Suxen stared out the window in Diamond State HQ and watched the people of Diamond State. He heard someone entering his office then looked back. "State your business being here."
"Sir. It is Nior Gersemi." Lotus said as he sat on the couch, tending to his personal Rose Reaper, making her look exactly like Hannah.
"Nior? Ahh yes, the Descendant of the Vanir Goddess. What is your purpose for seeking me in person?" Suxen asked.
"There's a rebellion happening against you regarding a turncoat Omega Angel named Jabril and her followers. She leaked the secrets of Alice via Prayer. I have come to you to report it since Xali is waiting so long to tell you." Nior said.
"Xali...I believe he told me he was going to investigate Jabril to get answers from her. He also suspects that she's rebelling against me. Even if this is true, we can not attack yet until Arabella finishes what she needs to with Golden Rock." Suxen said then turned around to look out the window.
"Sir, we can't take any chances! The longer we wait the stronger Claudio becomes—"
"You heard the boss. Nothing we can do about it, besides...Even if Claudio grows to his full potential as a Savior, he still won't be strong enough to kill Suxen." Lotus said.
Nior grunted softly and held her arms. She sighed and turned away. "I understand. I will also do more investigation on my end."
Suxen watched Nior leave from the reflection of the window. "Jabril...I wouldn't have imagined that she would betray me of all people. Seems she does have a little soft spot for Claudio after that museum incident. Lotus."
"Sir." Lotus said.
"Go to Royal Greens again and at all costs, bring Jabril to me. Seems like she needs another mental rearrangement. We can't afford to kill or lose her as an asset as she's one of the angels that can get us to Seraph City." Suxen said.
"Understood." Lotus said with a smirk then stood up. "I'll even bring you a souvenir if I run into some issues."
Suxen nodded and watched Lotus walk into the dark portal with his Rose Reaper. He took off his mask and stared outside. "We can not lose...no matter what..."
_____________________
I groaned softly as I was in the city of East Spring with Detre, Madris, and Astar. I helped them shop for supplies and groceries for the castle. I looked at my watch as I stood outside a clothing store.
"Man, why did I get dragged with them. You'd think 100 fucking bags are enough, this shit is getting expensive." I sighed.
"Stop bitching." Madris said as she walked out the store with a few bags in hand.
I looked at Madris then noticed Detre and Astar following behind. "About time..."
"You act like this is your first time shopping with women. C'mon this isn't even that bad." Madris said.
"Yes, it is that bad. You three are running my pockets dry! One more haul and I'm near bankruptcy." I said.
Detre smiled and placed her hand on her hip. "We are high maintenance women. Our needs supersede human requirements."
"Case and point, now come on we have a few more places to go. It's not everyday us ladies have a System Wielder treat us to an outing, or have an outing in general. This is probably the most calm East Spring has been in forever." Madris said as she walked off.
Detre smiled at me then walked off. "You heard the Assassin~"
"Just return my card after you three are done." I shrugged and followed them.
"We will don't worry~" Detre giggled as she waved my card in the air.
Astar smiled and walked beside me. "So what did you necessarily do while in Golden Rock?"
"Well I used to run a company called Elite Horizons which was a car dealership that Luke used to own. I'm surprised he didn't take away my business so I'm still gaining some form of income...however I wouldn't have guessed how expensive things are here, but I'm guessing it's to compensate for the influx of cash spreading around..." I said.
"Plus they're shopping for designer outfits, I don't necessarily need anything fancy..~ I'm completely fine with a simplistic lifestyle of serving my best friend and future Queen of the new lands." Astar said.
I smiled and looked at Astar. "You never change do you."
Astar smiled and shook her head. "Nope!~"
The four of us traversed around the city hitting every shop the ladies wanted to go to. As the number of bags increased, the less I started to care about how much they spent since I've never seen them so happy before, especially Madris and Detre. I didn't want to take away from their moment since they are right about East Spring being peaceful for once.
