"Oi...bastard, wait..."
While gasping for air and drenched in sweat on his face, Zyun tries to pull his body up using the support of his knee.
Zyun looks furiously at Abyss while panting heavily.
Ignoring the gaze, Abyss dashes out from the guild.
"Oi..wait..ha..ha..you bastard!" Zyun shouts!
Zyun suddenly fell to the ground as he tries to catch Abyss with his weak body.
"Zyun, get a hold of yourself," Gin said while holding Zyun by his shoulders. "Relax here, what happened to you?"
"Nothing..." Zyun mutters.
"You were shouting towards Abyss, tell me what just happened here?" Gin asked with a concerned face.
Zyun was hesitant for a moment.
"Ugh..no..sorry I was just tired maybe is because of all the stress lately that took a huge toll on me."
"I see, it seems I have overburdened you enough, sorry Zyun.." Gin apologies out of feeling guilty.
There is no way they will believe me; about the horrific vision I went through... is better to let just things hide under the bush for now.
"Oh my...to be felt sick just right before the event, you are putting a very bad demeanor in front of everyone, Zyun." Selene puts out a snooty remark.
Zyun didn't reply he just throw a glance in response toward Selene.
"Well, this is going to be a problem we can't let an officer slacking out tomorrow." Selene continues to add further smirky comments.
"What will happen to the participants if they run into a problem. the surrounding forest is full of unknown dangerous creatures. Zyun-kun, it seems you are taking the role of your job lightly."
The one who is not taking the job seriously is you, is this what I get for feeling the shoes for you and Ventix when you guys slack almost every fucking day.
"Is fine, Selene. I am the one to blame I over entrusted the work to Zyun.."
"No, Gin-san you are not the one to blame here. Plus isn't it obvious to rely on officers? Zyun is certainly new here, he must be reminded of these things, so in the future, he won't have to repeat." Selene replied.
"Do you think you are in the position to say that? Selene" a voice out of nowhere interrupts Selene.
Everyone shifts their attention to the entrance of the guild and sees Kuro walking in slowly.
"There is a way of talking to your higher up Kuro-chan". "
"Higher-ups... I don't give a damn about that and if you consider as one, why don't you stop sitting around and do some work".
"What did u say…" Selene gave a frowned face to Kuro.
"Kuro that is enough" Zyun's attempt to hold back Kuro failed miserably as she gave a dead look to Zyun even Gin felt that.
"You don't interfere," Kuro replied
"Yeah, that is right ...it is mostly Zyun who has been mainly handling the event ...from choosing the area where there is less monster activity to helping the guild members with their quests at the same time."
"He even has to take care of the people you are supposed to "look after" while you disappear leaving them behind."
"You know nothing about little girl what I am doing " Selene then gets up " ...well anyway I have to make a small round before heading off..since tomorrow is the big day..."
Selene start walking to the exit and as she passed Kuro she stopped.
"Ah that's right you also will be there...I will be cheering for you too Kuro chan" Mavis said in a very sweet tone.
"I… I don't like you, so no thank you".
"Ok that is it, hold back down Kuro …you should not talk like that with your guild member…. Selene you too" Gin tried to hold back the two fiery girls in the room.
"Hmmph," Selene said and walk her exit.
"Eh...Kuro..what are you doing..wait..at least let me get up." Zyun screams.
Without listening to what Gin just said, Kuro grabbed Zyun's collar and dragged him out of the room.
Then suddenly Aymi dashes into the guildhall.
"Oh god..ha...I couldn't find any water in the kitchen ha...haaaa....so I went down the river to get some... how is senpai condition..."
Her voice starts to shrink as she sees Zyun and Kuro moving out of the guildhall together.
Hurt by the sight, she sulks her head down and grips the mug she is holding in tightly.
"Oh..is that some freshwater..good..my throat is dried after having those fried chips..give it to me" One of her fellow guild members barks in towards Aymi.
In response, Aymi shoots a death glare at the poor guy.
"Tch" Aymi clicked her tongue.
"Eh!"
Aymi then dashes out of the scene in a grumpy mood.
"Ignore her...there is a reason why no one likes her in the guild" commented a bald guy near him.
"No one wanted her to include in the team and thus she ends up not participating in the event."
"Damn. I didn't know that. Sucks to be her."
Aymi heard everything as she moves out of the scene, but she didn't say anything, she makes her way toward the kitchen with her face sulking down.
Just a few distances away from the guild, Kuro leads Zyun to nearby woods.
"Kuro, stop..what are you doing?"
Kuro then drops Zyun's hand and stops walking. She stands firmly with her back facing Zyun.
"Have you ever considered trying to understand the surroundings and the people around you?" Kuro asked.
"Huh? why are you asking me that all of a sudden-"
"Let me tell you the truth" Then Kuro turns her face towards Kuro as she starts to lecture Zyun.
" Not all people are worthy to treat with kindness. Some people will keep on taking advantage of you and in the end, to fit their narrative, they will throw you down at the bottom of the pit."
"Some are just trash bags which doesn't deserve any sympathy. The sooner you realize and weed out those people, the better it will be for you."
"Are you referring to Mavis"
"Not just Mavis, I'm talking about in general. I know that every day, you will follow those chibis quietly on their mission, and in the worst case you will end up helping them."
"Seeing how you will follow every individual of the guild on their mission can't help myself.... to imagine you as a pocket dog. So please stop"
"Are you telling me to stop because you feel bad for me or because you see me like a dog?"
