The three people Bai Yu brought with him startled as their boss was sent flying backwards by a teenage girl, expressions ranging from horror to amusement.
So Jiwoo burst into laughter at Bai Yu's stunned expression.
The latter braced himself up with a forearm, his blank face adding to his rumpled appearance to make the situation seem somewhat comedic.
There was a vague smell of something burning in the air.
So Jiwoo reigned himself in, traces of laughter still visible from the small curve of his mouth. "I suppose that's our cue to leave, Bai Yu."
Lei shook off the remnant sparks of lightning still clinging to her fingertips. "About time," she grumbled. "Next time I'll just use force."
The second leader of Arcadia regarded her thoughtfully, his amber eyes drifting to Nox and Claude, then onto Li Zemin's somewhat pale but smug face.
Finally, his gaze drifted upwards towards the second floor where a small shadow quickly vanished.
A smile appeared on his face. "Since you don't feel like joining, would you be open to cooperation?"
"Keep your dog on a leash, then we can talk about terms," Claude replied, sword still loosely gripped in his hand.
So Jiwoo naturally understood his implications. "Of course. Well then, please be on the lookout for my next correspondence."
His gaze lingered on Nox, whose expression were somewhat absentminded. He turned around before his staring could become too obvious.
Nox stayed by the doorway until the group disappeared down the street. "When you talked about Arcadia, you never mentioned that they tried to recruit you."
He accepted the pudding cup from Claude, eagerly finishing it in a few bites.
His grumbling stomach had distracted him from So Jiwoo's last words.
"They're not much to deal with," Claude said, peering down the street with a satisfied nod. "So Jiwoo will keep his word. They shouldn't be a problem anymore."
Nox laughed, "And you can see all of that with your ability?"
Claude sighed, "I have met both of them before. Of course, at that time Arcadia hadn't gained many members yet. At this point, I believe they've gathered most of the ability users within the city."
Nox hummed in understanding, "Come to think of it, Lei's ability is... lighting?"
"Yes."
"I didn't expect that."
He turned to watch the purple haired girl chat with Liam eagerly while Li Zemin sorted through their findings.
"When I met her, the Overseer mentioned that two of us awoke our abilities. And Lei clearly used knives back then."
Claude paused, his fingers twitching slightly in surprise. "... She thought you didn't pick up on that detail."
Lei paused in her conversation with Liam, turning to look at them with confusion.
Fighting back a grin at the similarities between the siblings, Nox gave Lei a small wave.
Her brow scrunched up in bewilderment before she turned back to Liam to continue her explanation.
Based on the snippets Nox heard, it was something about sea animals. Liam listened attentively, nodding his head once in a while to show that he was listening.
Claude was silent for a while before revealing, "Lei actually acquired two contracts."
"Two?"
"Her first one gave her the ability to control knives. When she came back, it was clear that she wasn't very good at using it." Claude grimaced at the memory. "She received another Chaos Contract in her second trial so she terminated her first one."
Nox tilted his head, "Why couldn't she keep both?"
"Uncle! Why are you still talking with Brother?" Lei walked up, offering both of them a pack of biscuits.
"We're talking about your contracts," Claude flicked her on the forehead, smirking at her annoyed groan.
"Uncle wants to know about it?" Lei perked up.
Nox nodded.
She took a deep breath. "So basically-"
"My second contract was cooler. Way cooler."
"..."
Forget it, he really didn't understand anything about these siblings.
___________________________
[Keen Intuition has been activated.]
A force shot from the sky, knocking Nox off his feet.
It was strong enough to blow him back into a nearby stop sign, the metal creaking under the impact.
His mind numbed as a burning pain flared inside, overwriting the pain on his back. No doubt something had been bruised, maybe broken.
His ability circled around frantically in his mind.
Nox frowned as his vision swam in front of him.
Apparently taking a morning walk without telling anyone had been a bad idea. He just wanted to clear his head a bit, relax in the stillness of the morning.
Not that he was a morning person.
This incident just proved that he should never wake up before the sun appeared on the horizon.
He got up warily, holding a hand against his aching abdomen as the unknown presence made themself known.
The first thing Nox noticed were her unusual golden eyes.
Gold—not amber or an off shade of the metallic color, but pure liquid gold.
She had a voluminous figure, her waist cinched with a wide leather belt over a long black coat, the collar flipped up carelessly. Long golden hair framed her small face.
Her extravagant entrance was enhanced with the powerful wisps of aura swirling around her and the broad grin on her lips.
"Hi~ Nice to meet you, darling."
Staring cautiously at the strange woman who just called him 'darling,' Nox took a step back. He shielded himself with his own aura, unsheathing his sword.
It was a reward from the crystal hart trial, a small sword icon in his inventory that showed a double edged red blade with a simple guard and a black hilt.
[Item: Sword of Hearts (Ace)
Function: Boosts attack power the more aura is poured into it. There is a chance that the user will become mad, but it is only a negligible probability.
