Predators in the Storm

Kassio has finally found some peace within the heavy storm everyone was going through, and the overall atmosphere was turning for the better. With the local forces, Imperial forces, Immortal Souls, draconic warriors, adventures, and other volunteers all helping to maintain order, life was beginning to get back to something that was somewhat normal.

The streets began to refill with their rightful residents and the city felt awake again. Conflicts still arose, with some even being deadly or destructive, but nobody would immediately panic. This was because tensions were always quelled or forcibly suppressed before anything major happened.

Life must go on as they say.

Within one of the more prosperous and peaceful streets in the Noble District, which seemed to be thriving because of the storm, was a small and quaint café. Sitting at some tables on the outside, enjoying the early morning light, was an odd couple that turned every head that passed them.

"A mermaid?"

"No one's seen one of them since a couple of centuries before the war ended."

"I thought they went extinct. Or worse, the demonic race abducted them all just like they did with the dragons, Batfolk, and many more."

"She looks young too."

"You fool, don't you know that the Merfolk race was blessed with a weird lifespan and aging speed when they created Atlantis for their gods?"

Maya wore a cute white and frilly dress that complimented her well. The clothes were also expensive and lavish enough to be worthy of a high noble. Instead of her usual ponytail, an extravagant braid with articulate patterns draped down her back.

Before they stopped by this café, they got her hair done. She felt like it was about time for something new.

Although a stir was being created by stunning Maya, a much larger one was occurring because of the man across from her. Kyren was wearing some simple clothing with his signature silver mask. Upon closer inspection, his apparel was also lavish and worthy of a high noble.

However, no cloak blocked his eye-catching appearance. He would try and avoid wearing his hood when dating. It just felt wrong to him and rude to the person he was with. It did come with consequences though.

"That person is-"

"Is he royalty?! Perhaps a Divine's offspring!!"

"This is unreal. No, wait... More unfair!! How can life be so biased!?!"

"He has got to be a super important ***(Npc)!"

"Maybe he's apart of the event!"

"Ugh, I wish I was in that mermaid's place!"

There were even some players mixed into the talkative crowd. The forums immediately exploded in fury, enthusiasm, and countless other overdramatic emotions and reaction. Most were unbelievably envious while others were awestruck!

Even though it was early morning and not many people were out and about, a scary amount of attention was being paid towards him and Maya but he shrugged it off. He was more concerned about how she was doing.

He secretly stole a glance to where she sat across from him. What he saw made the corner of his eyes and mouth twitch.

'This brat...'

Contradicting his expectations, Maya was doing perfectly fine, in fact, better than fine. She looked giddy as she made a face that said, "HAHA, that's right! He's all mine and you aren't getting a piece!"

She was soaking up the attention with a silly and triumphant grin on her beaming face. He could already imagine the ego boost she was getting.

They both sipped on their preferred drinks from beautifully ornate cups while sharing a delightful cheesecake.

A glistening emerald berry topping that was native to this world, coated the top and made it look like an exotic masterpiece. It was called Evergreen Glacier Berry Cheesecake, which sort of tasted like boysenberry mixed with an odd assortment of other fruits. Due to the unique magical properties within the berry, the cheesecake stayed nice and cold.

It was one of the cities specialty dishes and Maya has been dying to try it, so they came here right after getting her hair done.

Monolith did a great job at making everything seem like it fit in. If the annoying crowd was ignored, he could fully enjoy the simple and exquisite atmosphere.

He specifically chose this part of town because it was the calmest and safest area throughout the entire region. He was already at his limit with the many rude gazes directed at them, and he wouldn't tolerate anything more. For Maya though, he would keep up a calm front.

Maya snapped out of it and looked at him with a hint of interest, "So, do you have anything specific planned for today?"

"A couple of things, but there are some gaps in between where we could do whatever you want to do. And you already know this, but there's no budget. I'm completely yours for the day~"

She let out an ecstatic giggle as countless ideas rushed through her head.

"Mmph?!"

Before she could mentally wander off too far, her mouth was suddenly stuffed with a rather large spoon full of the cheesecake.

"Don't get too excited though. We're still in the middle of a storm, so things might not go our way. I also need to stop by somewhere before we do anything else."

A few moments passed and Maya finally gulped the whole mouthful down. She looked at him with a pout as she mumbled, "Buzzkill..."

Their eyes met and they stared for a few seconds. It didn't take long for them to both bursts into laughter. They couldn't tell what made their little exchange so funny, but they couldn't help it.