"There is a reason, why I joined this guild, I never told you that"
"I thought you were just looking to join one with me or are there any more reason behind it?
"I refuse to tell." Kuro quickly shuts down.
"Eh...then y did you bring it up. But I trust you Kuro, deep down you are a good person so I'm sure you aren't thinking to do anything bad to the guild"
Kuro lowers her eyes and sighs.
"With that naivety..you will never achieve your goal...Zyun"
"Huh..did you say something," Zyun asked as he failed to comprehend what Kuro just mutters.
"Nothing..also that guy in some weird pirate dress"
"You mean abyss?
Kuro then enlarges her ears, revealing her true elf form.
"Thanks to his weird magic, for a split second. My ears reverted to their original form."
"Haha... you are a full elf so you are sensitivity towards magic is higher than us"
"You also feel it doesn't you..for a moment the guild was surrounded by some kind of dark magic which I never felt before"
Not just felt...I was transported through various horrifying places and stuck there for a long.
"If he is coming back tomorrow then you better stay away from him. You have a goal to fulfill here don't ya? then it is better to stay away from troubles."
Also remember you are a half-elf, if people here find out about your real identity, everything you planned so far will crumble in an instant. Never forget that."
"I will, thanks for the concern for Kuro"
"Also stop being a... never mind" Kuro holds herself before finishing her sentence.
"Stop being a what..."
"Nothing, goodnight. Tomorrow is the event, isn't it? you better get some sleep, if you don't show up that snake woman will bite your ass." Saying that Kuro turns her back and walks away.
"Goodnight, Kuro"
She is right, if I have to achieve my goal i better off away from troubles and remain vigilant. I just hope I won't cross the path again with him. That guy is something else, it is as if he embodies the real abyss itself."
"No matter what happens I need to make sure tomorrow goes exactly as I wanted. because this is where everything will start.
On the northeastern side of the village, a woman in a cloak slowly makes her towards an abandoned wooden storehouse. Since it is already late at night not a single soul passes towards that area.
She opens the door and heads inside. As she walks inside silently, she suddenly stops after hearing a footstep coming out from the front.
A goblin tapping his staff on the ground comes out from the shadow.
"Is nice to see you again, Karen-sama or should I refer to you as Selene right now."
Karen the crimson demon that is the real identity of Selene. She is one of the hellish commanders of the kingdom of Scorched land, where all the fire demons reside.
She has been tasked here to monitor their movement by the order of their ruler but Karen has a plan of her own here and never have been in contact with her leader ever since she left her hometown.
"Doesn't matter, where are the reagents for my ritual" Selene demands.
"Here"
The goblin then snaps his fingers.
A huge orc in a metal armor comes out, sending out tremors from his footsteps. In front of Selene, he puts down the heap of corpses of goblins he was carrying.
"To think that you already prepared ahead of a plan in case these goblins weren't able to kill those three brats. Your smartness truly rivals that of your beauty, Karen-sama."
"You don't have to remind me of something I already know. Now tell me, is every day prepared" Karen
"Yes, boss. As per your command. I have already discovered the entrance to the hidden village and as we speak our forces are marching towards it."
"Good and what about that one"
"The preparation is already done for that one as well, Karen-sama"
"Now all is left for tomorrow and lead her to the ambush zone. Haha, I can't wait to dispose of your Kuro-chan~."
An evil grin grows on her face as Karen says that.
"By the way Karen-sama. Is it wise to act in our way without informing his lord, Imfoxy, the supreme ruler of the Scorched land?"
"Huh, are you questioning my order?" Selene fires a deadly stare toward the goblin.
Feeling the gaze, the senile goblin whips down
"No..not at all..."
"Listen, whatever I do, is for the benefit of his majesty. So don't question me again"
That is a lie, Karen never had the intention to bid with anyone's order. Her thirst for magic has made her commit several serious crimes in the process.
Karen has been very busy ever since the day she joined the guild. She concealed her identity and persuaded Gin to become one of the officers to move freely in the village. So, she can kidnap people to include in her ritual.
When her subordinate informs her that there is an artifact hidden somewhere in an elf village. She doesn't waste any moment dispatching her force to clear the hindrance in case. Her motive is to retrieve the power by herself after she has taken care of things here.
"of course, Karen-sama!"
"Anyway, tomorrow is going to be such an exciting day. After tomorrow, there will be no Chronicles guild."
"Zyun, I can't wait to see your pitiful face when you realize all the efforts and hard work you put towards building this shitty guild is all useless. AHAHAHA AHAHAHA"
Karen's evil laugh echoes throughout the Gardania as if it is some kind of bad omen before a disaster.
Meanwhile at the arena,
A mysterious guy with a cheerful look on his face is lying down on the terrace of the arena in a relaxed manner with his hands on his head.
He has the appearance of a teenager around 17-18 years old with a fair complexion. He wears brown trousers with a red and white stripe shirt underneath a red velvet coat.
The flying mechanical bear seems to be a communication device near him, eyes suddenly start to glow.
"Hmm? I can hear you, boss" The young lad replies to the mysterious receiver who is at the other end.
"No way... I am not slacking at all." He replies.
"And yes, all the preparation to summon Cynnedrin, the scorching is ready."
After hearing that response, the mechanical bear proceeds to shut down.
Then the guy with long brown hair and bangs starts to chuckle.
"Ah, I can't wait for tomorrow. At last, the fun is starting, kek."
Today's Toxicity Report:
Color: Reddish-lime green
Source: Abyss and Selene
Percentage: 20%