"I never expected we would use the sewers." Cristian's nose wrinkled. The smell stuck both him and Anna hard.
He couldn't believe it when the man removed the lid and his son quickly jumped in. This could not be possible, but this horrible stench tore that thought of denial into shreds.
"This is the only safe route," the man said casually. Both he and his son had no reaction to the horrible smell, for they had gotten used to it.
"Safe huh," he muttered with deep creases. No one could hear him, so they quietly moved forward.
As he watched Anna struggle with her staff in his limited space, his lips curled, but as she battled, the butt of the staff hit his abdomen and his smile vanished.
"Give it to me," he snarled like he was about to seize an object from a sibling. "No! I need my staff or my powers would drop, and I mean by a lot."
"I doubt anything would attack us and if we eventually get attacked. I'll take care of it." Cristian stretched his arms and beckoned for her to hand it over.
There must be something about Anna that everyone was clueless about, including Lia. Sheila was more talented in magic and Anna depended on her staff showing her substandard affinity, yet she attracted the attention of an Athelstone.
The grandson of an emperor!
It was a baffling situation, and it also meant there was something hidden in Anna that others were clueless about.
As the beauty grumpily handed the staff over, bared her teeth, and walked away, a thought flashed through, making him mutter inwardly. 'She's a strange one.'
'I know, right? I can't even see her race.' As he heard Lia, Cristian lost his control and cast inspection.
[...]
[>Status<]
[Name: Anna Banning]
[Level: 27]
[Race: %$#@]
[Class: Priestess]
[Title: None.]
[Affinity: Light.]
>Stats<
Health: 225 {100} Vitality:25]
[Strength: 9{10}]
[Agility: 20 {10} ]
[Dexterity: 13{10}]
[Intelligence: 35 {10} ]
[Stamina: 18{10}]
[MP: 175]
'Oops! That was a mistake, but what the heck is wrong with her race?' he asked inwardly, while checking if Lia would react.
'She won't know. I tampered with her surroundings so she can't link her discomfort to you.' Lia's words pacified him.
'I Have not seen anything like this before. Everyone has a race, well, except…'
'Except what?!' Cristian almost said out loud as Lia paused in the part he wanted to know about.
'... except her racial bloodline has been suppressed and locked away from the very moment she came into this world.'
Cristian's eyes trembled and his body slowly shivered as he struggled to suppress his rage. 'You mean someone did this to her when she was a baby?!' he could wrap his head around how someone could be so cruel to harm an innocent baby that was just born!
"We're here." the man's voice snapped his rumbling thoughts, and he puffed out. 'Don't let this trouble you as it is of no concern until she belongs to you.' Lia's voice was strangely solemn.
While Anna's case surprised her, she easily brushed it off as compared to the heinous deeds constantly occurring around the world. Anna should be happy she is still alive.
Her Lord has lost his memories, and this made him soft, but with time his mentality would adjust to the cruelty of this world where strength prevailed over wealth. Or he would recover his memories, which would be a lot better.
The moment Anna got close to the steel ladder, she felt a pair of thick hands grip her waist, but there was only one man behind her and it was Cristian.
"What are you doing?" she asked innocently. "Helping," he answered and faced the round opening above them.
"Don't let her fall."
The man nodded and watched as the green-haired man threw a fully grown girl out of the sewer into the air.
Her squeal pierced his eardrums, but he prepared his stance and caught her in a princess style. "Thanks." the young beauty flashed a dazzling smile, and the man felt his cheeks burn.
But before he could formulate any word, the green-haired man shot out of the sewer, dashed forward, and took Anna away from him.
"Ah! Why so rough?" Anna pouted while staring into Cristian's eyes. "The real question is, why are you so soft?"
"Humph!" Anna pouted, took her staff from his hands, and turned with a flair that made her hair hit his face.
With her back facing him, Cristian couldn't see Anna's burning cheeks as she thought about his actions. They spoke loudly of his possessive character, and it made her shiver with unfamiliar emotions.
The man flashed a forced smile when he saw Cristian staring at him. Although Cristian's gaze did not reveal his emotions, the man still felt nervous.
'Only the guilty ones are afraid.' Cristian said inwardly and Lia chirped in, 'True. you can read his mind to find out his thoughts when he held her.'
'I don't have much in my MP but how did you know I can-...' Cristian internally swallowed the rest as Lia stayed with his past self so she knew most of his abilities.
After walking for a while, they arrived at a fence made from stacked vehicles. It reached a staggering height of five meters, and men with automatic rifles were at the top.
"Ben, how many times will I tell you not to come back here and if you want to beg, then go to the front gate?"
Cristian's brows knitted as he sensed another problem on its way. Turns out the man called Ben must have committed a crime or offended a big figure, so they expelled him. This man did not know of Sheila's current situation or his son might have lied.
"Tell me, how many days ago did you see the blue-haired woman?" his tone was dangerously deep and Ben knew this warrior would decapitate him if he lied.
True, he held a gun, but Cristian stood a few inches away so it was useless.
Whistle~
A whistle rang from the top, and Anna felt several men staring at her with different meanings.
"It's been five days." the moment Cristian heard those words, his eyes flashed, and he dashed toward Ben.
"Wai-" Ben couldn't even speak when Cristian's boot slammed into his chest, launching him straight to the fence.
Bam!
The impact was so much that the fence shook, albeit a little. The expressions of the men at the top of the fence changed, but Cristian wasn't done.
'They need a show of power, huh?! Then they'll see one!' he bellowed inwardly and unsheathed Burning Fury.
Flames flickered wildly on the blade as the tip faced the top of the fence. "OPEN THIS GATE OR I'LL DO IT MYSELF!"
[A/N: Vote, comment and add to your library!]