But the presence of the spirit made things complicated. He could not even reach out to communicate with it on the spot. Fighting it would have been even worse, because it would create a ruckus. He had to be tactical about this. There was really no point in rushing things.
He did not say anything. Indicating his satisfaction, he simply nodded at Scarlett and they both exited the showroom. The sigh of relief that escaped her tense body suggested that she had not been too eager to be in such close proximity to the blade. To show his appreciation to her for going the length for him, Alex offered her an invitation;
"So, Scarlett, you've done me a huge favor today. Actually, three favors. As my way of saying thank you, what do you say to having a nice quiet dinner with me sometime? "
The glitter in her eyes could not be hidden. "I say that would be great. Just pick a time and place, and let me know."
"Well, I was thinking about right now. You look absolutely ravishing in that dress, and I know a couple of spots in town that would glow up with you in them."
Scarlett loved compliments, especially those that threw her off the curve. Alex was drowning her in those. She was loving it by the second. Five minutes later, they were both in Alex's car heading downtown towards the wharf to have dinner by the seaside. She compliemented his car. Alex took it and somehow managed to flip it into a metaphor about her body being the car, and her mind being the powerful engine underneath it.
Scarlett's cheerful laughter erupted, filling the confined space with even more good vibes. That was the exact moment she decided she was going to give him whatever he wanted that night. He saw her beautiful mind as well as her body, not to mention the fac that he was rich and charming. Those were more than enough reasons to forget her home training for the night.
But unfortunately, just when things were looking good, a distraction came in the form of a third party. The aggressive vibration of her phone forced her to take her attention off of Alex for a moment. She picked up and answered the call in a cheerful voice.
But by the end of the twelve second phone call, her tone had changed completely.
"I'm sorry Alex..." she said as she put the phone down. "It looks like tonight isn't for us."
"Work?"
She nodded regretfully. "You can pull over by the side of the road. I'll catch a cab from here."
"It's fine, I can double back and have you there in no time."
"I don't want to be a bother. Don't worry about it. Just have a great evening for both of us okay?"
The car slowed down. She took out her business card and dropped it on the dashboard.
"Don't be a stranger, you can text or call sometime. Good night."
Obviously flustered, she alighted and waved at him as he zoomed off.
Alex found himself feeling something that was akin to pity for the girl. As pretty, and as intelligent as she was, she was clearly still under the oppressive thumb of some paper pushing guy somewhere. He was beginning to understand the plight of everyday humans. Truly, they not only lived with oppression, they had learned to endure it. It was intertwined with their very existence here, and each person had their own unique way of dealing with it. It was no wonder vices were prevalent here.
Clouded with this thick fog of melancholic thoughts, Alex's car very nearly ran down someone over.
Alex swiftly switched into a state of alertness, and immediately sought to find out if any damage had been inflicted on the person. But there was no need to check. The person before him was the farthest thing from being injured. At least, not in the biological sense.
The tall figure of a man in a dark coat stood in front of the car, blocking the way, and crushing the thought of any kind of movement being made. Despite the fact that it was dark, and the powerful glaring headlights of the Bugatti were bearing down on him, the man looked undeterred, almost intimidating, and definitely sinister. With his face in the full glare of the intense lights, a nasty scar came into full view. It ran down from just under his right eye, and streaked across his cheek to his jaw.
Alex immediately discerned that this was no accident at all. This stranger was up to something, and he therefore refused to get out. He did not need to.
Maybe it was the coat, maybe it was the headlights on him, or maybe it was just the absurdness of the whole scene that made the stranger look extra dramatic when he flapped his coat in the wind, and circled towards the window to the driver's seat. With his face tightened in a grimace, he tapped three times on the window- signalling Alex to wind down the glass.
Intrigued as to what this was about, Alex did the opposite of what any normal human would do and did what the stranger wanted. The man opened his mouth, and deep husky voice echoed out;
"SCARLETT IS MINE! STAY AWAY FROM HER!"
It was only seven words, but it packed the emotion and depth of a hundred words. Alex was a little surprised. This was not what he thought this would be. He was half expecting a robbery, or maybe even the Internal Revenue Service (on account of his recent spendings), or maybe some arm of the law. But of course, this pitiful looking bloke was doing this all because of a woman. Alex relaxed (not that was tense in the first place), and moved to address him;
"Look mate, I don't know wha---"
"Do you think I'm playing here??" Alex was not sure if he actually was being serious.
"This is your last and final warning!" He sneered; "Stay away from her, or you'll get what's coming to you! I promise you that!"
Alex wondered whether it was a bad idea to tell the man that he had used the words 'last' and 'final' wrongly. No doubt, it was the worst possible time for that, but he did not get the chance. The stranger took off without uttering another word, leaving his victim wondering what that was all about.
Sitting in his swanky car, and in his fine clothes, Alex felt kind of ridiculous. What had just happened? Humans could be really dense! How could the fool simply walk up to him without any prior conversation or civil discourse, and issue a threat to a god like that?! Did he have a death wish or something?
Alex shrugged and put the gear in drive. As he eased away from the sidewalk and into the freeway, he thought about how lucky the guy had been that he had left before he got angry. Alex thought he finally understood how wars and conflicts began here on earth. It was funny how he had always assumed he was above it all, and could never be cajoled into violence. But this was proof of the opposite. Never had he come close to comitting murder just for the fun of it. It had been a lucky day for him indeed.
That night, Alex dove right into bed without even bothering to shower. It had been a really long day. Purchases were made, a car was bought, he had come dangerously close to killing off a bunch of people, he had found the Cursed Blade, and of course, he had met a rare gem-
A very interesting B-class woman (and her derranged stalker of course) who had the potential to drive up his stats. That was the crowning achievement of his day. And he was actively looking forward to making love to her.
So, it was not entirely surprising that his mortal shell was exhausted. Within sixty seconds of coming in contact with his pillow, Alex drifted off into a heavy slumber.
That night, Alex dreamed for the first time ever.
It was an anomaly of the grandest proportion. It almost never happened with gods. They never dreamed. Even with their consciousness in a mortal body, their essence remained awake as their flesh suits rested. But that night, Alex's subconscious was plagued with not just a dream, but several vivid scenes of several dreams. It was extraodinary.