BANG!
Within an office of a rather extravagant looking building located in the central part of city of Zaril. A loud sound akin to that of an explosion resounded! The wall of the office was smashed to the point that one could easily see through to the other side of the room next door.
"Fuck! What do you mean that the bastard who killed my son got away!" A man who seems to be in his late thirties with a bulky built yelled! The man had neatly trimmed white hair, and eyebrow as sharp as a blade.
The man was a famous businessman who owns one of the biggest companies within the kingdom of Barat. Wyatt Harts, his fame was so high that not even high ranked nobles would dare to go against him.
Kneeling on the ground was a man who was completely dressed in black, the one who was assigned with the duty of protecting his son from the shadows, "You! How useless can you people be? You who came from the temple of shadows claimed to be the best of the best and yet, you're own Incompetence allowed the perpetrator of my son's death to escape!" Wyatt exclaimed, his face red in anger.
"Tch, forgive me... the boy was able to use lightning to increase his speed, even at my best it's impossible for me to contend with that kind of speed." The man's face grimaced as he explained, he couldn't help but bit his lower lip to control his rage at the thought that someone was looking down on the 'Temple of shadows' "Silence! I do not want to hear any excuses!" Wyatt said coldly, he was already pissed off that his one and only son was now dead, and the man that was supposed to be protecting him was making up excuses to save his face!
He was so angry that he really wanted to kill the man before him but. Unfortunately, doing so was no different than declaring war on the 'Temple of shadows' His influence was strong but, that influence was only strong within the kingdom of Barat, as for the forces outside the kingdom he'd be nothing more than a mere ant before those great powers.
Not to mention the 'Temple of shadows' Was a part of the 'Temple of darkness' Even though the temple of darkness had been silent for over a decade now everyone who heard stories of them still feared them!
Wyatt wasn't dumb enough to think he would be able to go against the temple of darkness that even the kings and emperors don't want to provoke! Besides...
"You said that you saw that woman there?" He questioned. The man wearing black nodded his head seriously. "Yes, and she wasn't alone. The crimson sword was with her." He explained. "What! That man is here as well. Why would two big shots show up in a city like this?" Wyatt frowned.
Jessica Levine, also known as the "Queen of beast" There was no one in the current Era who doesn't know the weight that title holds. As she is known as the strongest summoner and the most talented beast tamer.
There were many ignorant folks who had angered her in the past only to have their entire city completely destroyed by her army of beast! She is treated as a natural disaster by even the royals as no one dared to go against her.
'I'm not surprised that she was with the crimson sword as those two had always had a good friendship but, if she is here does it have anything to do with that man?' He wondered. It was no secret that Jessica came from the "Temple of power" One of five great temples that existed in this world! Unlike the Temple of shadows and the temple of darkness which is always in conflict with the temple of light, the temple of power was neutral and didn't get involved with any other outside sources. They didn't even get involved with the "Temple of peace" One of the friendlier temples out there.
"Just what was their purpose of coming here?" Wyatt placed his hand beneath his chin as he pondered to himself. The man from the temple of shadows also frowned. He had only seen Jessica once at a gathering many years ago.
He remembered she once competed in a mock battle with some youngsters from the temple of shadows and easily defeated them. Her physical prowess was not worth mentioning but, her beasts were powerful enough to easily threatened a major nation.
'No matter what, I have to figure out their reasons for coming here, perhaps I should also inform the elders about this.' He thought. ".... I will go and find out their purpose for coming here." He said, as his body disappeared into the shadows. Wyatt sat back down onto his seat with a frown, "Sigh, that brat should still be somewhere in this city, I want you to find him and bring him to me." Wyatt said coldly.
"Understood." A feminine voice sounded from the window.
Standing on top of the roof of the building was a beautiful woman with her long black hair tied into a long ponytail.
The woman wore clothing akin to that of a ninja as her lower mouth was completely covered and only her upper face was exposed. Soon, the woman's body became a blur as she disappeared from the roof.
...
Meanwhile, in another location of the city of Zaril...
Kenta was slowly walking among a group of people as he made his way back to the inn, he was staying in. Since news of what had happened within the clothes store had yet to spread at every corner of the city, he could walk peacefully without worrying.
