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Convergence of Realms

Nearing the end of the 20th century, all across Earth, Rifts started appearing in three different colours; green, red, or blue. With a population of eight billion, one millionth of the human population, has had their souls altered by a Rift. Those altered by the Rifts were named Hunters, and were ranked from E to S. Their bodies enhanced to superhuman levels, granting them supernatural powers, and a Mark across their right palm respective of the Rift that altered them, which also summoned their Familiars. Loyal companions that aided the Hunters in battle. Each Rift was a gateway to another realm of magic, wonder and impossibilities. Filled with legendary treasures, ancient artifacts, magical items, endless resources, and Mana.

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79 Chs

Zeke and Moon’s examination.

Zeke and Moon's motel room was compact, fitting two single beds, with a singular TV in the middle. A classic motel room, that shouted, cheap and frugal. Moon laid on her bed staring at the ceiling with peeling paint. Rays of sunlight seeped into the room. Her mind repeated the same memory. Weaver blitzing past her barrier with ease and smile across his face. She stared at her left hand. 'He got through so easily. He didn't even break a sweat moving past it. I couldn't even see him hit Zeke either. Is the difference between me and an S grade Hunter that different?' She let out a sigh rubbing her face. She sat up looking at the dreary room. She needed to do something to take her mind off of it.

Moon stared into the recording of her new phone. Her hair a balloon of frizz, over her white tank top. "It's been ten days since, Chairman Weaver ordered us to wait." "It's been less than twelve hours." Zeke said in the background. She ignored him. "Food and water are running low." "They're gonna restock the mini fridge tomorrow." "I can't remember the last time, I had a full meal." "Last night, when you 'mistakenly' ate half of my steak and chips." A vein bulged on her forehead. "I don't know, when I'll find my next meal." "You just ordered take out." She took a pillow from her back, tossing it and shouting at Zeke. "You are ruining this for me!" He laid on his bed, scrolling through his phone, with Red asleep at his feet. With his free hand he threw the Grimoire across the room, recalling it to his hand, before it hit. She laid on her bed blowing out a long sigh. "This is sooo booooooring!" She groaned.

"Then do something." "I was, until you ruined it." "I meant something productive." She sat up frowning at him. "And you're doing that? I know you're just scrolling through memes right now." "Correction. I was scrolling through memes. Now I'm looking for any Agency that's gonna hire us." "Zeke, any Agency that's willing to hire us. Isn't an Agency we want to work at." Zeke let out a sigh, dropping the phone, and resting his arm over his eyes. "I know, but what other choice do we have? Edelgard can't help us anymore. Unless you want to freelance, and get taxed at 50%." "Hell no! I say we start our own Agency." Zeke peeked out from his arm, giving her an incredulous stare. "Really? With just us two?" "Why not? All Agencies start out small." "Not two people small." "I mean who says we can't?" "Who's going to do our taxes?" "We'll pay someone." "Who is going to protect our treasure when we go through a rift?" "We'll stash it somewhere SUPER secret." Zeke sat up groaning. "Okay, last question, and I probably should have asked this first." "Which one of us, is going to be reserving Rifts for us? Because everyone else has a 24 hour team dedicated to it." "We'll have Red do it." Zeke stared at her sleeping away, before looking back at Moon, with a tired expression. "She's been like that for the last 5 hours by the way."

Moon reeled back taking a deep breath. Zeke fluffed her pillow, walking over, and holding it near her face. She rammed her face through the pillow. "GOD FUCKING DAMN IT. PIECE OF SHIT. MOTHERFUCKING TAXES! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed through the pillow. After a few seconds, she pulled back, heaving and exhausted. He tossed her pillow onto her bed, climbing back onto his own. Moon fell back onto her bed, curling into a ball and pouting. "Hmmmmm." Zeke let out a low mumble. She shot up excited and filled with energy. "You have an idea!" "I don't-" "You did your 'I have an idea hmmmmm'." "I...I do that?" "Yes!" She exclaimed. "You always do that when you have an idea in your head. Now what is it?" She asked bouncing up and down on her bed. "If I said-" "If you say rob a bank. I'll buy a pet tarantula." "Geeez. Most people don't default to the nuclear option as a threat." "I'm half Russian. Now come on. What are you thinking?"

