Del coughed as the ripples of smoke spat him out.
"You've been replaced," Jered's words were not mocking. He was simply stating a fact, "How do you feel about that?"
The lone streetlight, flickering in and out of life, bathed Del's face, "I... I..." he squirmed on the cold, hard cobblestone underneath him. And when he rolled around, he let his eyes drift overhead, to the endless stretch of the night sky teeming with blinking lights, "I hate it... I've worked hard, you know?"
"I know."
"I've spent sooo many hours looking for the best opponents for you—the ones that would boost your fame, that would make you an even brighter star..." Del's tone was soft, as if the anger had long been drained out of him, but a spark of indignation was still there, "And in the end, it was all for nothing. Well, not really. You've become something... amazing. Simply incredible. And that's why they threw me away, I guess. You don't need a... shadow like me... to shine..."
"Perhaps," Jered chuckled as he cast a 'Cleanse' on the ground and proceeded to sit down, "Are you angry?"
"Haaah... I don't know. All I wanted was to watch you grow... and laugh at everyone else's reaction. Maybe say something along the lines 'I know him! He's my friend!' and bask, if only a bit, in your success."
"You still do?"
"Of course!" Del replied heatedly, his voice going a few notes higher, "The moment I saw you fight, Jered, I knew! I knew that you were meant for a bigger stage, for the lights to be focused on you, for the audience to be in awe of you. Look at what happened today... everyone was cheering for you! You probably have no idea how many Magicians are looking into you, how many organizations want to recruit you."
"You're more excited than I am," Jered observed with a smile, "You're making it sound as if you're the one everyone wants a piece of."
"..."
"Are you hiding something from me, Deeeel?" he whispered, a sharp glint in his eyes.
Del gulped, a flustered blush on his face, "N-Nothing..."
A chuckle boomed out.
"You and your secrets."
"I'm not hiding anything!"
Jered let the silence go on for a bit longer before he stared deep into Del's eyes, "Your face twists into such interesting expressions when you lie, but that's fine. As a matter of fact, I brought you all the way here because I wanted to ask you something."
"W-What is it?"
"Do you want to work for me?"
Del's eyes snapped wide open, "Umh... w-what do you mean?"
"Stop stuttering."
"..."
Jered crouched down right in front of him and clutched his face, green eyes boring into pale blue ones, "Don't look away, Del. Don't you want a bit of my success? I can give it to you. That, and more. So much more. You have nothing to lose, right?"
"What do you want me to do..." Del shifted a bit, but managed to hold his gaze, "... I'm not gay..."
"You fool! I don't want you to work for me like 'that'."
"Then..."
Jered pulled back, "I want to make an organization."
"But you already are in one!"
"Let's keep it hush-hush then," a soft laugh followed his words, "You've been going through the profile of many fighters in the AUC, haven't you? I'm sure you're well-acquainted with many talents. I'm also sure you know some of them on a personal level too."
Del didn't deny it, "Yes..."
"But we don't want them."
"W-We don't?"
"Not now. They're part of distinguished organizations and have no reason to join us," Jered explained, "What I want you to do is to approach the criminals... the Magicians currently being hunted down. The ones that would be willing to do anything for a shot at freedom. I've read somewhere that, as long as they signed up to participate in the AUC, no one is allowed to arrest them during a fight. Quite a fancy law, isn't it?"
"B-But..."
Jered raised a hand, "Stop. All you have to do is go to their fights and give them a few words of support. That's it. Smile, laugh, befriend them, give them a bit of that sweet hope that there is someone out there willing to extend a hand and pull them back up. I don't care if they're talented or not. What I care about is how desperate they are. Magicians have a more skewed view of morals than average people. I'm certain that we'll find many gems willing to join... our cause."
"A-A-And what cause is that?"
He brought a finger to his lip, "Shh. You don't need to know yet. Just do what I tell you to do, and I'll give you anything you want. Naturally, if you go against my back, there'll be no peace for you. Even in death."
----
A surge of warmth coiled around Jered, the embers thinning out into familiar arms that hugged him from behind.
He caught the whiff of a pungent perfume.
"Do you like my new fragrance?" Rainey purred, nestling her head between his shoulder and the crook of his neck, "It's Dior."
"I prefer Gucci," he didn't miss a beat, "What's the occasion?"
She shrugged, "I just wanted you to smell it. And for your information, it's not the only thing you're allowed to smell."
"Don't tease like that, you know I'm shy."
Rainey rolled her eyes, her hands moving up to cop a feel of his pecs, "Hmm... I really can't picture you as a shy guy."
"I don't think you should touch me like that. Someone might be watching."
She tilted one eyebrow up, genuinely curious, "Who?"
He smiled, but didn't say anything.
"Oh, we're being mysterious, huh?" she dragged her hands down, pressing and playing with the bulge of his abs, "So what if we're being watched? Doesn't that excite you?"
A bolt of lightning bombed near them, followed by a loud thunderclap and a mischievous voice, "Am I interrupting something?"
Rainey wrinkled her nose and pulled back, "You did it on purpose."
