reading the message.

[Rachel: Wait… The fight in Thames River, it was you?]

[Cristopher: Yeah, sorry about that. I made quite a mess, even if I tried to keep the damage at the minimum possible.]

She let out a small chuckle at how he was worried about such a thing while fighting.

[Rachel: Don't worry about it, you apologized beforehand, right?]

She smiled, thinking back at that moment when he apologized beforehand for whatever could happen. At that time, she didn't pay attention to it, after all, she was more worried about what could happen to him.

[Cristopher: True, haha]

[Rachel: So… Are you staying tonight?]

[Cristopher: Yeah, I'm tired, and still have my things back in Clancy Islet, so I have to wait. I'll stay the night in London and then look for my things tomorrow morning.]

Rachel looked at the message, for a moment, thinking if she should ask him or not. But once again, remembering how he protected her and how he fought that giant for her, she couldn't stop herself.

So, while justifying herself saying how it was just paying a debt to him for saving her life once again, she started writing, editing the message a few times before she finally texted him.

[Rachel: Why don't you stay over at the Royal Court (´･ω･`)?]

She went red. As red as a tomato. Her face felt quite hot from all the embarrassment she felt at that moment.

[Cristopher: Are you sure? Isn't it inconvenient for you to bring someone there?]

She trembled a little, before answering right away.

[Rachel: No! It won't be a problem at all! ~\(≧▽≦)/~]

[Rachel: I mean, we have a lot of free rooms, you could crash in one of those and you wouldn't have to pay a hotel, right???]

Randy, who was looking at Rachel all this time, couldn't help but feel awkward at all the changes of expressions she was making while talking at the moment.

He was curious, asking himself what could happen for her to change her mood that drastically.

[Cristopher: Well, if it's not a problem, then sure. I'll accept. Thanks, Rachel.]

"Yes!" Rachel shouted, before covering her mouth immediately, turning to look at Randy who was looking at her with an awkward smile. "I-I-I'm sorry! I was just-"

She tried to justify her reaction when another message came in.

[Cristopher: Say, how do I go there? I'm not in my best clothes, and well, right now I doubt they will let me in with all the things happening… (._.)]

She read the message, before turning to look up at Randy.

"Um, Randy?"

"Yes, Princess?" He asked with a smile.

"Um…" She averted her eyes, trying to find the best words. "Can we pick up someone? I-I m-mean… It's a friend… You know him, is the one that's been helping me recently. He's around so…"

"…" Randy looked at her with a kind smile, trying his best not to laugh, before nodding. "Sure, Princess, where is Cristopher-ssi?"

"Wait. I'll ask him." She quickly answered before texting Cristopher, not knowing that she was smiling while doing so.

{You're smiling more and more, Rachel…} Randy thought to himself for a moment.

[Rachel: Where are you Cristopher-ssi? I'll pick you up. d=(￣▽￣*)]

[Cristopher: Oh, nice. Thanks. Here are my coordinates. *coordinates*]

"Randy, here, this is where he is."

"Ok." Randy looked down, before frowning. {Isn't this a bar? And in the shadiest parts of the city…}

"Is there a problem?" Rachel asked curiously.

"No, no problem at all, Princess." Randy smiled at her, burying his worries inside his chest. "We'll go right away."

"Thanks." Rachel smiled.

{I hope he doesn't teach her anything wrong. Well, I'm sure our Miss knows how to differentiate between what's good and bad.} With that thought. Randy started driving towards Cristopher's location, while Rachel kept texting and smiling, giving Randy a weird feeling as if all England was losing something really important with each passing moment.