Zeke stroked his chin, showing her a webpage on his phone. "What is this?" She asked. "Without Agencies, we're taxed at 50% rather than the standard 20%, but that 20% is only to pay off essentials. Wagons, rations, Rift reservation. Then we also have to split the earnings with everyone involved. The Tanks, the Spellcasters, Healers, Damage dealers. With just us two, even at 50%." "We would be reaping all the rewards ourselves." She said with a smile stretching across her face. "So, what are you planning? Rent a wagon and take all the treasure we can fit on it?" He shook his head. "Rental prices are too high to net us anything back. Plus we don't know how long, we'll be on the other side." "How much is it, to rent a midsize, for a day anyway?" "$3000, excluding insurance." "What!? That's a rip off! It's just a wooden box with four wheels." Red frowned using her tail to cover her ears. "We don't load up on treasure or any gold we find." "Why not? You heard the Chairman. We're not gonna get taxed on anything on our way back." "Exactly the point. The thing that always screws people over isn't; gold, jewellery, gems or relics, but weapons and armour, and spell pages."

Moon cocked an eyebrow at him. She could see the gears in his brain turning and setting into motion. "Normally bringing a weapon, set of armour, or a spell page would normally make any Hunter broke." "And us super broke." "Chairman Weaver, is giving us a single out, for this one trip. The best way to abuse it." "Is to load up on gear instead, and sell it all to the highest bidder!" He looked at her confused. "No. You James Bond villain." She frowned at him, crossing her arms. "We deck ourselves out, and Freelance at Edelgard's Agency." "Can we do that?" "We simply charge her at the same rate. We split the rewards 25% each, Edelgard gets 50% for her Agency, and we can continue to afford hot water." "That is an excellent plan Mr Chen!" Weaver said through the phone. "YAH!" Both of them let out a yelp, with Zeke dropping the phone. They stared at the phone laying face down on the bed. "What the fuck was that?" Moon asked. "A recording maybe?" "Do you two always answer the phone like this?" The two scurried off the bed.

Red pouted and growled, waking up annoyed. She flipped the phone up, seeing Weaver's face. "Oh." He said pleasantly surprised. "Hello little one. Can you point me to Mr Chen and Miss Kim for me?" Red nodded curling up, letting the phone rest on her body, and facing it towards the two of them. "Cute familiar." He chuckled. "Chairman Weaver...Have you been listening to us the whole time?" Zeke asked. "I've just arrived in the office, and I've been reading your into your files. I would for you both to come in, to answer my questions." "I would just like to say, it was his idea to abuse your offer sir." Zeke panned over slowly, glaring at Moon. "You traitorous ass-" "I in no way wanted any part of it." "Oh, okay. I'll only give Zeke the offer then." "No wait!" She squealed, grabbing the phone to her face. "That was a lie, I'm greedy as hell!" "Wow, you fold fast." "Shut up." She snapped at Zeke. "Only a joke, Miss Kim. The offer still stands. Please get dressed you two, the car is waiting outside for you." He smiled, before ending the call. "What ca-" A honk rung out from the parking lot.

The two of them peered out the window cautiously, seeing a man in a black suit, standing outside a black pristine sedan. "That man works fast." Zeke said in awe. "How long do you think he was listening for? Do you think he heard me making that video?" Moon asked. The man in the black suit, opened a door holding out a large paper bag of McDonalds. Her jaw dropped mortified. "Yeah. Yeah I'm gonna say he's been listening to us the whole time." Zeke said nodding. Her face went bright red, as she stormed into the bathroom. "That's an invasion of our privacy and I will not stand for it!" "As Chairman of Australian Hunter Agencies. I am obligated and required to know where all Hunters are in my country." Weaver said, the transmission turning off shortly after. "Will you cover that damn thing!" She snapped slamming the bathroom door shut. "Why are you angry at me? I'm not the one who made the embarrassing video...." Zeke trailed off, taking a gulp. He took the phone to his mouth. "Were you watching 'everything' I did on this phone?' He whispered. There was no response. Zeke let out a sigh of relief. The black screen, turned on for a second with a no and wink emoticon. "Moon! We're getting new phones!"

