Chapter 6: Crap!

POV: ???

So, I screwed up. I really screwed up! Dammit, dammit. I need to kill them, not here; it's way too crowded.

"Excuse me!" I pushed a couple out of my way as I made my way through a busy Top platform. I looked over my shoulder and saw the four of them chasing after me. I was lucky they're stupid enough to dress uniformly, or they might have really caught me off guard. 4 wannabe gangsters in tacky black suits. I'll be doing the Castle a favor of getting rid of you punks. But I don't wanna draw more attention to myself. I stumbled a bit and looked down at my shoes.

"I can't run in these stupid things." I floated just for a moment to take off these stupid heels and threw them off to the side. I continued to push my way through the crowd. I looked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of the 4 of them; it looked like they were closing in. No matter where I went, they seemed to be able to track me. It was the only reason I didn't just take off into the air right now; it wouldn't matter much. They must have some kind of AOS tracking device on them. How this bunch of small-time crooks got their hands on them, I couldn't tell.

"Hey, move it! Move It! Everyone get out of my way, please!" I shouted out to the large cluster of people in front of me. I carved my way through the group. I made my way past a crimson-haired beauty but collided with the guy behind her. It didn't slow me down much, but I did stumble just a bit.

"Watch it, would you?!" I shouted at him, but when I looked into his face, I regretted it almost immediately. He was so pretty, with that Dark Black hair and haunting dark purple eyes. I turned to continue running. I peeked over my shoulder to see him still staring at me. I was used to that, but it was something about his eyes; I almost lost myself in them. I focused and noticed that the 4 idiots seemed to have lost track of me. They were no longer making a B-line straight for me.

"Maybe whatever they're using to track me went out. Good, this is my chance." I stopped for just a moment to find an excellent spot to lead them,

"There…"

There was a shop that had recently closed down; the alleyway near there should be pretty deserted. That would do nicely. I quickly made my way towards the alley. Only after I was close did I flare my Soul-Source around my person just for a moment. If they were using a device to track me, that should be more than enough to get their attention. If they didn't come, I really lost them for now, and I could just head home.

I stood in the alley waiting for them, releasing my Soul-Source out little by little. I stayed there for almost 20 minutes before I finally decided to start heading home. Just as I began to walk back towards the street, I saw my pursuers turn the corner to block my way.

"Finally found you. I wonder how you managed to slip past our sensors?" The male Lizeodan spoke. He seemed to be the leader of this particular group of people. His viciously spiked tail curled out from the back of his suit; his black scales were almost merging into the shadows of the alleyway. Other than that, he looked far more humanoid than most of his race. You could tell he took pride in that fact by the way he carried himself and that stupid purposely messy hair-do that was clearly implanted, as his race grew neither fur nor feathers.

He smiled at me, with a mouth full of fangs,

"I told you before. Aunt doesn't want to hurt you. She wants to make you an offer."

"Oh please, she just wants me to hook up with her dumbass son," I responded back to him aggressively. He snarled at me, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile,

"Look, my little cousin… may not be the most talented. And may not look as good as me, but he's a good kid. All my aunt wants is for you to meet him. What do you say?"

"Hard Pass!... I have no interest in him. And there's nothing you can offer me anyway, so beat it." I dismissively waved them off. If they really didn't want any real trouble, then that should be enough to shoo them away.

"Nothing to offer? What about protection, huh?"

"Protection from what?" I said as I narrowed my eyes at this bastard. They seemed to think they knew something about me. They didn't know a damn thing, but I was curious to see what they thought they had.

"We don't know for sure what you're hiding from, but we know you're hiding. I know you have 3 Bents. With one only being found within the 11 Ruling families, not quite sure what the other two are. You're a peasant with Ruler blood. Someone wants you dead, right? So, why not consider our help?"

My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. He knew quite a bit. Not as much as he thought, but more than enough to be annoying. I dropped my arms to my side,

"How many people know about me?" I asked. The Lizeodan smile grew wider as if he had caught a big prize.

