Flavius puts his hands gently on his curly hair as he tried to smooth it down while walking down the narrowed marbled ground surrounded by decorated wall with glowing crystals firmly attached to it, radiating the passage way in white light. Not a single Humane was seen because he was at the interior part of the large Caneloveft main district building. Following the path which was earlier directed by one of the praetorian guards about where the young girl was last seen.
"A girl's system? What does that even mean?" He shook his head, " gosh, if girls have problem in wielding the EXTERMINATOR then why was she chosen? Ugh! Mum, said I will understand all that later. Where the heck is she anyway? So annoying."
Before reaching an opened space. He heard a familiar voice.
Huh, isn't that the voice of uncle Matthan?! Who is he talking to? He tiptoed to see and hear what he might be discussing to the person he was with.
"I'm truly sorry, your family didn't come today, Herminia."
Who is he talking to? Maybe his romantic companion. Herminia, a woman huh. Time to bust them. He sniggered about rushing to his imagined romantic scene.
Another voice spoke.
"… Stop worrying about your life and keep on pushing forward with what you have left. I was told by someone I trust."
He stopped.
What sort of conservation was that? He scoffed then his eyes widened, That's the voice of the annoying Cohort of mine… Matthan and her are--
"Flavius?" Matthan called.
Huh, what the?! Flavius put his hand on his mouth while hiding against the wall.
"Come here for a moment," He said while holding his hat.
Gosh! How did he know I'm here. This is those types of scenes a innocent mind of mine suppose not to see. Let leave this place, it might've been—
"You know I can hear your thoughts loud and clear, Flavius. Please, could we talk for a moment."
Flavius paused then slowly yet bodly walked in to the exceedingly spacious place. It as a large moonlit central hole, the floors were full of colorful tiles mostly in reds and in blues arranged in irregular patterns reflecting the moonlit which was added by the illuminating white crystals attached on the decorated walls given it a scenery that was pleasant for one's eyes to see with enclosed rooms on all sides.
"Sorry, I was looking for the comfort station."
He looked at Matthan behind him was a shallow pool recessed into the tiled ground having the same length and breadth of the large central hole on the roof.
"No worries." Matthan said as the young small girl lowered her face, sitting on a marbled stool many feet from Matthan,
"you don't need to be afraid of him, he's a nice guy when you get to know him." Matthan reassured her.
"N-no, I'm not terrified of him. He's just—" Herminia said,
"I'm just, what?" Flavius Interrupted, "I'm just, what, Herminia or whatever your name is?"
Matthan stood still as he watched Flavius and Herminia. He could stop Flavius from talking but he need to see if Herminia could stand up for herself.
"He's just someone that hasn't experience how life is out there." Herminia proclaimed.
Matthan flashed a smile.
"I will be leaving." He passed where Flavius stood not entering any of the rooms in the court.
Flavius eyes twitched, his lips curled as he clenched his fist. His voice deepened in anger.
"Huh, what do you mean by that?!"
Her simple yet truthful words was enough to make Flavius furious. What?!
"Sorry, to say but that's the truth." Her hazel eyes went cold as she bored into his blue eyes, still seated on the marbled stool.
She's not stammering or afraid. Is she pretending to be insecure when my mum was around her? Or—
"Is this your plan all along, now that you are now a Cohort. Is this your plan? You fooled the wrong Family."
Immediately Flavius fist enlarged having the potency to make any of his body humongous than it's normal size. He raised both fist up.
"Today is the day, you last fooled anyone."
The girl scoffed as her wild browned hair sways in the calm wind coming from the roof above.
It made him more furious then he swung his enlarged fists towards the girl, smashing the tiled ground and breaking few glowing crystals on the wall as it echoed.
"So you weren't all talk when you said that." Herminia said standing in the midst of the slightly shakened shallow pool.
"What the?!"
Flavius turned his body swinging his enlarged arms destroying everything with in it's path.
"You pissed off, jumble go round and ass punching."
"Oh, about the silly names you gave your fists... It childish." She taunted.
Flavius's veins around his forehead becomes engorged, his fist grew more humongous then he dragged his second fist to the other side reaping off the tiles on the ground. His two hands were now covering every spaces and rooms within the court.