The two of them rode in complete silence afraid to say anything that would be recorded. Moon wore a white dress shirt over black jeans, her hair luscious hair tied into a pony tail, her makeup perfect as always. Zeke never changed in appearance, always dressed in clothing that had lost all monetary value, his hair handled with no care. The two were escorted to Weaver's front door. Zeke took a step behind Moon. "What are you doing?" She whispered. "You go first, and check the ceiling for me. If it's black and gold. I'm waiting outside." "Are you serious right now?" She hissed. "Yes!" She rolled her eyes grabbing by the arm. "Moon! Moon! Let go!" He hissed, trying to pry her fingers. Weaver opened the door himself, wearing an exquisite black silk suit. "Worry not, Mr Chen. Orianna is not the room." Zeke stood completely still. Moon let out a sigh, craning down to look at the ceiling. "It's white." He let out a sigh of relief. "Really not a fan of spiders are you?" He said walking back to his seat. "Understatement of the year." Moon said sarcastically. "He has mega arachnophobia." "Hey. It's not a phobia. Completely rational to be afraid of those things." He said shuddering.

"The reports say, you were covered with centipedes from head to toe, that did not disturb you more?" Weaver asked, sliding into his seat. "It's also irrational, for a Hunter to have a phobia. Especially one, whose only power is to be hard." "Alright. Fine it's a phobia, but we all have one. You have Trypophobia." "Not recognised as a real phobia." "You are now picturing a cluster of tiny holes spreading across your skin." Moon tensed and shuddered. "Why!" She snapped. "That's how I feel about spiders." The two continued to bicker and banter standing in front of Weaver. He smiled at them, taking out a tablet.

He cleared his throat grabbing their attention. The two of them stood at attention. "Firstly, I must apologise for the lodging. I understand it is less than comfortable. I normally would have had you two in separate rooms, but Edelgard has stated that you two are...and I'm quoting here. 'An inseparable pair of idiots that are sexually disgusted by each other.'" Moon and Zeke both nodded impressed at Edelgard's perfect description. "So, the accounting team, felt it cheaper to put you in the same room." "It's fine. We've been living together, since we were babies." Moon said. Weaver reclined in his seat. "Really? And in all that time, neither of you have developed romantic feelings for one another?" "Ew! Don't be gross!" Moon snapped. "Sir, with all due respect, the spider is a disgusting image enough." Zeke frowned. "It is good to see Edelgard has done some stellar reporting." He stood up swiping the tablet up.

"You two lived in the same neighbourhood correct?" "Next door neighbours." Moon said. "You two did not go to a Hunter academy. Why is that?" "Parent's couldn't afford it." Moon said. "I couldn't afford it." Weaver's interest was piqued at Zeke's peculiar choice of words. "Miss Kim. Could you please wait outside. I would like to speak with Mr Chen alone." Moon cautiously left the room. "At age eight, you were reported for aggravated assault. In where you 'scalped' the victim. What was that for Mr Chen?" He hesitated to answer. "You will not get into any trouble. I simply want to get an understanding of these police reports." "Moon's Hunter physiology hadn't kicked in yet. I found some girls pulling and cutting her hair. I showed them the same kindness." Weaver nodded flicking another page on the tablet. "Age nine. Petty theft of a chocolate matcha cake. Care to explain what happened there?" "Moon's parents, forgot her birthday. I went to go get her one. Didn't really have money as a nine year old." "And you figured, with your enhanced physiology, you could get away with it?"

"I did get away with it." Weaver cocked an eyebrow at him, showing the tablet to Zeke. "This says something different." "I came back the next day to try and pay it back slowly. Shop owners weren't about to enter into a loan with a kid, and reported me instead." Weaver nodded impressed, scrolling the tablet once more. "Age 10." Zeke clenched his fists and jaw. "Zeke Chen, at approximately 3:45am is charged with attempted murder, and assault with harm to cause grievous bodily harm. Care to elaborate for me?" "It's in the file." He growled. "I know it is. I want to hear your side." Zeke forced himself to relax, unfurling his fists. "I'm sure in that file, it shows what a stand up role model, my father is." "Yes, I gathered that from his law suit against you." "Well, let's just say he had a frequent tendency to test his strength against his children and wife." Weaver said nothing, leaning on his table. "On that particular day. Moon was at home sick. My mum being the decent neighbourly human being, decided to make her a nice homemade chicken soup." Zeke's voice started to shake, suppressing the anger swirling inside.

