Red Aura

_Great. Another psycho_

Conrad had barely stepped out of the medic room, yet he was already pinned to the hard wall all of a sudden. But it didn't hurt, even when she had shoved him against the wall. He felt no pain.

Still, he was confused as to who this was and why did she suddenly lash out at him out of nowhere. He was sure about one thing though. She's a student at Emberwind Secondary School.

—The same school as Meliora. Was there a connection?

"What the hell-"

"Shut up!"

Connie's yell was overlapped by her rage filled voice. Her grip on his fabric tightened to the point where her knuckles began to turn white.

"I'm glad you already know my name. Saves me the trouble of introducing myself before I kick your ass. That messy hag's the one who must have told you"

She had a slender body, yet she still had surprising strength. He could feel that through the wall that was slowly cracking behind him.

When comparing her to Mel. She was slightly taller than her and they had the same body type. However, in an important area Tessa was less…Developed.

_I'm guessing she must be lower on the rankings_

Her sudden transgression scraped the idea of her being just a guest in this hotel. She must have been an assassin as well as a Sardes employee just like him. She also must rank as low as him in this place's hierarchy since she wasn't in the office when he arrived.

Nonetheless, he could not allow himself to be mistreated by a kid who was still in high school. He finished that six months ago.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem?"

Tessa snapped.

"My problem is you! You think you can just waltz in here, put your dirty hands on Melli and think you can get away with it just like that?! Huh?! You piece of shit!"

"What? She's the one who—"

"Shut up!"

She slammed him harder against the wall, causing the cracks to increase, almost making the wall unstable. Connie still felt no pain.

"I don't want that excuse. You don't get to make excuses! Doesn't matter what your reasons were. Fact is, you messed with my friend. I'm not going to let that slide"

"What the hell…"

Connie said in a low menacing voice. After everything he's been through. No way was he going to let some random girl disrespect him like this.

"Get your hand off me"

Her lips curled into a smirk.

"If you don't like it, then do something about it, choom"

With a growl, Connie grabbed her wrist and tried to push her off. However, she was way faster to react than he had expected.

She twisted out of his grip with ease and just like that, she had spun around him and swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing into the floor.

"Is that really the best you can do? Melli really wasted her time on a bum like you"

Tessa sneered as she looked down on him with disdain written all over her face.

Connie gritted his teeth and quickly scrambled to his feet. Clearly attacking her head on wasn't going to work.

—Still though, was he really planning to fight this kid?

She had proven herself to be skilled with that exchange. Which further solidified his suspicions. With that in mind, weren't there rules that forbid conflict between workers or something?

With Mel, it was training. With her, it doesn't look like that.

"What? Are you jealous she's spending more time with me?"

Tessa's eyes narrowed very dangerously as she dismissed him in a low voice.

"Pssh. As if"

She said as she began to advance towards him, in a rather aggressive stance. This forced Connie to tense up, as he raised his fists, preparing himself for anything she might throw at him.

_There's no avoiding it_

However, just as Tessa raised her fist, a sudden voice rang out.

"Now, now, Tessa. I think that's enough fooling around"

The two of them froze.

When they turned to look. They saw a middle-aged man causally walking towards them. He had tousled shoulder length hair and a relaxed expression on his face. Despite the situation, he looked completely unbothered by it.

"Uncle Oz…"

Tessa's voice had lost its edge, and she quickly lowered her fist.

—Oswald Reid Galloway

Connie recognized him from the main office. He stood among the Operations Managers that Lysandra was introducing to him.

"What are you doing here?"

Tessa asked.

Oswald walked over to the wall Connie was shoved against, then caressed his hand over the surface cracks.

He sighed.

"Shouldn't you be in school? Daddy won't be happy to hear you've been skipping classes again"

Tessa's eyes widened in alarm, and she immediately took a step back from Connie.

"You wouldn't…"

She muttered, seemingly looking more like a child afraid of being scolded than the delinquent she was moments ago.

"I would"

Oswald quickly replied with a faint smile.

Tessa glared at Connie one last time before gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Fine"

She grumbled as she shoved her hands into her coat pockets. She shot Oswald a grudging look before stalking off down the hallway.

With Tessa gone. Oswald raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze at the young man, who was still catching his breath.

"So, what was that all about?"

"I'm not sure. She just said I hurt her friend and wanted to pummel me for it. It's a bit unfair but I get where's she coming from"

Connie muttered while rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the wall.

Friends being protective of each other. He understood it, at some point, he was like that himself. Until he lost contact with his so-called friends after graduation.

Also, it was surprising a girl like Mel had friends in the first place. She seemed like the type who wanted to be left alone and drown themselves in books.

"Is that so…"

When Oswald removed his hand from the wall, the cracks were gone, as if he had never crashed into it. Then he proceeded to walk towards him.

"Dealing with hormonal teenagers is a handful. It's good you didn't entertain her antics. That shows real maturity"

Oswald said as he patted Connie's shoulder before continuing to walk.

_Well, I was about to before you showed up_

Connie thought to himself.

