SDD. Inside the living quarters. Lorian and Sao sat face to face drinking a hot cup of coffee. Even though it was sweetened, their faces looked bitter.
"Sorry for lowering my guard." Sao apologized.
"But. But I didn't secure the Cursed Flame eyeball. It was my fault. If I didn't hesitate we would be receiving our incentives right now," Lorian apologized back.
They went quiet once again. Sipping on their cups looking exhausted. The two deeply sighed, regretting many things on that mission. They didn't receive any incentive this time, because it was a total failure.
Pablo also informed them that he had a newly hired person to be part of their team. Now, they will divide the incentive into three which made Lorian and Sao sad.
"Pablo must be disappointed in the two of us, that's why he hired another." Sao guessed.
"Incentives, incentives! Am I going to stay here forever?" Lorian murmured while grabbing his hair and groaning.
"Looks like we are," Sao replied, sipping on his cup.
"How about we challenge higher danger levels? The higher the danger the higher the pay right?" Lorian suggested.
Sao finished his cup of coffee, dunking it in his mouth in one gulp. "Look, we are having a hard time facing tier C danger levels. B- and up will fuck us up like a scrap of paper," he said.
The two went silent once again. Lorian was particularly quiet when he remembered how weak he was, and cringed at his suggestion of taking stronger opponents. He sipped his coffee, easing his desperation a little bit. Sao stood up on his chair he went to the sink, turned the faucet on, and started cleaning his used cup.
"The new hire will be here tomorrow, right? I wonder how good he is." Sao said.
"Should we go ask Ann?" Lorian suggested.
"Forget it, if sir Pablo won't tell us then she also won't. She's too quiet to be talkative." Sao refuted.
Lorian nodded in agreement. Ann was so cold that she might be made of metal. "I'll turn the TV on," he said, as he grabbed the remote of the smart TV inside the kitchen.
"New flash! A village was drowned by an overflowing river killing every resident. It was a mystery why the river overflowed because the sun was bright that day. Rescuers were patrolling the area trying to find if there are any survivors. Hunters were also spotted around the area."
"November is almost here. However, sightings of ghosts are famously spreading online. Possession records from last year were already broken this month and the year still hasn't ended. Does our nation have the chance to be part of the top 10 most possessed worldwide? Let's ask our expert exorcist, Pastor Opium.
"Hello everyone I'm Pastor Opium but people like to call me Pastor OP."
"Pastor, do you think we have the chance to be part of the top 10 worldwide in cases of possessions?"
"Definitely. Absolutely. 100 percent."
"Wow Pastor, you're quite confident. Can you tell our audience the reason?"
"Easy! Sinners, you all are sinners. You all need the son of God. This Atheism and their science have separated those lambs away from His presence. These possessions are His divine intervention, it's karma for not accepting his warm invitations. Repent! Repent!"
"Calm down Pastor. How do you think we can prevent this?"
"Easy! You sinners need to repent. Come to our church, Incarnated Son at xxx, xxx, xxx. Donate 30% of your salary so that we could build more churches and God will protect us all from these evil possessions."
"Thank you, Pastor. Up next, Holy Mary known businessmen slash family, dusted? The Bataller family and their servants were incinerated last night along with their mansion. The mark of a black sun can be seen on the ground where their mansion once stood. Experts said that it was the doing of the Cursed Flame detonating itself. The reason for the attack was still unknown. Cursed Flames are danger level C+ but they only appear in deforested areas, this still baffles many experts why they appeared in a crowded area without any forest nearby."
"A video also went viral of a pillar of light ascending from the ground in the town of Holy Mary. Experts say that it was connected to the deaths of the businessman's family. That pillar of light was one of the signs that the Cursed Flame detonated itself. Such an unstoppable force, rest in dust Bataller family."
"Up next: The president announced a tournament that will happen in the last week of December. Many hunters who participate in this are aiming to claim their own sealed-"
"Hey, have you heard the news, Sao? Our failure was broadcasted. How shameful. Do you think those hunters will connect it to us?" Sao curiously asked.
"They will, it's our region. I can feel them cringing at us. Sigh, Flash Hunt doesn't disappoint when it comes to Supernatural News." Sao sighed as he sat back in his seat.
"World Flash News! A Leviathan with a danger level of A+ was hunted in the Pacific with the cooperation of four nations: Japan, Australia, Canada, and America. Hunters from all over the world are drooling over the rich materials that can be salvaged out of the Leviathan's body."
When Lorian and Sao heard the news they were also in awe. Thinking about how their job at disposing of supernatural beings would be easy if they have those materials. But they could only daydream because they can't afford those with their current money.
"I heard Leviathan's saliva is the most sought-after aphrodisiac. It also gives a temporary increase in size in men and increases women's sensitivity. A single drop could last days up to a week, with zero side effects. They said it's worth 100,000 Fiars." Sao said.
"WTF! For real? That's too expensive." Lorian was dumbfounded.
"Yes, but it's worth it. Increasing size like that would temporarily cure our size of the 'you know what'. Hahaha haha." Sao laughed while raising both his brows.
"Don't lump me with you. I'm not bragging but I'm blessed." Lorian revealed.
"Blessed your ass! Bet you're at 4." Sao joked.
"No, you're 4-" before Lorian could finish his rebuttal his attention was caught by the TV's screen.
"The famous island of Siquijor produced another batch of competent witches and shamans. At their graduation rites, they took down a danger level B+ High Giant. We all know the smoke those High Giants produce can alter reality and materialize your hallucinations. We have here today the leader of those witches, Rain Lara. Rain, can you tell us how you manage to kill it?"
The camera focused on the beautiful woman next to the reporter. She had a westerner's face but her eyes were round and sharp, and her hair was black. Her smile captured all the viewers' hearts including Lorian's.
"It's not that hard really. With the help of my friends, we manage to take the High Giant down."
Sao hit Lorian's side with his elbow, smirking at him. "So that's your type huh?"
"Wha- What are you talking about?" Lorian's cheeks blushed as he was caught in surprise by what Sao said.
"I know you heard me. however, in my opinion, Ann still wins it all." Sao proudly declared.