"I came home from school. Mum and him are going off at each other like always, so I left for Moon's house." "What were they saying?" "The usual stuff. 'Stop giving those monsters my food.' 'He's your son.'" "And what caused you to attack him? It sounds like you were no stranger to his...temper. So what did he do to cross that line?" "He wanted a late night snack, so he woke my mum up, asking for chicken. Can you guess, what happened to the chicken?" "It was all used up for Moon." Zeke tapped his nose, giving a glum smile, and nodding. "Got him so mad. That he decided to not only show her what equal rights are, but equal lefts." Weaver reeled back with wide eyes, concerned at his jovial attitude. "Brother got involved next hearing the screams, and then didn't hear anything for a while. Tends to happen when your ear drum explodes." He chuckled. "Then I guess he wanted his chicken back, so he decided to pay Moon a visit, and forgot I was there." "What happened next?" "My little sister called the authorities, and he thought he was going to find a sleeping girl to beat up."

Weaver nodded. "I see. This is when-" "I know, what you're doing sir." He interrupted. "You're thinking I activated my Demon's blood, but I didn't. My hair has been black the day I was born. My eyes have never turned crimson. And the only time I've made a room chilly, was by turning on the air-con." "Never in your life-" "You can have Moon confirm it as well. We've tried everything to turn it on." "Such as?" "When we were 15, we went sky diving and I ripped myself free at 15,000 feet. Hit the ground at terminal velocity. Didn't feel a thing, or even lose a strand of hair." "No rush of adrenaline?" "Nothing sir." "What else did you two try?" He cupped his chin. "Hmmm, she's tried to drown me, set me on fire, stab me, shoot me." He looked at him concerned that they would test such methods on him. "Drowning works in killing me, but when the others didn't work." He turned back glaring at the door for a second. "She tried a psychological approach." He cocked an eyebrow curious. "She found a Huntsman spider and tossed it on my face." "Well they're harmless." "They disgusting!" He snapped. Weaver chuckled tucking the tablet away.

"That was all the questions I needed answered. Please follow me." As he opened the door Moon, fell onto his chest. Her ear clearly pressed against the door trying to eavesdrop. She looked up mortified and bright red. He looked down at her cocking an eyebrow. "Were you trying to eavesdrop?" "Would you believe me, if I said I just wanted to listen your heart beat?" "Who the fuck would believe that?" Zeke asked. She stood up peeking around Weaver. "You shut up!" her voice cracking. "Come on you two. We have much to discuss." Both of them stood awkwardly behind him, mouthing to each other. 'What'd he ask about?' Moon mouthed. Zeke stroked the air above his head. Moon nodded, completely understanding him. As they left the elevator, Weaver said nothing taking them to the training facility. 'What's he want?' She mouthed. He shrugged. "I want to test your abilities." He said without turning around. Both of them jumped back startled. He spun around giving them a smirk. "Can S grade Hunters, hear mouths moving?" Moon asked."This one can." He said wagging his finger for them to follow.

Zeke and Moon stood in awe at the gigantic steel stadium. "Holy fuck!" Zeke said. "Why the fuck is this place so fucking big!?" Moon exclaimed. "This place is designed to handle the promotional test for B grade Hunters." They nodded, looking around the vast room. Weaver took of his jacket, folding it gentle over the railing, before walking into the centre. "Mr Chen, please step forward." "Wait. You're doing the testing?" "Do you see anyone else here?" "But!-" Moon shoved him in. "Oh, you'll be fine. He can't hurt you." "You go in then." "Fuck that! He asked for you." "Don't worry this will be a simple test. Your Hunter Licences came from an outdated agency. I'm simply here to reassess you both." "See. Simple test. Now get in there, and tell me what you learn." She whispered. He growled at her, being shoved in.