"Everyone in our family knows that you're in hiding. The fact you have 3 Bents, and Ruler blood, only I know. That was just speculation that I had, based on some observations." He began to laugh. I suppose it was funny, wasn't it? He made me confirm his theory. I let out a sigh,

"Well, that's good. Killing your whole family would have been a hassle, and now I know I just need to kill you 4." I said with a smile on my face. The Lizeodan, eyes widened.

"What?! Kill us? Isn't that a bit extreme?" A woman on the side of the Lizeodan gasped.

"Extreme? You chase me down and passively-aggressively threaten me into dating your cousin. No doubt, to use me as a pawn for your family to gain more notoriety. How is killing you to make sure my secret stays hidden extreme in this circumstance? Don't pretend as if you weren't going to use force to make me come with you if I disagreed."

I was positive that if I didn't agree to their terms, they would try and find some way to make a profit off me. So screw 'em. The Lizeodan smirked,

"You may have 3 Bents, but don't overestimate yourself. Between the 4 of us, we have 2 Bents ourselves and superior numbers. Even if you kill us, it won't be easy." He smirked cockily. He thought he was so bright, didn't he? He was a decent bluffer, and against anyone else that would matter, but against me, it did not. Numbers meant nothing in the face of absolute power.

"You're a pretty smart guy, Lizeodan. Not as smart as you think. None of you are leaving here alive."

"As if you can stop us! Retreat, there's no reason to fight her now." He shouted as the 4 of them turned around to run. I'm sure he didn't count on me being willing to go this far. The 4 of them rushed toward the end of the alley, and I extended my hand.

"Star Bu~..." I stopped as soon as I saw the 4 of them run into an invisible wall about halfway to the alley's end. They pounded on the space in front of them, and the air simply waved and distorted. When they entered, I had set up an illusionary wall to block prying eyes… but I didn't do this. The Lizeodan turned around and shouted,

"What the hell is this?"

"I don't know… this isn't me," I said, confused, as I began to look around myself. I could get rid of these guys any time I wanted to, but this was disturbing. The Lizeodan turned to face me and frowned,

"Screw this bitch. We tried to play nice, just kill her. Call for backup." The Lizeodan commanded and one of the others. I wasn't just going to sit there and let it happen, but before I could make a move, the women spoke,

"Sir, I tried to call for backup the moment we were stopped by this wall. Nothing is going out!!!"

"What did you do?!" The Lizeodan shouted at me once again.

"I'm not doing this, idiot!!" I shouted back at him. The only reason I wasn't killing them at this point was that they could make decent meat shields for whatever was lurking. I expanded my senses out into the area to try and find out what was happening. Just as I began, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the darkness of the alley behind me.

"Omega."

I turned around and saw a figure walking out of the shadows. The Mysterious Figure hands were in their pocket, and they wore a hooded asymmetrical black Cardigan. He was clearly a man from his build, but what drew my attention the most was the mask on his face that had 3 Red eyes on it. I subconsciously, gasp as I took a step back,

"Senohoi…" I whispered as the figure walked past me.

"That's a nice dress. Looks good on you." I heard a voice from behind the mask directed at me. I looked down at my own attire and clicked my tongue a bit. The dress was beautiful before those thugs started chasing me. I had torn off most of it to make it easier to run. I should have never gone to that stupid party; I knew something seemed a bit off, but turning down a free meal was against my personal code of honor. I scoffed and retorted back,

"Thanks, asshole."

As I insulted him, I heard a chuckle come from behind the mask and smirked. The group must have listened to our banter as Lizeodan shouted out with rage,

"He's with you?! Who is he?! Who are you?"

"No one is important." The Mysterious Man responded, not concerned with anything that The Lizeodan had to say. He just continued to walk towards him slowly. Was he confident, or was he stalling? I couldn't tell. The Lizeodan looked over at the woman to his right,

"What are you getting on the measurement? How much Soul-Source does he have?"

"Ah, I'm not getting anything from him… it's like he's not there at all. Just like what happened earlier with the girl." They said while touching their glasses. So it was those stupid-looking goggles that they were using to track me. What did she say? Just like what happened to me earlier? So it wasn't a malfunction. Was it this guy? But when did I?