"Haha, this lovey-dovey atmosphere is so lame!," Maya wiped away a tear from her laughter as she continued, "We've been like this for the past four days now... It's almost like a dream. I never imagined myself being in an enjoyable romantic relationship ever since..."

Her sunny expression suddenly darkened as memories flooded back into her. Other than the many books she's read, she's never had a decent experience with romantic relationships. Or at least the one she was almost forced into.

"Mrrmph!?!"

Amid her period of spontaneous gloom, another mouthful of cheesecake was stuffed into her mouth.

Once she fully swallowed, which took more time because it was larger than the first, she glared at Kyren, "Why did you do that again?!"

"Now who's being a buzzkill? Don't think about that kind of stuff." His tone was reassuring and warm as he comforted her.

A faint blue blush of embarrassment blossomed on her cheeks as she realized how she was acting moments ago, "I-I guess you're right. I have to put the past behind me, huh?"

"Nope, the exact opposite in fact. Someone's past is not something that can be brushed off no matter how hard one tries." He took one final sip of his drink, set it down, and looked her directly in the eyes, "You need to confront it directly."

A hint of intrigue appeared in her expressions she replied, "Confront it? How would I do that?"

"Perhaps at a much later date, we can visit Gruta Lake and your parents, under disguises if you want. You need to, at the very least, see them again."

A heavy rush of feelings hit Maya like a wave, which created conflict within her, "I'm not sure..."

Before the hesitation could fully materialize in her, he added gently, "It's only my opinion and an idea we can discuss at a much later time. I don't plan on forcing you, so there's no need to worry. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day and take it one step at a time."

Maya looked deep into his eyes, as though searching for something, hoping to find a clue or a hint on what to do. She was terrified to go back to confront her inner demons.

The thought of seeing her parents, who probably believed she was currently dead, tore her up inside. She wanted nothing more than to tell them that she was fine, better than fine even. But she was also deathly afraid of the notion that as soon as she saw how things were back home, she would feel the need to get involved.

Maya's head dropped down in defeat. Kyren didn't say anything more and simply observed. He made sure to remain externally neutral so she wouldn't be able to find the answer in him.

She soon recovered and leaned back in her chair, fiddling with her braid. She decided to push the issue to the back of her mind for her to think about at a later time.

"Gosh, you're so sly. Making me feel sentimental and mushy... Are you trying to make me emotionally vulnerable? Perhaps trying to get a little something?"

Under Maya's squinted gaze, he felt like his social defenses were being torn down. Her attempt at catching him off guard was cute, but far from enough. He's been in countless socially hostile situations before so this was a piece of cake.

"How could I think in such a way when you're still recovering from our last sessions~? Do you think you can handle more~?"

She was taken aback by his words and blushed wildly. Now she looked like the one who had dirty thoughts and intentions with the other.

Trapped under his captivating gaze, she got super flustered and left her unable to retort.

Kyren's eyes fell upon the small dish that used to have the cheesecake and feigned shock, "It seems like we somehow finished the dessert rather quick. Shall we head off then?"

Maya glared daggers at him, "That's because you force-fed me nearly the entire slice!?!"

"Hmm? When did I do that?" As he stood up and prepared to leave, he looked at her with an innocent and oblivious expression, looking like he was the victim, "You could've at least saved some of the cheesecake for me. I only got a single bite..."

"Y-You jerk! You're doing that on purpose!"

While Maya fumed and blushed, he waved a waiter over and tossed a single gold coin to him.

The male waiter soon realized what he casually caught and gasped.

Although this was indeed the Noble District, where everything had heart-stopping prices, that amount of food would never cost more than a few silver! Only a high noble would spend so frivolously, but even then...

"Noble c-customer, we can't possibly accept this generosity!"

Kyren's attention was drawn back to him and he acted as though the matter was already settled, "Then think of the rest as a tip and compensation for the troubles we've brought along to business."

The waiter then looked over the crowd that's been gathering during their stay and he was a little less hesitant.

Their cafe's business earned the most in the mornings due to various reasons. These disturbances did hurt a little bit because customers that came here enjoyed a tranquil atmosphere more. This was also during a time where the powerful and rich were present, so he did lose a lot of potential business.

The waiter looked away from the crowd and back to where Kyren was, prepared to say something. "We still can't— wait, they're gone?!"

He quickly looked back to the crowd for any clues but only found them all in just as much bewilderment as him.

