"With Evil Dragon Flight, I'll never have to worry about finding a suitable movement arte. Once it reaches the bronze level, I'll even be able to condense wings and fly!" Bas felt extremely excited and satisfied with his new truth record. Its abilities would only grow stronger in the future.
Artes that allowed flight were excessively rare before becoming a Third Class hunter. But Bas would be able to fly during the Fourth Class! This was definitely a reason to celebrate.
"On top of that, the current Evil Dragon's Flight can be used without causing a stir. Even if other's surmise that I'm using my Qi Record, they won't be able to tell much more than that." Bas King was no longer concerned that anyone would be able to steal his secrets. He decided to just pretend his master was an eccentric soul mason.
Only a soul mason could print such a complex record, and only a fool would dare to challenge the student of a soul mason. No one would doubt this was truth.
Who would be able to see through the truths of a celestial being?
Not even Bas was so gifted. In less than half the time it took him to escape, Bas King swiftly returned to the underground arena, before calmly ascending the bleachers. Many people saw him and immediately recognized Bazzy Dagod. Merely, as the matches had already resumed, no one really had the mind to pay attention to Bas.
"Aren't you bored down there, Rank 3rd? Why don't you come spend some time with this little lady..." a soft yet clear voice came into Bas' ears.
Bas looked to the northwest of his seat and Brenda Evans descending the platform while smiling at him. 'Right on time,' he thought.
"To spend time with a fallen angel will be my life's greatest blessing," Bas King replied as he stood up and approached the now blushing beauty. She certainly didn't expect the same man who basically ran away from her earlier to boldly flirt back.
"Then, I won't be polite any longer." Brenda Evans giggled and hooked her arm around Bas' "Now, allow me to monopolize your time."
The couple walked to the highest level of the bleachers and sat next to each other. Seeing how Bas naturally left the space of one person between them, Brenda slid close enough that their clothes were touching.
"So tell me, Ranked 3rd. Did you return just to challenge the champion?" asked Brenda with her soft voice, committed to not referring to this handsome little contestant as Bazzy or Dagod She smirked and breathed softly into Bas' ear as she said, "Or could it be...something else that caught your interest."
The slow and subtle way this woman formed her words was like an aphrodisiac, clouding Bas' thoughts until he snorted and reigned his clarity of mind back in.
"I will definitely be interested in you, more than anything else here. However, the payout for defeating the champ is likely not bad, right? replied Bas calmly.
"Oh really?" Brenda smiled coquettishly, biting her lip. Bas' mind short-circuited. Brenda couldn't help but think this boy was rather cute. "If you want a woman like me, you have to prove you're a man, honey. I need a big strong man to protect and build with me, okay? Is that you?"
Bas King's eyes widened as he never expected to get this far in his flirting. Brenda was no longer just kidding around, she was actively flirting back! Bas rotated his Evil Dragon Sovereign Record, and ghost scales glistened against his skin. He smiled, placing an arm around Brenda's slim waist and pulling her even closer. Brenda was startled by both the strength of Bas' arm and his unrestrained boldness. However, she didn't feel like resisting for some reason.
"I'm strong enough to do...a lot of things. Not to mention, this only the beginning," Bas' lips were so close to Brenda's that she felt every letter that exited the former's mouth. Her eyes glazed over a bit, and her body softened. Due to Bas' firm grip, this reaction finally brought their lips in direct contact.
Kiss!
Bas and Brenda gazed into the eyes of each other, before kissing again, this time they both lost themselves in the sensation. Two minutes later, Brenda lightly pushed Bas' away, and stood up, incredibly thankful that they were both silver token holders. Unless someone had been watching them the entire time, most people would fail to notice exactly who this kissing couple was.
Brenda's cheeks burned red, and her mind was a mess.
Actually, Bas was not in much better shape.
He kissed a girl and she liked it! Not only that, but she was older than he was! This was definitely an achievement that would be logged in his love journal.
Feeling the awkward atmosphere, Bas King said, "You're even prettier when you blush."
"Stop it!" Brenda blushed even deeper at his words, before standing up to go hide. She just made out with a junior at least five years younger than herself, and couldn't immediately accept this. "I'm going to...the restroom. Stay right here, okay? I'll be back."
"Sure," As Bas King replied, his focus was shifted once again to the battle cage.
The first and second rankers were currently fighting it out. Their moves were wild and powerful, but Bas was unimpressed. He felt he could easily defeat either one.
"You are quite the slippery one, aren't you Mister King?" The mysterious man known as the Demon Lord was suddenly sitting next to Bas King as if he had lived there for years.
Bas King looked to his right where there once was a beauty, and instead witnessed a middle-aged man with quite the sinister mug. This guy looked like a classic cartoon villain, down to the pointy moustachè. As shocking as it was that this man appeared next to him with such ease and silence, Bas refused to react in the classic shock and bewilderment. What events in the mortal world could stun a Great Pharaoh? Bas didn't care for these parlor tricks and schemes.