He looked at the now unscathed wall and immediately concluded that Oswald is also a Diviner. At this point, he didn't even bother to question anything. Besides he had a meeting to attend.

"Oh, right. Excuse me…"

Oswald stopped for a moment and turned his head back at Connie

"Thanks for that and also. Can you show me the way to the main office?"

***

Connie stood near a heavy wooden door.

For a moment, he hesitated. Thanks to Oswald's directions, he had managed to navigate through the halls of the first floor and finally reach the main office.

"Here we go"

He took a deep breath before pushing it open, then he stepped inside.

The office that greeted him was much more sophisticated than the last time he was here. Perhaps then it was because he was panicking.

It was spacious with a high ceiling and tall windows that allowed sunlight to pour in. One part of the room was lined up with a dark oak bookshelf filled to the brim with books and the side had a collection of antics lined up like the vase he attempted to use as a weapon.

Close to the windows. There was a large imposing desk that was occupied by a woman with long flowing blonde hair. Her sharp silver eyes were framed by sleek glasses. From what he could see, she wore a tailored black suit.

The calm expression she had on didn't seem to leave her face from the last he saw her. It was one that gave Connie the sense that she was a cold calculating woman. Her name, Lysandra Eve Sardes. The very person who held the lives of his parents on one hand and Connie's leash on the other.

Besides her stood an old man fit in a butler's attire. His expression was neutral, as if it can't be fazed by anything.

Sitting casually on the couch in the lounging area of the room was a familiar face. Leaning back with one leg crossed over the other, it was Fern. Like the last time he saw him, that unwavering grin was still there.

The formality of his surroundings made Connie look completely out of place in the otherwise pristine office. His hair was messy, and he wore a grey hoodie and jeans, his sneakers weren't worth the mention. His clothes paled in comparison to the fancy ones they had on.

"Good morning to both of you"

He bowed his head. Like Jinah had shown him many times before in the past.

The clothes they had on didn't bother him. Except for the fact he stood out in the group.

"Welcome back Conrad. I trust you are settling in nicely?"

Lysandra said in a smooth and controlled voice.

"I'm managing. Thank you for asking"

He had to compensate for his lack of formality somehow.

"Good. We can get into business. I called you here so we could discuss the way forward. But before going any further, step closer"

Connie nodded but before he could move. Fern suddenly wrapped his arm around the young's shoulders in a way that was both friendly and overbearing.

"Hey, hey now. I couldn't help but feel left out. I'm right here you know. You didn't forget about me right?"

Connie blinked, a little taken aback by his attitude. At first, he didn't pay much to it, but after learning he is Mel's older brother, he was dumbfounded.

Especially since their personalities were completely different. Were siblings supposed to have close to similar personalities? Since he is an only child, he wasn't aware of how it is supposed to work.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to offend you. I shall make it a point to greet you in the future"

Fern burst into laughter at Connie's sudden formality. That ticked him off a bit.

"Oh, come on. Don't be so modest. You can be with her and the old man over there. But you can relax with me. After all, you were impressive against my baby sister"

"Fern, enough!"

"Yes mam"

He immediately straightened up and dropped his arm from Connie's shoulders before settling back down on the couch. But that grin never left his face.

Connie watched the interaction between the two in silence, not clear in what he should say.

"Sorry about that"

The moment Lysandra returned her gaze to him. He instinctively felt the need to apologize for something, though he wasn't quite sure what, but her face seemed to demand it. Also, what happened to his formality?

Lysandra waved a hand dismissively.

"There's no need to apologize. Now, let's pick up where we left off"

Connie approached the table, she extended her hand and offered him a card. It looked plain and blank on the front and on its back, it had the insignia of the State Court, their country's governing body.

Though that alone, it was clearly important.

"That card is an Assassin License, a D-Grade Enchanted that determines your rank through reading your Aura. Assassins have five ranks—"

"No need. Miss Mae already filled me in on that"

Connie cut through her words while he was feeling the smooth surface of the card between his fingers.

"—oh, uh, is, is that so? Then, is there anything else she informed you about?"

There was surprise in her voice, maybe a hint of panic also. He shook his head as he turned his gaze from the card to Lysandra.

"Just that. Enchanted and Aura, I haven't heard of those"

Lysandra sighed softly.

She motioned for him to lean in closer and folded both of her hands into fists. An almost imperceptible shimmer of light erupted around one of her fists. It was subtle but unmistakably, there was a glowing outline that pulsed with energy.

"Can you see it?"

"Yea, I can see something"

"Good"

Lysandra motioned her fists closer to Connie's forehead. She followed by flicking her finger at it with the fist that didn't have a glowing outline. He felt next to nothing from that, except for the sensation of skin contact.

"Huh?"

She flicked her finger again but this time with the one that pulsed with energy. This sent a rush of pain that caused him to stumble over while covering his forehead with his own hands.

"Ouch! What the hell was that?!"

"This Skill is known as [Shroud]. Since you can see it. Meliora did a splendid job. Now then. Pay careful attention. This is important"

Her lips curled into a smile as her voice began to take a more instructive tone.