They both instantly vanished under the full attention of all these eyes?! How was that possible?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside the church's secret encampment within the forest, the three Respected were all together. They each sat on their own throne within a tent specialized for them. It was much more lavish and sacred than all the others, except for their personal tents.

"Ughhhh-"

"For heaven's sake Jillian, stop with the groaning!!" Killing intent gushed out of Knox like a broken damn as he readied himself for a fight.

Before anything could happen though, a soothingly intoxicating feeling invaded his mind and he instantly calmed himself. He sat back down and grumbled as he looked elsewhere.

Leonardo canceled the spell he used to relax his fellow Respected and went back to rambling and giggling. It was kind of ironic that he knew of a spell that could soothe the mind, but none of them commented.

"Why have they come back with no results? Is it that hard for the church to find one measly Dragon Slayer?" Knox was counting on those results coming in as soon as possible. 'The sooner I find that Dragon Slayer rat that seems to enjoy hiding like a real rat, the sooner Jillian shuts the fuck up and I can get back to my business!!'

They were all stuck between a rock and a hard place because they couldn't find a single piece of information on the rookie adventurer, Kyren.

All of their objectives need to be completed as soon as possible so they could get back to their rightful work.

Despite his rough, violent, and immature nature, Knox was actually the leader of an entire country under the rule of the church, so he was always swamped with work.

Jillian was also pressed with time to fill out her task given by Odella. Plus, she thought this was a massive waste of time and mental energy so she just wanted to leave and do her own thing.

Leonardo didn't have any other tasks besides this one, but he did wish to return to his precious creations back at home. There was also the fact that he knew of the true strength behind the hidden organization, so he'd rather get this over and done with as soon as possible.

No one worried about the first and second objectives because they knew they could complete them over the next day or two. Using their immense resources and methods of "persuasion", they've long learned of the contents within the hidden organization's slip, or now more commonly known as Draconic Genesis. The main event would occur in less than one day, so they could say they've finished the first two objectives once this was all over.

The major problem was the third objective and how difficult it has been proven to be. If they couldn't complete all the objectives, they couldn't leave and they'd end up suffering greatly. There were only a few days left until they predicted this storm to end, but they still had nothing.

"*Sigh* Any news from the imperials..." Jillian directed her uninterested, but secretly frustrated question at Leonardo. He was the one maintaining a mental link with the rest of their Templars so he knew of everything that was going on.

They weren't the only ones looking for the Dragon Slayer. There was an entire unit under the direct orders of the Emperor himself, dedicated to finding the target. Templars were secretly using them to gather as much information as possible. The imperials haven't noticed their presence whatsoever.

Leonardo froze for a split second and relayed the information to his comrades.

"Damn these useless imperial dogs!! They've still found nothing despite being here for months now!" Literal steam with a slight green tint was seeping off of Knox as the temperature around them spiked. His voice went deep and menacing as he growled, "Who knows how long we'll have to be stuck here if we can't find him!"

"*Cough* Hey numbskull! You're releasing your poisonous qi!" Jillian waved at the air like someone farted and activated the air filters on her crow mask.

"Say that again, I dare you!"

"Humph, 'dirt for brains' over here needs another lullaby spell, Leonardo. It's well past his nap time so make sure this one puts him to sleep."

Sparks flew between their death glares and the tension in the air became palpable.

"AhahahAHAHA— Enough already!"

Reluctantly obeying, everyone took a step back. This friction and internal strife they were all going through weren't actually because of frustration, but because of fear. Odella wouldn't be pleased if their work was backed up or delayed, and they didn't want to be punished.

Their best option was to use Leonardo's psychic powers to search the surrounding regions and Kassio, but this method was overruled. If any of the Bishops or Respected used too much of their powers, they could potentially get pinned as enemies by Genesis.

All the other options also involved offending Draconic Genesis, such as a violent door-to-door search, so they were truly backed into a corner. They could only wait, listen, and watch, hoping and praying to their human gods that they got some leads before Odella got to them.

.....

Countless minutes passed in complete silence and stillness, which felt like years. They were each in deep thought but with zero ideas.

Suddenly, Leonardo's rambling stopped, and his twisted chuckles grew. In spite of the creepy air surrounding him, the other's attention was drawn to him and they cast quizzical but calm looks at him. This was normal for him.

"HAHAHA-hehe..... Our prayers have been answered!!"

Information was instantly transferred to the other two and their expressions twisted into a malicious joy.

"Looks like the imperials found something."

"About time..."