No 3 stormed through the streets, the fire surrounding her pulsating wildly. The few night workers that were working didn't even notice a firey inferno blast past them. Well, all except one.
"Hey, guys did you see that?" one of the workers exclaimed in a spooked voice.
"See what Ron?" A worker responded, lifting his head to face Ron.
"It was a fireball. A fireball just passed by us!" Ron exclaimed in fright.
A short silence was soon followed by a round of boisterous laughter.
"Ron, get your shit together and stop drinking on the job," Uto exclaimed in between fits of laughter.
"But I-" Ron started only to be immediately cut off by the other workers.
Gritting his teeth, Ron swore to himself, 'Some day...I'll make you guys pay.'
Marking these words in his heart, Ron continued to bear the taunts and jeers that were thrown at him by his co-workers threw at him.
---
Moving at high speeds, Bell cast out her senses once more.
'There!' She thought furiously, finally finding the door that she was looking for. Channeling her universal energy, Bell charged through the door still cloaked in flames.
Passing through the door without any resistance, Bell rushed through a small room and found herself in a vast hall.
With a high ceiling, a soft golden glow enveloped the entirety of the hall from the evenly spaced-out torches.
Although there were windows, there was no light passing through them, causing an odd mismatch if anyone saw the hall.
But Bell didn't care about any of that right now.
"NO. 2 WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THAT?" Bell screamed with fury at two cloaked figures seated at the lone table.
No 2 shifted his head to look at No 3.
"I just relayed No 1's orders to you. If you have any problems with that take it up with him," No 2 stated with the same indifferent voice that he used previously.
"Don't keep hiding behind No 1! You ruined my fun today, so why don't we have a go at each other? Let's decide who should truly have the number 2 position?!" Bell shouted aggressively, her universal energy flared out suddenly and started to envelop her.
"Oh yes! Let's fight, I want to have a go as well!" The other cloaked figure bellowed out.
"Yeah, it'll be a three-way!" Bell grinned wildly with the fire growing in her eyes.
No 2 opened his mouth to say something when he was stopped by the entrance of their leader No 1.
"No 3 and No 5 settle down," No 1 commanded sternly.
"And why should I do that?!" Bell shouted in response.
"I said. CALM DOWN." No 1 stressed his words and the fires around Bell were snuffed out immediately.
Feeling the chill settle in, Bell nodded meekly and sat down next to No 5.
"I've taken care of the supreme right now, but what you did was intolerable. If you were going to start a fight, at least finish it before you run away. No 2 said that you ran away when a more powerful opponent showed up?" No 1 called out No 3.
"Ran away? You were the one who commanded me to retreat!" No 3 shrieked at the injustice.
"I commanded you to finish him off quickly and not to play with him. What part of that translates into run away?" No 1 grit his teeth.
"But No 2 said-" No 3 was cut off by a rumble in the air by No 1.
"No. Buts." No 1 forced out, struggling to stay calm.
"No 1, calm down. It's not No 3's fault. Her opponent was a direct counter to her gift. It was better that she retreated instead of engaging in a long fight," No 2 interjected into their conversation.
At this No 3 glared at No 2, 'You set me up!' She thought furiously. She knew it was useless to accuse No 2 right now. No 1 was pissed and was likely to just shut her up if she said anything.
"How did your encounter with the supreme go?" No 2 continued ignoring No 3's glares at him.
No 1 paused and spoke lowly, "Do you doubt my capabilities?"
The air stilled and silence reigned as everyone in the room started to feel suffocated. Just the aura around No 1 was enough to make all three of them shiver with fear.
"No, I just wanted to know the results so that I may decide whether we can act more freely," No 2 answered, using all his willpower to control his voice.
The stiffness in the air vanished and No 1 calmed down. "You may act freely. Just make sure not to overdo it. I may not be around every time to bail you out," No 1 ordered his group.
No 2 nodded and No 3 and 5 hastily followed his example.
"Where is No 4?" No 1 asked No 2.
"She should be here any-" No 2 started calmly until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Springing to his feet, he came face to face with No 4. Or more like a cloak to cloak. Both the numbers were wearing cloaks that covered their faces.
In fact, every number was covering their face all except for No 3 who had rushed in forgetting to wear her cloak in her room.
"I'm here~" No 4 sang out in a playful voice.
"No 4, sit down," No 1 commanded ignoring No 2's jumpy reaction.
"Yes, 1~" No 4 accepted and sat down next to No 2. Begrudgingly No 2 also sat down on his seat.
"Report," No 1 demanded.
"Aww~ Can't you be a little more excited?" No 4 asked teasingly.
A wall of silence greeted her. Clearing her throat, No 4 decided to talk seriously lest she got taught a lesson.
"Well, I found out that the targets aren't human! That girl and her twin brother are some sort of beast," No 4 divulged with her melodious voice.
"So that's what I felt," No 5 blurted out.
Feeling the stares of the rest of the numbers, No 5 decided to explain, "When I was beating the boy, I felt that something was off about him."
"Beating him? Did you kill him? You know we need him for leverage," No 2 asked sharply.
"Nah, he's alive," No 3 interjected. "I saw him just before coming here. No 5's universal energy was all over him."
"See? All good," No 5 grinned from underneath the cloak.
"Focus," No 1 ordered. "That means the huntress is not human?"
"Most likely yes," No 2 answered.
"Does that change your plans in acquiring the hostages?" No 1 asked.
"Nope," No 5 responded cheerfully.
"Only slightly. I'll make sure that it won't hinder our plans," No 4 also answered.
"Good. The day is nearing. Let's make sure to set the stage properly for the first upheaval that this city will face," No 1 concluded in a sinister voice, the flames on the walls dimmed and darkness fell over the hall.