Though, he knew this was only temporary and it wouldn't be long before he would have to leave this city. 'Sigh, how did things end up like this even though I just wanted to go shopping?' He thought as he sighed inwardly. He knew he would be making enemies sooner or later but, he didn't expect things would escalate this soon, he wasn't even close to being able to accomplish his goals yet, so many unexpected troubles keep happening one after another.
As Kenta was walking through the city and observing the many different stalls in the area, his eye landed on a particular stall that sold many different kinds of mask, seeing that his blue ocean eyes sparkled as the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
Since it wouldn't be long before trouble came knocking at his door, a mask would be perfect in his current situation. With an unbothered gait Kenta slowly approached the stall which had many different kinds of masks on display.
Kenta's blue eyes quickly scanned over the many different types of masks available on display, one had the face of a demon, while some had the face of a monster, while others had its face half cut which left the bottom half of the face exposed.
There were many different varieties to choose from that Kenta didn't know which would be the best option. An old man with brown skin, who seemed to be in his late forties sitting behind the stall notice Kenta's interest in the mask and smiled.
"Young man, if you are having trouble deciding on which to choose would you like me to help you?" The old man asked, his body was slightly thin and weak, and he wore a blanket over his head. Kenta observed the man for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes, can you help me?" He asked.
The man quickly got to his feet and took up a mask that resembles a clown, maybe because of Kenta's appearance that looked like that of a child in his early teens the old man decided to choose the ones kids would be attracted to.
However, "I'm not a child." Kenta responded coldly. He naturally understood the man before him had mistaken him for that of a regular youngster. "... I see... in that case how about this one?" The old man pointed towards the ones that exposed the bottom parts of the face. Kenta observed them for some time before sighing. "I don't want any of my face to show, don't you have any mask that isn't overly flashy and fully cover the entire face?" He questioned.
The old man began to ponder as he places his hand beneath his chin and went into deep thought.
Seeing that Kenta sighed, before he furrowed his brow, he could feel a weak magical energy somewhere near the stall. He quickly scanned over the mask to locate the weak magical energy he was sensing.
However, it didn't take him too long to find what he was searching for. Behind the old man was a black bag with many different masks inside.
"... Can you tell me what's inside that bag?" Kenta asked curtly, as he pointed towards the black bag. The old man looked into the direction he was pointing at and frowned.
"That bag is filled with the mask that is currently unavailable." The old man explained. "Why isn't it available?" He questioned. The old man's brow twitch slightly as he heard Kenta's blunt words. "Those are masks that I was lucky enough to get my hands on. Unfortunately, I am unwilling to part with those." The old man responded bluntly. "... Is that so?" Kenta raised an eyebrow in interest.
'This magical energy is strange, is it coming from one of those masks?' Kenta narrowed his blue eyes as he glanced at the bag in the distance. "Can you at least show me?" Kenta inquired. "... I already said I won't part with any of those masks, why do you want to see them?" The old man asked, perplex. However, a small smile bloomed on Kenta's face as he replied casually.
"I'm just curious... if you are afraid, I might try to steel it. I can assure you I won't. We are also surrounded by many people, so I won't do anything funny." Kenta said with an innocent smile on his face. The old man observed Kenta's facial expression to see whether he was lying or not but chose to believe him.
The man took out a mask from the black bag that was placed on the ground before showing it to Kenta.
The mask was white and had two holes on the face for the eyes, red and blue pattern could be seen all over the mask. Kenta narrowed his eyes as he felt magical energy within the mask. "Mind if I hold it? I promise I won't steel it." Kenta said, with a serious expression.
The old man handed the mask over to Kenta for him to get a better look. Indeed, when he held it in his hands, he could feel a certain amount of magical energy coming from the mask.
"... This, is this mask special?" Kenta inquired as he observed the mask. Seeing his reaction, the old man chuckled pleasantly as he replied. "Yes, it was said that mask was once owned by a powerful master of illusion magic in the past. Whoever wears the mask would be able to hide their real face from anyone who isn't able to see through illusions." The old man explained, 'Hide their face.' Hearing that Kenta's eyes lit up. 'I have to get this Mask no matter what!' He secretly thought.