Zeke bowed at Weaver, keeping his arms by his side. "Are you going to raise your fists?" "You can clearly move faster than me. I'm not going to hit you." "Doesn't mean you shouldn't try." "Yeah Zeke. Try a little." She called out. He shot her a glare, before taking his fighting stance. Weaver looked at him intrigued. Zeke adopted a Peek-a-boo boxing stance. Elbows touching, fists raised to sit below his eye level, arms tucked in, and his body curled in. He begun to weave his head, moving his body in a figure eight motion, slowly edging his way to Weaver. Zeke threw a quick combination attack. His punches only struck the air. 'Clean punches, good form and technique. Diligent training.' Weaver thought, effortlessly dodging all of Zeke's punches. 'Let's test strength.' He stood completely still, letting Zeke's hook connect with his jaw. "WOOO! YOU GOT HIM!" Moon cheered. Completely unfazed by Zeke's attack he smirked at him. Zeke leapt away startled. Moon gasped. "Oh shit. you hit him!"

Weaver rubbed his chin. "Not bad. Good form and technique. Your strength can always be addressed later." He smirked. "Oh no! He's giving you the villain smile." "I can see that!" Zeke barked. Weaver wagged his finger in the air. His nails now a shimmering gold. Zeke felt something pull in his hair. He ruffled his hair finding thin and fine golden threads. "What the hell? Moon is this your hair!?" He asked holding them up for her to see. "Why would my hair be on you right now?" "Then what the hell is this?"

Weaver's index finger twitched. The golden thread wrapped around Zeke's forehead. "What the-" Making a fist the thread tightened, only creasing his skin slightly. "AH! Is this is a spider web!?" He screamed looking around frantically. 'Incredible. It's not even hurting him in the slightest.' He unfurled his hand and the thread loosened. Zeke frantically scrubbed his hair and head, disgusted by the sensation of webbing on his skin. "Mr. Chen. What would you consider your weaknesses in a fight to be?" "Um...I have no offensive capabilities, other than my Hunter physiology. I can be disorientated pretty easily, and I'm susceptible to suffocation." "Let's test that then." "I'm sorry?" With a swift twirl of his hand, Zeke was turned into a golden twine roll, and strung into the air. His eyes widened filled with pure dread. "Hey wa-EEEEET!" Weaver tugged his arm back, spinning Zeke with lightning fast speed. His screams spun around the room for a good minute. Moon watched on concerned as Zeke came to a slow stop.

His gaze wandered around the room, unable to stay still. "I...woooooo...I'm gonna be sick..." He tried to stifle a gag. "Colour me impressed Mr Chen. You're barely inconvenienced after spinning at 5000RPM." "Please...don't...do that...again..." He said still spinning slowly in the air. "You said, you were also weak to suffocation." With a flick of his hand the threads slid up around Zeke's throat. He didn't respond to the threads wrapped around him. He looked up, still trying regain his composure. "This is strangulation. Common mistake." He said hanging from the air, still slowly spinning. "Good to know." He said, taking out an ornate golden Zippo lighter, from his pocket. The small stream of fire, chased up a nearly invisible line of web, leading to Zeke. His face was engulfed with fire and he fell down patting the embers on his clothes, completely unscathed. 'Incredible. I didn't even burn off a single hair.' "That was so cool!"

"Could you at least be a little bit concerned, that he just lit me on fire!" Zeke snapped. "Oh. Q.Y.B!" Moon said shaking her head. "Q.Y.B? I haven't heard that one before. What does that mean?" "Quit your bitchin'." Moon said. "Are you done beating me yet?" Zeke asked, checking his singed shirt. "One last test." He said tossing the lighter to Zeke. Instinctively catching it. His hand sizzled, and Zeke reeled back squealing. "MOTHERFUC-" The lighter stopped on the ground before being pulled back to Weaver. "What was that!?" He exclaimed, blowing on his red hand. "Seems like you need to add Consecrated weaponry to that list." "I've been touched by Consecrated things before, they've never burnt me like that." "Then they weren't done properly." He said tucking the lighter back into his pocket. 'HE'S SO COOL!' Moon squealed inside, being careful to not show it. "Miss Kim. If you would like to trade places. I would like to test you as well."