Bas turned his head back forward calmly as if he had never seen or heard anyone at all. Anyone watching would think the Demon Lord was not even speaking to this young man, but someone else entirely. Even the Demon Lord had to pause to question his information. Was this confident brat really the Sebastian King who was rumored to be crippled and banished to the Mortal Realm with his closest of kin? One thing was for sure, this Bazzy Dagod didn't seem like someone to take lightly. He definitely had a backer.
"Young man, is your mother Eureka still doing well? Ah, to think being a King could be so dreadful. It's been ages since I've seen..."
Before the Demon Lord could continue his taunt, Bas King was suddenly directly in front of the former's face. He could ignore anything but insults about his mother. Bas wouldn't give the bastard the time to provoke the former.
"Listen, you villainous hipster lunatic. The next time I hear the name 'King' come out of your mouth, it'd better be worth my time. What do you want with this young god, anyway?" Bas King demanded imperiously, coldness radiating from his violet-golden eyes. Eyes that only seemed to deepen the intrigue of the man in front of him.
"Those eyes...it seems you have even more trump cards that we haven't seen. Or perhaps, because you're at the eighth level Hunt Foundation they are undeveloped? A pity." the Demon Lord smiled with indifferent eyes. "My name is Mongrel Fresco, but my associates refer to me as the Demon Lord of the Dirty Souf."
'Mongrel Fresco? The famous R&B singer that his mother used to be so infatuated with back in Virginia Beach? The Grand Hunter who was banished to Mortalee by my father due to one late-night visit to my mother? Scandalous.'
"Wait, did you say the Demon Lord of the Dirty Souf?" Bas King's eyes widened and then widened even more as his thoughts spin.
"That is correct. I am THE Mongrel Fresco, in the flesh." the Demon Lord smiled villainously, and Bas King dropped back by a step.
All the kids in school talked about this Demon Lord of the Dirty Souf. On one hand, his music spoke to the hearts of two generations. On the other hand, his underground influence and reputation far exceeded that of his music career. He was one of the most terrifying creeps in hiding in the dark, the stuff that kids have nightmares about.
'But what does he want with me?'
This guy's interest in himself was definitely not without reason, but to think that his own information was so easily obtainable made Bas incredibly uncomfortable. Of course, what Bas didn't know was that the Demon Lord had always been keeping tabs on his mother. When he discovered the eldest son was the only child absent currently, he immediately made a guess.
'Who else but the son of that man and Eureka the Goddess could put on such a display in this Mortal Realm?' It was this line of thinking that prompted Mongrel Fresco to appear as soon as the brat's little muse was out of the way. "You have put on quite the display here today. I presume you've awakened a battle spirit? You will need proper guidance to take full advantage of your talent. Your father failed you miserably. Your mother has done a fine job, but as your approach higher levels you will need higher levels of training."
The Demon Lord crossed his arms and closed his eyes, speaking sagaciously. It was almost as if he were already giving his disciple the first lesson.
"My mother?" Bas King thought about his sick mother, and the mysterious disease she had contracted not long after arriving in Little Kennesaw. 'Why does he keep bringing her up? It can't be unintentional, so that's out. Is it to lower my guard? Appeal to my hatred for the main family? Maybe threaten me? Or maybe...rekindle an old flame?'
He knew his father never bothered to check on them because such an illness should be nothing for a hunter of his father's caliber to expunge. That it went unchecked could only mean that Bas' and his siblings had been abandoned by their father, no matter how they felt about him or his reasons for doing so. These were the facts.
"Your mother has always been such a gentle and pleasant woman." the Demon Lord closed his eyes once more and seemed to reminisce over the past. "Alas, that damn Nufurarru and his scheming. To think, he would even poison the woman he loved, just to control her!"
"You..." to the Demon Lord's shock, as well as the shock of several spectators of the fights below, Bas King's body started releasing a power pressure on the level of a Sky Expert, or someone at the upper levels of the Hunt Expert rank. Violet embers started to form in his atmosphere, which blazed with growing intensity. Bas grabbed the hilt of the butterfly sword on his hip and lowered into a stance, saying, "My father is a lot of things. But he would never...EVER...poison my mother. But you..."
"What." Bas King's atmosphere exploded outwards as crystalized purple flames started to rage on his skin.
"Did you do." The butterfly sword slowly slid from his sheath, only for the tip to be pointed mere centimeters from Mongrel Fresco's face.
"TO MY MOTHER!" Bas King wanted to immediately execute Evil Dragon's Claw combined with Evil Dragon's Flight, but Mongrel Fresco suddenly appeared at his back and chopped down on Bas' neck. This simple action easily dispersed Bas' aura as it rendered him unconscious.
"Such an intuitive brat," Mongrel Fresco smiled in amusement.
The kid had actually seen straight through Mongrel in such a short amount of time. Had he been a little stronger, the situation could have been really dangerous for the Demon Lord.
"Bazzy! Guards, to me!" Brenda's frantic voice called out from the distance. The Demon Lord's smile faded, as he knew his fun had come to an end. Anyway, he had already confirmed Bas' identity on his own.