Akin, Kalè, and Peak headed toward their mission, with Peak endlessly chatting and teasing Akin. Akin recalled Stanley's instructions about their assignment: they were to capture a contract soul that had appeared in a nearby town the day before.
"I won't be joining you three," Stanley had said, "since I need to go somewhere with Hickson. But Peak here is the leader of your team, as he's your senior."
Then Akin had felt Stanley lean in close to his ear. "Now, don't look like that. Peak is one of my top students—I was training him long before you three came along."
Back in the present, Akin glanced over at Peak, who was talking nonstop to Kalè, despite her cold, disinterested expression.
"I guess I should give him the benefit of the doubt," Akin thought, watching Peak with reluctant acceptance.
Just then, his thoughts shifted back to something else Stanley had told him.
"So, to completely get rid of Feya, we need to eliminate all contract souls aiding the inns and find a way to seal the cracks in the barrier between our worlds, huh?" Akin focused, his mind turning to revenge.
"Well, I'm not letting Feya go anywhere until I kill him—after what he did to the orphanage and the village ma—"
Akin's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Peak's voice right beside his ear.
"Hey, Mr. Blue Hair!" Peak called out in a teasing tone.
"Since we're going to be a team from now on, why don't we introduce ourselves properly?" Peak added with a grin.
"What's wrong with this guy?" Akin thought, growing more skeptical of Peak by the second.
"First he attacked me, talking about 'testing my reflexes,' and now this?" Akin raised an eyebrow, his distrust evident.
"Come on, don't look at me like that, Mister Blue Hair!" Peak continued teasing with a wide grin.
"And you too, Miss White!" he added, glancing over at Kalè, who kept walking without even acknowledging him.
Suddenly, both Akin and Kalè snapped at Peak in unison. "Don't call me that!"
Akin and Kalè glanced at each other in surprise at their shared annoyance.
"Fine," Akin said reluctantly.
"I'm Akin. Now, get your face out of my personal space." He pushed Peak back, who had been leaning a little too close for comfort.
Kalè added, "And I'm Kalè. So please refrain from using that ridiculous name," as she stepped aside to let Peak stumble from Akin's push.
Peak stopped suddenly, then pointed at Akin with a smirk.
"Akin! You're my type!" he declared, his grin widening.
"Your... what?" Akin stammered, stunned by the comment.
"You know I'm not into that, right? Falling for me at first sight is just a little—"
Before he could finish, his words were cut off as he caught sight of Kalè springing into action, blocking an inn's attack with her sword.
"What the—!" Akin exclaimed as they realized they were surrounded.
Four inns were closing in on them, their menacing forms ready to strike.
Peak's gaze darkened, a faint smile spreading across his face.
"Well, well, looks like we're getting closer to town," he murmured, glancing at the inns surrounding them.
"Don't worry, I've got them," kalè declared, recalling her defeat against Feya and determined to prove herself.
She ignited her sword's flame with a sharp flick, then swung it, sending the head of the nearest inn flying in a single, fluid motion.
"Move aside, you two!" she commanded, leaping forward, her gaze locked on the remaining three inns with deadly intent.
"First form: White Blaze!" she shouted, and a powerful white flame erupted from her sword, crackling and intense.
Without hesitation, she spun downward in a swift, dance-like motion, her flaming sword leaving trails of white fire that ignited everything around her. The inns caught in the blaze were incinerated within moments, leaving only ashes in her wake.
Akin and Peak stood in slight impressed; it had all happened in under a minute.
Peak broke the silence with enthusiastic applause as Kalè landed, her sword's white flame forming a protective circle around them while the last traces of the inns burned to nothing.
"Nice, Kalè! Taking down those lower-level inns like it was nothing—impressive for the first day," Peak said, clapping with admiration.
Just then, kalè noticed the little pink dragon perched on Peak's shoulder, blinking up at her with wide eyes. Her expression softened instantly.
"So cute!" she murmured, blushing as the dragon chirped and rubbed affectionately against her cheek.
"Krrrrrr... krrrr," the dragon cooed, nuzzling Kalè's face.
"Looks like mini's taken a liking to you, Miss White," Peak teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Kalè's face hardened as she shot him a glare that could melt steel.
"Peak," she growled, her anger palpable.
"Yikes! Sorry, ma'am!" Peak flinched, stumbling backward and bumping into Akin. Leaning in, he whispered, "Is she always this terrifying?"
"Only when you mess up her name, I guess!" he replied, though his gaze stayed coldly on Kalè, feeling of more wariness at how skilled she truly was.
Just then, an ominous pressure filled the air, thick and chilling, radiating from somewhere to their right. The energy was so strong and distinct that all three of them froze, feeling its intensity.
"Do you feel that too?" Peak's tone turned serious.
his usual lightheartedness replaced by a sharp focus as he glanced at Akin's cold, tense expression.
"Sure did," Akin replied, his eyes narrowing. "And it's coming from exactly where we're headed."
*********
In no time They entered an abandoned town, each house dark and hollow, with an oppressive, sinister energy hanging thick in the air.
"If I had to guess, some people fled... while others were likely massacred," Kalè murmured, eyes catching on a scattering of skulls and half-buried bones in the dirt.
Akin clenched his fists, fury brewing inside him as he took in the desolation. "These damn creatures are pushing me to the edge," he thought, his gaze blazing with rage.
Just then, he noticed Peak's face harden as he focused intently on a rundown apartment nearby.
"Mini, you sense it too?" Peak asked, glancing at his pink dragon, which had settled on Kalè's shoulder.
Mini leapt off Kalè's shoulder and soared toward the apartment, signaling the direction of an ominous presence.
As they followed, inns emerged one by one from the shadows of every abandoned building, surrounding them with twisted grins and hostile glares.
Akin's hatred surged as he surveyed the creatures.
"You bastards ruined this place!" he snarled, charging forward in a burst of blue flames.
But just as he prepared to strike, the inns were engulfed in intense pink flames, halting him in his tracks. He stared, shocked, as the fire burned through them with merciless efficiency.
"The hell?" Akin thought, bewildered.
"Let's go," Peak said coolly, nodding toward the apartment. "We have a contract soul to capture."
Akin's eyes narrowed as he looked back at Peak, realizing the source of the flames. He then watched as Mini descended gracefully back onto Peak's shoulder.
"That dragon," Akin thought, piecing it together.
Peak glanced at him with a smirk. "Wondering? Mini's a pink-flame dragon. She can control her energy, even turn invisible."
"How does that work?!"
Akin question as they followed Mini up to the fourth floor, moving cautiously.