She psyched herself up, slapping her face, taking deep rapid huffs. As Zeke walked past her, he whispered into her ear. "Ignore his fingers, pay attention to his wrists." Weaver smiled eaves dropping on him. 'Did he figure something out about my ability, with such a small interaction?' She nodded taking a classic Tai Chi stance. Both feet planted firmly into the ground, and both palms open. She stood with her right palm cocked back. 'She's trained in a martial art to compliment her powers. He's trained a style of fighting best used for absorbing and countering. Someone's been setting her on the right path. Or-' He glanced to Zeke, still checking his tattered shirt. 'He's got a sharp mind.' "Should I attack first or?" She asked getting his attention. "Please do. I've already tested your defensive capabilities." She clenched her jaw. She wasn't ready last time, this time she would show that her powers could keep up.

"Alright, then take this!" She took a step forward, planting her leg down. She released a giant concussive blast from her palm. The force dissipated instantly in front of her, with the sound of strings wobbling in the air. As if someone had plucked every string in piano at once. She stood there dumbfounded, her jaw hanging in the wind. The attack didn't even reach Weaver. "What the f-" "He's a got a bunch of webbing in front of you." "How!? I can see him clearly!" She asked looking back and forth. "How should I know! Just find the anchor points and blast it there." 'A sharp mind it is.'

"That's enough Miss Kim. I have what I need." "No wait! I want a redo on my defence!" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "I wasn't ready last time. I can make my barrier way stronger." He sighed, adjusting his wrist cuff. "Very well. Raise your barrier." "I would just like to say. That every time a person does that sigh, the person on the receiving end, normally gets their ass beat." "Shut up!" She barked, raising her left palm. She took a bracing stance. "You won't get past this." "Doubt!" Moon snarled. Weaver approached her barrier slowly, putting his hand into the barrier, he felt all his strength being sapped. No that wasn't it. It was as if there was a force rejecting every single one of his actions. Mirroring him to perfect. It pushed against him as he pushed, and pulled when he pulled. "An interesting power, you have Miss Kim." She smirked and scoffed at him. "Pretty strong huh?" "I said interesting, not strong." He said, pushing through the barrier. Her eyes widened in pure shock, as his hand slipped through her barrier and clasped her wrist for a second. "How ?" She gasped shocked. "How are you doing that? Can all S grades do that?" "This one can." He smirked, walking back to his jacket.

"Come along, the physical test is done. We have one last test to conduct." He slipped his jacket on, and strolled out with a fast pace to his step. Zeke and Moon followed along, seeing no one, but them in the building. "Is no one here today?" Zeke asked. "What do you mean, Mr Chen?" "Well, other than the security guards. Where are like the receptionists? Or the extremely pissed and tired workers. I mean this is the Head of all Agencies. I expected to see at least one person putting a cigarette out on their head, to deal with a headache." "This building is solely for B and A grade Hunters to operate out of." "So, we're getting special treatment!?" Moon said excitedly. "In a sense. You two are a fascinating pair, that warranted further investigation." He took them into a large empty room, with a single floating clear crystal ball in the middle. Slightly larger than a basketball. "Do you two, know what this is?" Both of them shrugged, shaking their heads. "No idea. Some kind of magic crystal ball, I guess." "Great guess Zeke, we couldn't tell that from its shape."

"Hey, at least I tried to answer him." "It was clearly a rhetorical question." "It was not a rhetorical question." Weaver chimed in. "Then my guess, is also crystal ball, but I was thinking it first, before he said it." Zeke rolled his eyes. "This is a device to ensure that someone is actually a Hunter. It lets us see how much Mana from the Rifts, have affected your Souls." "We have a device like that?" Moon asked confused. "How does it work?" Zeke asked. "The device is only ever used for two reasons. It works by simply having the Marked one touch the ball. Please place your hand on it one at a time." Zeke went first placing his hand on the ball. A white fire engulfed the ball, with a pronounced, yet thin red outline. "The white represents your Soul, and I'm sure you can guess about the red." "Ooo,ooo, my turn!" Moon bounced up and down excitedly. She placed her hand on the ball, with a similar appearance only with a green outline. Her smile faded instantly. "Well that's disappointing. I figured mine would look way cooler than Zeke's at least." "Didn't realize this was a competition." He said frowning at her.