Note: A sword from the Red Queen's personal armory. The Red Queen begrudgingly acknowledges your existence. She thinks that the blood-wielding Outlander looks like a fool without a proper weapon.]
She had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she laughed, "Don't be like that. You don't know how long I've waited to see you."
He had never seen this woman before in his life. His hands clenched the hilt of the sword, unused to the weapon. "Who are you?"
The golden eyed woman hummed playfully. "Should I tell you? Or should I not tell you?"
Nox didn't see her movements as she appeared right in front of him, gripping onto the collar of his thin jacket.
Golden eyes glowing like molten fire from a blacksmith's forge. They scrutinized him, staring fixedly.
It was like she was... searching for something.
Her lips curled up in amusement. "How interesting. You managed to destroy Amon's seed. But your stats are still..."
Even as Nox swung out the Sword of Hearts in a clumsy movement, he couldn't help himself from glancing at his status window.
[Stats: Lv. 12 Agility, Lv. 14 Stamina, Lv. 15 (+1) Strength, Lv. 17 Magic]
He had already invested his newly earned points into his stats. 'So what is she...'
She easily avoided his attack, moving away in a graceful movement. "Let's test you first, hmm?"
"Wait-"
A strong punch rammed into his bruised abdomen, causing Nox to spit out blood.
"Kuh-"
Why was she suddenly attacking him?
Even with an enhanced body, it couldn't hold up against the mysterious woman's strength. Blood flooded Nox's mouth.
'Oh right. Blood.'
His sword swung out as soon as he caught his footing, but this time he dragged the sharp edge against his arm instead.
Golden eyes flickered in surprise at his actions. "You aren't thinking about giving up so fast, are you?"
With a smooth movement from her fingers, a crackling golden energy appeared between them.
It rushed towards Nox, who was forced to block the attack aiming for his face, now coated with his ability.
Pswek!
Although he was able to deflect most of the attack, a few sparks still managed to cut his face. Nox flinched at the unexpected contact, jumping away before her second attack could hit.
It was enough time.
With a familiar motion, Nox finished coating the Sword of Hearts with his ability as the woman flew towards him with uncanny speed.
Krreawk!
Golden sparks collided with the red blade as Nox aimed a blood blade at her slender neck.
Even if he didn't know why she was fighting him, she knew the existence of 'seeds.'
Two fingers stopped the attack easily, but the opening had been created.
There wasn't much time.
The damn seed had been good for something after all.
[You have used (Miniature) Energy Core.]
[You have received a sudden burst of energy for five minutes. All stats have increased by five levels.]
The reward was too stingy with its time limit.
His ability surged through him, causing the woman to step back in surprise.
Reenergized, Nox stepped forward and lashed out, forming more blood blades to target the woman.
In fact, he knew that absorbing the item would only buy him a small advantage.
She met him head on, golden sparks glancing off his blood red blades.
They exchanged blows on the abandoned street as the morning sun started to appear on the horizon.
An explosive energy materialized from the golden eyed woman, her aura growing more powerful by the second.
With a particularly harsh blow, she sent him rolling across the ground.
"Heurk-"
Met with her powerful attack, Nox suddenly had a realization.
'...It can't be.'
Stray bits of golden energy sparked against the ground.
An unrestrained laugh rose from the silence.
The woman paused as the black haired man laughed, forcing himself to stand up. He staggered forward- the expression on his face wasn't one of defeat.
She stared at his expression, eyes glowing.
A delighted smile appeared on her face. "I knew you would be the one."
"You're a Serpent."
The woman sounded pleased, "Took you long enough."
Nox tensed as her hand moved, but all she did was lift a corner of her black coat and curtsy with a graceful smile on her face.
"Verita, the Calamity of Truth."
Her golden eyes flashed as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the horizon.
"I am the Second Calamity serving under His Malevolent Majesty."
Badump.
His heart thumped at her words, a familiar rush in his head.
"Calamity?"
"We're Serpents that receive direct orders from His Majesty."
His mouth was dry as he asked, "What do you want from me?"
His question sounded between them as the blue sea was illuminated, the sky slowly turning into a spectrum of soft blues and receding purple.
She laughed, "Who do you think gave you the skill to see auras?"
Nox frowned.
How long had this woman been spying on him? Then again, she did say that she waited a long time to see him.
As if she read his thoughts, her golden eyes narrowed in amusement. "Your first trial was a lovely performance. The way you fought," she grinned, her eyes sharp with an unknown intensity. "It was full of the desire to live."
...All the way back then?
She laughed at Nox's skeptical expression. "Don't be like that now! It was good entertainment."
"...Why?"
He stood before her, still covered in the numerous wounds she inflicted while she stood across from him mainly unscathed.
She wasn't making any sense.
"With this, the scales will be tipped on the side of justice."