Chapter 19 Prey

From Miya's point of view,

After the battlefield had calmed down, I poked my head out of the dome. That entire battle was intense. It felt like the world was ending because of them.

The massive beast was super strong and super big. It can even breathe fire. It doesn't matter anymore since Chrys and the others took it out just fine.

I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Chrys and the others weren't just a joke. Their strength is real, very real. They might have a bit of a goofy personality, but they could get things done.

I could feel myself getting closer to being with my parents again. Soon Miss Lilly stood up as well, and soon Rose and Amber followed.

"Okay, it looks like it's done," Miss Lilly said, clapping her hands.

"Let's go meet up with them." Miss Lilly added

The three of us nodded in unison. We all got out of the dome and followed Miss Lilly. She led us onto the edge of the cliff.

"Origami – Orochi"

Like what she did earlier, Miss Lilly's coat turned into a paper-like sheet, which then folded into metal snake heads. Soon after, it wrapped around us. She hooked one of the free snake heads to a solid rock. She lowered us all down to the ground, including herself.

She let go of the snake heads, turning them back into her coat. We continued our walk towards the huge dead beast on the ground.

We first saw Miss Hela, who is on top of the beast, hacking at it with her axe. Meanwhile, Chrys and V are on the side of the beast, seemingly arguing about something.

Now tell me, what do you know about my room? No, better yet, how do you know what is inside my room?" V questioned Chrys while wearing an extremely agitated expression.

"I don't know, maybe try closing your door after you open it." Chrys answered with a very smug expression.

"If it was open, why did you look inside?" V tried to grab Chrys by the collar of his clothes, but it failed thanks to the invisible shield around him.

I didn't want to look inside. I tried closing the door, but that "thing" is like, impossible to not notice. Chrys said, with a slightly disgusted face. What are they talking about, I wonder?

"Can you two stop being annoying and help Hela?" Lilly interrupted their conversation.

"You're the one to talk about being annoying!" V replied to her.

V freed Chrys from his interrogation and laid down beside the massive beast. Chrys turned to us and asked. "You guys OK?"

"Huh? "Yeah!" I replied, after I checked myself.

"A few scratches, but that's pretty much it!" Rose answered.

I'm also good. But, can you please tell her to stop hugging me? " Amber said, as she turned to look at Miss Lilly, who was glaring at her with a smile on her face.

"Hmm..." Chrys stared at Amber's face and at Miss Lilly's, seemingly pondering.

"... Nah! Chrys refused after pondering. He turned his back on Amber and walked towards the fallen beast.

"Ah! He agrees! " He pounced on Amber as soon as Chrys turned his back and began hugging her again.

"Ah!... Rose... Miya... assistance!"Amber looked at us with expectant eyes while Miss Lilly was hugging her.

"Sorry, since she technically saved us." I can't interfere. Besides, no one's getting hurt. " Rose said, shrugging her shoulders. Amber then turned to look at me with her begging eyes.

"Umm, I'm sorry. I feel the same. " I apologized and turned away. I feel kind of bad for turning her down, but Rose kind of has a point.

Amber's eyes began to tear up. I felt even more guilty, but she is only getting embraced. What's so bad about it, or maybe it's because we abandoned her? I turned away since I felt guilty enough.

"How's it going?" Chrys asked, looking up at Hela as she swung another axe.

She let go of her axe, still embedded in the beast, and said "It's tough!"

"I see. Move out of the way, please." Chrys said as he placed his hand on the carcass. Hela grabbed her axe and jumped off.

A huge wave of smelly air erupted from the carcass. The smell didn't affect me like before, but it still smells. Amber and Rose had a disgusted expression on their faces. The others didn't seem affected. I guess they are used to it.

The scales began to separate from its flesh. Hela pulled one of the scales off and threw it onto the ground. It made a loud thump sound as it hit the ground. Loki then separated itself from Hela's axe.

Loki crawled onto the now exposed flesh and bit a chunk out of it. It swallowed the piece of meat in one gulp. After a few moments, it turned to look at Chrys.

"Guess it's safe." Chrys remarked.

Suddenly, Chrys' head turned towards the town. "Get ready. We've got guests. " Chrys said out loud, looking in the same direction. Miss Lilly walked towards Chrys.

"Do they know who we are?" Miss Lilly whispered.

"Don't think so. They're the Hunters from earlier. "

"Are they coming for the beast?" Miss Lilly asked another question.

"No doubt. They number nearly into the hundreds. No problems for us, but I'd rather not let it go that far. " Chrys answered with a bit of a pained expression.

"Tell the others to hide, but let their presence be known." I'll try to negotiate with them. They shouldn't recognize me. " Chrys continued.

Miss Lilly nodded. She then headed towards us and led us behind the huge carcass. She told Hela what was happening, which caused her to follow us. As she was passing by, Hela dragged V with her, Loki on her shoulder.

A few minutes later, about a hundred people came out of the canyon. They all headed towards us, specifically Chrys, who was out in the open.

When they reached within ear shot, a buff man went in front. They continued walking until they reached Chrys. This caused them all to stop in their tracks.

"Hello, Mister Mask!" The buff man in front greeted

"Ajax is fine."

"Hmm, Ajax." That's quite a strong name. " "The buff man remarked."

"Alright, Mister Ajax. I assume you know what is going to happen? " The man continued.

"Yes, I know. To which I answer, "No."

"Unfortunate." "The buff man said with a saddened expression."