The flash of light slowly faded, and from within, an elderly man in a white coat walked out, a cigarette hanging between his lips, "I would never do such a thing, Pedo Rain," Jerry blinked innocently, chuckling lightly when the older woman gave them the stink eye. Then he turned to Jered, "Ohh, how have you been, friend? I see that you've grown quite a bit. You're making me quite competitive, haha."
"I saw your all-time ranking on the Global Ranking. 69 wins, 69 draws, and 69 losses. Please, tell me it was intentional."
The psychiatrist guffawed, "Oh hell yeah! I almost forgot about that."
Rainey crossed her arms, "That was very childish..." however, she grinned right after, "Though I do admit that it was 'kinda' amusing."
"Ohh, I didn't know Her Majesty Pedo Rain had a sense of humor."
"Stop calling me that, fool."
Jerry walked up to them and slung an arm over Jered and Rainey's shoulder, "There there. So, what is this secret meeting about? I feel left out."
"She wanted to recruit more people, both talents and expendables," Jered said, "And I think I found a good way to go about it."
"Tell me, tell me!"
He chuckled, "It's nothing, really. I managed to convince... a 'friend' of mine to talk to some wanted people from the AUC. Even if they won't be of great help, the allure of money and freedom will surely get them to do what we want. It's a good start, in my opinion."
Jerry patted his back jovially, "It sure is, Jered," he looked at both of them, "However... if we want to get the good people, then we have to jailbreak some of them. The Arcane Association will have a fit, haha, and I have some old acquaintances there."
"I've already thought of that before," Rainey elaborated, "You can't possibly expect us to safely barge into a heavily guarded place like that—not without some losses. You know I'd rather not fight right now, so it would be only you and Jered, and he has yet to become a Royal Magician. And even then, it would still be a risky gamble."
"I'm not saying we should do that now, Rain. First, we'll help you recover your powers, and then we'll start with the recruitment process. Just us three alone can be regarded as a powerful middle-tier organization. The moment he unlocks his fourth vein, and you your sixth. Oh, hahaha... Artemis will drop to its knees and give our cocks a loooong lick, eh Jered?"
"You're so crass," Rainey scoffed.
"He's not wrong though," Jered smiled innocently.
"See? The lad agrees with me."
"We're getting off-topic," Rainey clapped her hands to get their full attention, "Recruiting more people is not our priority right now. Jered, now that you've defeated an Elder Magician—and quite easily too—you'll be matched against the top fighters in the leaderboard. Everyone's attention is on you right now. People are constantly talking about you. Once this is over, you will never be able to keep your identity a secret. And that's a good thing. Fame is important, we already went over that."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Mommy Rainey," she corrected with a frown, "Then there is the matter with your sister. She has yet to display any sort of power. She has a Shadow inside her, she should be leaking tremendous amounts of mana, yet I can barely feel her."
"Maybe it has to do with the type of Shadow she got possessed by?" Jerry supplied with a thoughtful frown, "It is indeed quite odd."
"She said she got physically stronger, though I can't quantify how much stronger she is now," Jered said, equally confused, "I wonder if she's restraining herself, hence why she didn't get more powers from the Shadow. Perhaps she knows that if she accepts it, she'll get more... influenced by it? Food for thought."
Rainey bundled her hair up in a ponytail, "What about Demi?"
"She's back to normal. Well, she's more human-like now, as you saw last time. She still lives in my closet, and is relatively more powerful than she was before. I don't think she'll be much of a help to us, though."
"I know," she nodded, "She still needs time. What about Ashy Petals?"
Jered considered his words carefully, "Nothing so far. I texted Evelyn, but she's keeping her distance from the organization. We're in a stalemate, but it won't last long. Evelyn is planning something big, and I'm also biding my time. I'm not sure if the executives consider me as a variable strong enough to foil their schemes. If they do, then they'll probably do something about me soon."
"You can handle yourself."
He laughed, "I sure can. I fear they might aim for my family, however. The videos about my AUC matches are online for everyone to see. I'd be surprised if they didn't know about it."
And he'd be even more surprised if they thought he wasn't a threat.
"Don't worry. We'll set up a powerful barrier around your home. And as long as the two of them are home, they'll be safe even from Royal-Tier spells. Unfortunately, it does have a limit, and won't be a permanent solution. So hurry up, do your thing, and unlock your fourth vein. That way, you can tear them down and move all of their resources to Akashka."
"Yes, mommy Rainey."
She smiled, leaning down to kiss his forehead, "Good boy."
"Gosh," Jerry shook his head, "I mean, I knew she was fucked up, but you fucking turned her into a pedophile."
Rainey waved her hand, and Jerry's lips were sewn shut. Literally.
He groaned and moaned, his cheeks stretching, but no words flowing out.
"That'll teach you."
"..."
She chuckled, placed a hand on Jerry's shoulder, and stared at Jered, "I always tell you this, but allow me to repeat myself once again. I'm proud of you. You will surely catch up to me, one day. However, don't forget that there is no throne for two people, sweetheart," then she smiled, "But you can always sit on my lap."
And then she disappeared.
"..."