After they got finished with shopping, we made our way back to the castle so the three could talk about their haul and fascinate over their loot. Once we made it back and set everything down, Madris grabbed my arm and stopped me from leaving her room.
I looked at Madris and rose an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"I need your opinion on an outfit for the annual Full Spring Ball happening this weekend and I can NOT be shown out by West Spring's stupid Assassin." Madris said.
I looked at Madris then sighed and shrugged. "I guess I could help, but I'm not too knowledgeable on Elven Fashion."
"It's fine, you don't have to know fashion to tell me what looks good on me and what doesn't." Madris said.
"Gotcha." I said then walked back into Madris's room and sat down on her bed.
Madris closed the door and walked over to her bags then couched down to open them. "We have a lot to get through so I'm gonna make this quick."
"No need to rush, I have nothing else planned really so take your time." I said and watched Madris.
"If you say so." Madris said then grabbed her first outfit. She walked into her walk-in closet and changed into her first outfit which was an elegant, off the shoulders, emerald green dress with a waist wide belt around her waist.
I looked at her outfit and she twirled around to show me a full view of her dress. I studied her outfit and gave it some thought. "It looks pretty on you, but I'm sure there are better."
Madris looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. "I agree...Okay, next one."
The second outfit she came out in was a beige lantern sleeve belted wrap satin blouse with black pants and heels. I couldn't lie and say it didn't suit her well, but I had a feeling something better could show up.
"I like that one, but let's see if anything better shows up. I do like that outfit though." I said.
"On it." Madris said and grabbed her next outfit from the bag.
She got changed then came out in a beautiful one shoulder, royal blue dress with beautiful silver decorations on it. She looked at me and twirled around. The dress perfectly showed off her figure which I thought was attractive.
"That one...That dress is the one." I said then stood up then walked toward her. I helped fix her dress and her hair.
Madris watched me and blushed a bit. "I don't need your help to help me fix myself..."
I chuckled softly and continued to fix her outfit and hair. "And yet you're allowing me to help you..?~"
"You've already started, no use in stopping you now..." Madris said and closed her eyes.
As I helped her, I couldn't resist the urge to stroke her hair behind her ear. She opened her eyes and looked at me. I stared into her eyes then gently held her chin. She blushed even more, watching me closely. I couldn't understand the sudden nervousness I felt, almost like I had butterflies.
"If you're gonna kiss me, do it already... Don't just leave me hanging.." Madris said.
"Really..?" I asked.
"I'll allow it. You're probably the only System Wielder I'll allow to get this close to me. You aren't as bad as I made you seem honestly...I mean...you make Astar and Princess Cecilia so happy so that counts for something I guess..." Madris said and looked away a bit.
I made Madris look at me then held her cheek. I leaned into her. "Better not kill me.."
"We'll see...If I don't like it, I'll kill you right here." Madris said, closing her eyes.
I rolled my eyes and chuckled softly. "That's if you're able to..."
"Don't let your little boosts get to your head, I am still an assassin..." Madris said as she wrapped her arms around my nape.
"Yeah whatever.." I said softly then kissed her lips.
As our lips touched, Madris's face became red from being flustered. Our kiss only lasted a few seconds before we pulled away.
"Well..?~" I asked with a smug grin.
Madris looked away and gave a salty expression. 'He's better than I expected...What the hell...'
"Don't keep me in suspense here...if you liked it just say that." I said.
"I didn't, you dirty fucking animal..." Madris said then pushed me away.
I chuckled and sat back down on her bed. I rose my hands and smiled. "Sounds to me you enjoyed it a lot more than you expected."
Madris growled as she looked at me then stormed back into her closet to put on her usual attire then walked out her closet. "Don't think you've won me over with one kiss. You don't have the childhood advantage with me like you do with Astar and the Princess. I only tolerate your antics, but you're still a dirty animal to me.."
I smirked as I stared at Madris. "Mhm..~ Alright..~"
Madris turned away and crossed her arms. "Get out so I can clean up. Your services are no longer needed."