The short young girl was at the middle of it all.
The only way out was where Flavius stood.
Meanwhile Matthan was against the wall of the marbled passageway, his hat fully covering his head and eyes with a folded arms absolutely doing nothing about the fight.
Flavius unfolded his fist, spreading his palms wide, the cut made by the blue-fire opal knife during the ritual could be seen on his left palm.
"Those tiny flying insects living on the mountains known only to suck one's blood, have you ever seen them before? I will show you how I squashed them all to oblivion because you looked more like them."
The short young girl didn't responded but only glanced at Flavius without moving.
"Since you can't answer, you really want to know how!" He stressed as he heavily struck both his humongous palms together with a deafening burst, splashing the water and tiles around the court.
He looked for a moment then opened his palm wide slightly, panting.
"I was right all along, making a girl to be my Cohort is—now, I see. You're a puppet controlled by the Holland family to—"
"I'm no puppet, I was chosen to be your Cohort because of my skills." A disembodied voice of Herminia spoke
"Skills? Or you mean your potency?"
Flavius scanned the area to know where the voice was coming from.
"What business does my family have with a con-artist like you, aren't your potency good enough to fight in a battle?"
A sighed came from the girl.
"Battle you say, have your young self fight one? We Humanes with lesser potency performance are only cut down to laboring jobs or as mere-slaves, open to all sort of insults. Who do you think built those houses Humanes called home?"
"You think I don't know. That's the reason my family give you common Humanes a way to live but I don't believe you're one of them!" He smirked having perceiving where the girl was then he yelled
"Die!"
He swung one of his humongous hand to the marbled stool, smashing it into pieces.
"I blamed everyone for choosing a con-artist like you on top of that a female Cohort."
"So, what does that mean?" The girl suddenly appeared right in front of him then laid her hands on his shoulders,
"your thoughts on female not able to handle the power of the Red-blooded armor is precisely overrated."
Flavius could feel his body changing suddenly he looked at his body to his amazement his skin was invisible, he could see his veins, his muscles then he closed his eyes out of fear but he has no eyelids he could still see as he looked around, stuttering some words. The moment of his tissues.
He looked down, his chest area, his heart beating loudly as it pumped blood through his body. His face also without a skin only his eyes appearing damped and shaking all over, visibly connected to the brain. He staggered. He fell as both hands went back to normal then he turned the other way and vomited.
"See. That's my potency and what good will it do in fighting."
"It did this to m—" he vomited yet again as his body went back to normal.
"Very good." Matthan clapped his hands as he walked in, "now you guys have slightly know each other, I believe it will end well but before we start, Flavius?"
Flavius raised his face,
"Don't think your family ever made a mistake selecting the wrong being to be your Cohort, sadly she fell under the category of mendicants, you know what that means? Right. So she is here not only to be your Cohort but as the breadwinner of her family at her young age, please learn from her."
As Matthan addressed them, an Humane from one of the room in the devastated court. The Humane slightly opened the door of his room. He saw the chattered tiles on the floor; the broken marbled stool; the broken crystals scattered on the damaged tiled ground and the pool having a small scale of water in it as most of it flooded his room.
He swallowed.
"Honey, what happened, is the pool overflowing? Is it raining?" A female asked within the room he was.
He shakily closed the door back as he spoke.
"I-it is… more than that. Go back to bed, our lives depend on the decision we take tonight."
"What should I ever learn from a small girl like her? Nonsense."
Flavius slightly breathing hard while on the floor.
"Experience. That's what you should learn from me." Herminia answered.
Flavius scoffed as he stood up.
"I'm going to bed. Bye Uncle Matthan." He said as he walked towards the marbled passageway.
Matthan nodded then he looked around the devastated court.
"Let's leave before more eyes reach here, I can hear their thoughts."
Herminia nodded then she lowered her head.
"I'm sorry, I pretended or ever hurting Flavius feelings."
"Pretended? Hurting Flavius? We both know I knew all along, I often read your thoughts before and after you became the selected Cohort. And also sorry for trespassing, "
He turned to the other way.
"Let's go this way."
Herminia nodded as she followed.