He then began to draw the hammer on his back. The others with him did the same, drawing their weapons. The situation quickly turned bad. Amber began silently freaking out. Meanwhile, Rose seemed ready to go in and attack.

At Miss Lilly's command, Hela smacked one of the beast scales with her axe, making a clink sound. This notified the people of our location. Amber seemed shocked at this action. Rose looked surprised, but still remained calm. Meanwhile, V, despite everything that was happening, just kept on laying down.

I returned my attention to the people in front. After I turned to face them, the people did something I didn't expect. They all threw their weapons onto the ground, without there even needing to be a battle.

"What? Surprised? Of course, we are not dumb enough to steal from someone who could take down a beast this size. " "The buff man said, smiling."

He then sat down on the ground and said, "Let's talk business." The others with him sat down too.

Chrys sat down as well, as he said. "Alright. Let's talk business. "

"Okay, I want 500 thousand credits." Chrys made his first demand.

"Deal!" The buff man agreed immediately. The others began to pile their money together.

Chrys looked a bit surprised, like he had been thrown off his rhythm. He took a deep breath and asked. I assume you know that the ones who take down the prey get first take? No matter what? "

"Yes, I know... we know!" The buff man nodded.

"So what you're saying is, you are willing to pay 500 thousand credits for our scraps." Chrys asked.

"Yes, that is my intention." Oh, sorry, our intention The buff man said, looking back at his group. The others didn't react to his decision.

"Do you know how haggling works?"

"Yes, I do." The buff man agreed.

"Hmm..." Chrys looked at them with eyes full of suspicion.

"Hahaha, don't give me that look!" The buff man laughed.

"I know the deal seems a little too good to be true, but trust me on this one." The buff man continued.

"I don't know, people who I just met." Chrys expressed himself solemnly.

"Hmph, fine. The thing here is that we really want an a-tier beast! " The buff man said, giving in.

"I don't know if you know this, but Titan is scouring the entire market for materials B-tier or higher, and their pockets are most likely endless!" The buff man continued.

"Considering the fact that we don't have to hunt A-tier beasts ourselves, I'd say 500 thousand is a rather small price. Don't you think? " The buff man extended his hand towards Chrys as if waiting for a shake.

"Hmm, so what you're saying is, if I sell it to Titan myself, I could get higher profits?" Chrys asked.

Even though Chrys' mouth was covered by a mask, I could still feel his smile underneath. The buff man began sweating as he realized what he was talking about. His entire body froze up, leaving his hand extended in midair.

Seeing this, Miss Lilly grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at them. More specifically, Cys. It landed beside him, which in turn caused him to look back.

Chrys gave a look. It was an expression of someone whose toy had just been taken away from them. I didn't know what to think of this. I didn't expect Chrys to have such an immature side. Was he always like this?

"Ha, fine. Deal! " Chrys sighed without shaking the man's hand.

The buff man let out a sigh of relief, and so did the people behind him.

"Come back just before sunset. We'll be done by then. " Chrys said as he began walking back towards us.

The buff man nodded, and started heading back towards town with his group following him. Just as Chrys got back, Miss Lilly sprung up from her sitting position and stood before Chrys.

"Hmph!" Lilly placed her hands on her waist and stood tall. Well, as tall as she could be. She's a good bit shorter than Chrys.

Chrys then grabbed Lilly's face with his hand and replied with a simple "No."

"Ah...! Let go of me! " Lilly then began screaming as Chrys lifted her off the ground.

"Ugh, so noisy." V said it in a quiet, sleepy voice, yet it was still loud enough for everyone of us to hear.

Chrys' attention got grabbed by V's attitude, causing him to drop Lilly before throwing a rock at him. This caused him and Lilly to roll on the ground. Amber, Rose, and I looked at this exchange with a weird expression since we didn't know how to react.

"Hey! I'm resting here, Goldie. Use your eyes, will you! " V yelled at Chrys, blaming him for ruining his rest.

"Can't you see we are trying to leave here?" "Use your eyes before your mouth, will you?" Chrys shot back at V. This caused them to look at each other with irritated eyes.

"Come on, Greenie. Let's get the car we drove here. We can use it to carry. " Hela said as she grabbed V by the back collar and dragged him off into the distance.

"Let's Go off! Me! I just about had enough of Goldie over there. Let me at him! " V then began trashing around, but was unable to set himself free from Hela's grip.

"Stay... still!" Hela said, struggling to keep V in her grasp.

Let go of me, Hela! The only reason you are so willing to get back to the truck is so you can pack as much meat from this beast as you can. Do you only have food in your mind, you damn glutto-" Before V could finish his rant, Loki, who was on Hela's shoulder, smacked the back of his head with its tail, causing him to lose consciousness.

"Phew, thank you..." Hela patted Loki before lifting V's unconscious body on her other shoulder.

She then proceeded to walk off into the distance, with an unconscious V in tow. The three of us girls look dumbfounded at what has just happened.

I turned to look at Chrys, who gave his mask to Lilly, revealing a smug smile on his face. He is clearly happy with the outcome of this entire ordeal.

Lilly received the mask, which she turned into a paper sheet before melding it back into her coat. She then proceeded to let out an exhausted sigh.

All of this caused me to ask myself. What is wrong with all of these people? Are they really the ones Amber talked about? I began to doubt their identities again. I then felt myself beginning to feel myself separating even more from my parents.

Mother and Father, please help me. Save me from these weird, yet powerful people.