Weaver chuckled approaching ball. "Do not worry, Miss Kim. For every time you travel through a green Rift. More Mana will alter your soul, and you will naturally become stronger. As for you Mr Chen. Do you know how Demon Hunters, become more powerful?" "Uhhh...I can't remember the whole script of it. Something about getting power at any cost." Moon rolled her eyes, sighing. "It is in a Demon's nature to gain power and influence, no matter the cost, and they seek to destroy all those mightier than themselves." "What she said." "This is why you should have paid attention in class." "I didn't think I would ever need to remember that." "That is your nature, I meant more about the process." They shook their heads. "Never had access to a red Rift, so we never took the course." Zeke said. "You become stronger through battle. When your Demon's Blood defeats a worthy opponent, it will claim their souls as their own." "That's pretty fucking metal." Moon said. "Alright, that's good to know for the future, if it ever happens, but can I ask. What's the point of showing us this?"

"Because I have bad news and good news. Which one-" "Good." They said in sync. He reeled back surprised at their sync. "Okay then. May I ask why you both chose good first? Most people go with bad." "Zeke explains it the best." "There's no point in getting good news after you've been shat on." Weaver nodded impressed at their idea. "Well. That is depressingly accurate." The two gave a glum nod. "I am granting you both a tax exemption on the completion of this mission. On top of that, I am wiping the debts from all your violations and legal fees." "Buuuuuut?" They both asked lurching forward. "I'm demoting you both back to E grade hunters." "WHAT!?" Moon shouted. "Aaaand there's the 'but' full of shit." Zeke sighed, throwing his hands up annoyed. "I do apologise, but the Hunter's world committee has issued a retest. You two aren't the only ones being demoted back down." "But why back to E grade? I worked hard to get my rank." Moon pouted. Zeke patted her shoulder. "There, there." "I mean, I get why you would get demoted, you're useless in a fight. But me? I'm useful." His expression turned to annoyed instantly. "How's your own dick taste?"

"Please understand given your powers and strengths. You two normally would have been a D grade Hunters with the previous requirements. However with these new rulings in place, you both fit into the E grade." "Well, what are the new requirements to being say a....C grade?" Zeke asked, no longer consoling Moon. "You must own a weapon from the Rift, a set of armour, and be bonded to at least one spell page." "WHAT!?" They both yelled. "That's a crock of shit!" Moon shouted. "Unfortunately those are the new rules implemented, as of yesterday. We are slammed with having to reassess a lot of Hunters. So I do apologise to be the bearer of bad news." "Wait! Does that mean we lose our Hunter benefits as well?" Zeke asked. He gave the, a glum nod. Both of them let out a sigh, slumping over. "The car is waiting for you outside, I'm sure a green Rift will open soon enough." The two trudged out. Moon turned around. "Before we go. Out of curiosity. What does a S grade Hunter's Soul look like?" Zeke also spun around intrigued to see it.

Weaver smiled placing his hand onto the crystal ball. The entire room was engulfed in raging emerald fire. The two of them scanned the room frantically with their eyes, their jaws swinging in the wind. He removed his hand sauntering out. He left them frozen in awe, closing the door behind them. "HOLY FUCK! DID YOU SEE THAT!?" Moon shouted. "I COULD TASTE THAT!" "We gotta get our Souls to look like that!" Weaver chuckled over hearing their conversation. He took the lighter out of his pocket inspecting the exterior, making a phone call to Edelgard. "Chairman Weaver, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "Edelgard, what's the highest stress test, you placed Zeke's powers under?" "Uh...I believe it was all in my reports, sir." "My apologies Edelgard, I should have been more specific. What's the highest stress test of Consecrated weaponry, he's been put under?" "We placed him a bath of Holy Water, he just thought the water was a little too hot for his liking. "Interesting." He tucked his lighter away. "Thank you Edelgard, I'll be in touch."