I shrugged and got up then walked out. "Call me if you need me..~"
Madris slammed her door closed then leaned against the door touching her lips. 'He's unnaturally good at kissing...my body enjoyed that too much. He is an agent, so maybe that's why he's so desirable...but there has to be something more. I hate System Wielders...so why do I tolerate him..?'
Madris sighed and shook her head. "No, Madris, you can not fall for him...He is a System Wielder. Stay true to your morals...even if you are attracted to him slightly..."
Madris gathered herself and began to clean her room and put away her clothes.
______________________
I walked outside and ran into Verin who was getting ready to head out. "Lady Verin!"
Verin looked back at me and smiled. "Just the guy I needed to see, since you're already helping out quite a bit I could use your assistance."
"With?" I asked.
"Just some quick gathering. I'm going to Spring Forest to get some special Spring Roses for the event this weekend. Join me, you can take one of our fine horses from the stable nearby." Verin said and pointed to the horse stable.
I looked over at the stable. "Okay, I'll be right back."
I jogged over to the stable and the man that watched over the stable allowed me to take one of their horses. I got on the back of my horse and he trotted over to Verin's horse.
"Shall we get going?" I asked.
Verin nodded. "Let's go."
Our horses trotted along a path that only Verin and Cecilia knew. As we traversed, Verin and I did make small talk with one another.
"Watching you a few days ago spar against Leo...It had me thinking about something. Your powers are obviously Angelic and yet they have some feel of Wonder Energy. How is that possible?" Verin asked.
"Well I'm not too sure myself, but I do know that I must have Wonder Energy by default taken my biological father is Luke Rose or as known as Suxen now. The most recent vision I had...it kinda confirms that I am somewhat connected to you Darlings. I just know that my Wonder Energy is different." I said.
"You...inherited Wonder Energy? Your mother must've been a Darling." Verin asked.
"She was...and still is. She's still alive and I want to save her from the hands of Suxen, but I'm nowhere close to his power without the help from Yascha. I'm well aware of my role in this life...but like I told the others, I'm not capable of doing it because I'm still not strong enough. I was born a human after all." I said.
"She's still alive after all huh. I should've known she was. Her death was too random..." Verin said.
"Well...She wasn't supposed to die." I said and thought about Luke's words. "The target...was me, but the more I look at it, the more guilty I feel in the inside. If only I hadn't..."
"Don't shift the blame on yourself. That's what he wants. We are imperfect beings, we will always make mistakes. Some more drastic than others, but in the end you're here doing all you can to grow and save us all, but I truly believe you can't save all of us.." Verin said.
"Why?" I asked.
"I want to believe you can, but it all comes down to how long Suxen is planning to wait before he decides to take initiative and strike you down. He already has his Phantom—"
"Wait..." I said then a sudden realization hit me. "No..."
"What?" Verin asked.
"He has a Sacred Verse. Suxen wields a Sacred Verse..! The Phantom that haunts me...is the Phantom he created using the verse Holy Phantasm. Based on this Phantom...it seems like he's had this Verse for a long time up to this point..." I said.
Verin looked at me then looked back ahead. "If that's true...how are you going to get rid of the Phantom?"
"Well I did beat the Phantom recently with my Willpower...but as of now I can't get rid of it completely...not yet anyway. I need one last Vision. I need Nexus to show me the truth but he won't just yet." I said.
"The truth about what?" Verin asked.
"The truth about how to destroy the Dearie System." I said and looked at the sky. "I just know once I figure it out completely I'll be more than ready to take on The Nexus and learn about this organization Mihr mentioned to me a while back called the Anti..."
"The Anti..? Oh I've heard of them. Lotus is one of them." Verin said.
"You know the Anti?" I asked and looked at Verin.
"Yeah." Verin said.
"Can you tell me about them?" I asked.
Verin looked at me then smiled. "What's in it for me?"
"A date?" I asked.
Verin chuckled softly then shrugged. "Mmm. Alright, I can get behind that... Alright I'll tell you what I know..~"