"What the hell is a kid doing here?"
"A child?"
Both Mei and Myraliana were fooled. Even I was.
Although Ylna was a humanoid Imperi like me, she lacked that aura of power that she usually emitted. It was like she was a child.
"Don't be fooled."
I didn't say that. Nishimura did.
Right, Ylna didn't know I was here until now, meaning that her meeting me here is pure coincidence. Meaning that the person she came for is...
"Could you take this web down, Kazu?"
When did she start calling me that?
"Nah, but I do have to thank you."
Ylna lifted her eyebrows.
"Thank?"
"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have realised who I truly am, so for that I thank you."
Unexpectedly, the girl's face began lighting up like a red flame. She's blushing?
I guess I'll try it.
"Because I'm so thankful, I'd like to ask you for a favour."
"Hm?"
I'm not sure about her strength but her snakes are troublesome. I mean, Yuichi at full power was able to wound her but I'm not sure if he could've finished her.
"I'd like you to not use Nishimura for whatever plot you have."
She stared at me, gravely.
"I'll consider it if you can stop me from—"
Without hesitation, Myraliana cut horizontally across the room. The web dissipated and Ylna was covered in snakes.
She jumped out of the snakes and rushed toward us.
"Wouldn't it be better if we didn't do this?"
"!"
Ylna staggered.
At the same time, Myraliana and I surrounded her. Imbuing the Sacred Lightning cloak into my fist, I punched Ylna. Myraliana sliced her.
Or so we believed.
"Nice try... Orochi."
As she spoke, snakes endlessly filled the room until we were blasted out of the windows. All four of us were freefalling in midair.
"Shit!"
I'm not near the hotel. I'll have to use a big force to stop myself from dying. First!
"Shit, shit..."
Found them! Myraliana has Mei! Now, where's Nishimura?!
"You guys!"
Crap, I thought Nishimura was in the air too! Ylna protected him with her snakes as the rest pushed us out! He's still in the hotel.
I neared landing on a building. I quickly release a huge gust of wind, barely enabling me to cushion the impact.
"Ow!"
My control of other elements isn't that great compared to lightning and even fire. How do we get back up there?
"Kazuya! Look!"
The black snakes moved toward us. They stopped just before hitting us and laid themselves on our building. It was a pathway to get to her.
She stood at the broken window. I couldn't see what expression she had on her face, but if I had to guess she was smiling.
"Myraliana! You go up the snakes! Even if they're a trap, you'll be able to get back safely!"
"What will you do?"
"I'll see if I can block off any possible escape routes."
"Right!"
Myraliana dashed up the snakes and I swiftly climbed down the building I was on.
Oh yeah, Mei... Gah, I don't have time to think about her right now! Sorry, Mei!
I rushed through the alleyway and onto the street.
"This isn't good... Shibuya is a crowded area..."
As I was looking to block off the best escape routes, I found her. Ylna walked into the opposite alleyway with Nishimura timidly following her from behind.
I leapt over the road, over the cars, and landed with a roll. I continued running.
"Stop, Ylna!"
"Hm. Ah, what a lovely thing love is."
She smiled hysterically.
"Let go of Nishimura."
"What? Are you going to give me a speech about how using innocent people is bad? I thought you were different, Kazu."
I shook my head.
"I'm not. Honestly, if we couldn't gain anything from Nishimura, then I wouldn't care for him too much. But he's my friend's friend and someone I'm going to hire."
"But why would you need false identities? I mean, you can already disguise yourself. Your hair colour and eyes are different from the usual you and the other you."
She tilted her head before smiling.
"Ah, I get it! The meeting of noble families. The banquet that's in one week."
"How did you..."
Oh right, she was eavesdropping.
"Fine. You can go to him."
She said to Nishimura.
The moment he heard it, he ran and hid behind me.
"Be careful... Her snakes can appear from any shadow within a certain distance from her."
He whispered.
I looked directly at Ylna.
She didn't notice. That's a crazy ability. Of course, the payoff for summoning snakes from shadows is that the distance is limited. I'm sure that both Nishimura and I are in her attack radius.
"I'm not complaining, but why did you do that?"
The girl mischievously smiled.
"Why not? It's fun, is it not?"
She said, before surrounding herself with snakes. The body of the snakes faded leaving the skin behind. It shrivelled up into a pile of snakeskin. Ylna had disappeared.
I sighed turning to Nishimura.
"Seems like you're very familiar with Ylna."
"I could say the same to you. Seems like she came to get you specifically. Have you worked with her before?"
I asked him.
"Once. She paid me a lot which is why I'm able to live in hotels now. So, should we get to work?"
"Huh?"
Nishimura adjusted the glasses on his face, smirking at me.
"We have false identities to make, don't we?"
"Oh, right!"
·———·
At a location, elsewhere...
Ylna materialised in a warehouse, where someone had been waiting for her.
"Hm? You're back without the Faux Magesmith?"
"I felt like he wasn't needed."
"What? You decided that for yourself?!"
It was a man she was talking to. He was around two metres tall and was dark-skinned. He was dressed in shallow armour and a white cloak.
Ylna blushed while licking her lips.
"I felt it. A string connecting us."
She giggled childishly while cushioning her face with her hands.
"It's the red string of fate. No, the pink string of love..."
The girl practically drooled.
The man suddenly flared in rage as he walked up to Ylna. His eyes practically bulged from their sockets.
"Where is he?! Kazuya Shiba?! You met him, didn't you?!"
"Calm down, Tvar. I did, but now is not the time for your selfish revenge."
He leaned over. Their faces were barely apart by inches. It would be a fairly romantic scene save for Tvar's face, which had contorted with anger, and Ylna's blank expression.
"My revenge? That bastard betrayed both of us. You should be brimming with rage like me, Ylna."
"I find the emotion of hate useless. I've completely wiped it from my being, just like you wiped sympathy from yourself."
Tvar looked up with a cocky smirk.
"Sympathy is for the weak. As the superior race, I don't need such things as that. You—wha—!"
Before Tvar finished his sentence, ebony snakes entrapped him. Before a snake could bite into his neck...
"Stop."
It stopped only a second short. If it had carried on, Tvar's body would carry a deadly poison.
"I rank higher than you Tvar. It doesn't matter if we are childhood friends, I won't hesitate to kill you if it comes down to it."
His eyes wavered as he gritted his teeth.
"Fine, let go."
The snakes disappeared in an instant. The man massaged his throat.
"So, what will we do now?"
"We hide in plain sight. Shouldn't you be confident saying something like 'those humans can't see the forest for the trees?'"
"That's a good phrase..."
He muttered.
Ylna ignored him.
"Anyway, now, let's go meet that old sack of meat."
"Oh, that fat pig? What was his name again?"
"Saito Eiji."
They both smiled.
"The foolish human who believes that us Imperi will save the world. What a fool."