"Dreamy Eyes?" I said out loud without thinking. A chuckle came from behind the mask once again,

"Yeah, I get that a lot, rude lady." He joked back, confirming my suspensions. I smiled and folded my arms; what luck did I have? Running into a Senohoi randomly on the street? I didn't need his help, not for these jokes, but if he killed them instead of me, at least I can have deniability if The Lizeodan's aunt comes looking for answers.

"You hid her from us in the crowd? What's your relationship with her?" The Lizeodan seemed to put things together as well. He was many things, but dumb wouldn't be completely accurate.

"Hiding her Soul-Source was an accident. It made it hard for u-, me to track her myself. Our relationship? Well, there is none. I just noticed you guys chasing her and decided to help."

"Why?" Lizeodan demanded

"I think she's pretty. Hehehe…" The mysterious man responded with no shame. How shallow could one person be? The Lizeodan glared at the mask on Man's face; if not for that or the fact they couldn't get a read on how much Soul-Source he had, he would have attacked already. But why hadn't the Senohoi acted? They were not bound by the local laws and were free to cause havoc as they pleased. As long as they didn't get on the wrong side of the 11 Ruling families, there was very little they could not do. What was his game?

"How much do you want to forget this and just leave?"

"I don't need money." The mysterious man responded.

"Do you know who my aunt is?" The Lizeodan asked as I saw his breathing becoming more labored. He was scared.

"You'll be dead soon; your family doesn't matter." He responded as he continued his slow stroll towards the group. The Lizeodan let out a roar, likely trying to draw attention to their location. The man began to laugh once again,

"No one can hear you, no one can see you. And no one will find the bodies. You will disappear from this world today with a whimper. Blame yourselves for having the nerve to toy with lives without thinking someone else would toy with yours." Each word he spoke came out with more aggression, as if his confidence was building as he spoke.

While his confidence was built, The Lizeodan's spirit seemed to shrink. He snarled once again,

"I will not just sit here and wait for death. Come on!!" He shouted as he charged towards the masked man. The three behind him charged forwards as well. I would help, but I wanted to see what this guy was made of. He was a Senohoi; there was no telling what he would do after finishing this lot.

"Sit, stand, walk, run. It doesn't matter. It’ll be the same result." He extended his right hand, and with a simple motion, the four of them were blasted into the invisible wall behind them. That wasn't air pressure; I didn't feel or hear any wind. He must be using a BENT; there were no signs of AOS crafting. What was it? I looked over at The Lizeodan; the other three had already been knocked out by the force. The Lizeodan race was much sturdier than most; it was no surprise that he was still conscious.

He glared up at the man with the mask and began to stand up. Before he could get to his feet, it looked like an immense weight was coming down on his shoulders. He struggled to stand up.

"Bow." The mysterious man said with disdain in his voice. As he spoke, The Lizeodan crumbled. Dropping to both of his knees, his head was forced to bow, crashing into the ground.

"Gravity!!!... Crap! Shit Shit Shit! I didn't know! We didn't know! If you had your eyes on this female, we would have never interfered. Please!" The Lizeodan said in a panic. It was a shock to my ears as well. Only one species had Gravity Bents, and even for them, it was a rarity. What was someone like him doing here? He must be here for Higher Learning. Even if he wasn't, their race was known for their free-spirited approach to life. They really could pop up anywhere. I stared at his back and wondered what he was going to do.

"Don't beg; it's gross. What will you do if I let you go?" The Mysterious Man asked once again.

"I-I'll let my aunt know that she's under your family's protection. We won't bother her anymore. I promise my aunt will listen to me if I tell her what happened here." The Lizeodan pleaded once again.

"Hmmm, I could just kill you all and get the same results, though. What's stopping me from doing that?"

"My aunt won't sit idly after learning of my death, and your family isn't here!!!" The Lizeodan retorted almost threateningly.

"Idiot…" I said to the Lizeodan while shaking my head. I gave him too much credit before. Did he threaten someone at this point? If he played his cards well, he might have been able to come out of this alive. But he's been enjoying life too long in this little pond as a large fish. So long he's been like this that even when running into natural Apex predators, he still defaults to baring his fangs, fool.

"Maybe, but she'll need to know you're dead first. It'll take her some time to figure it out, with no traces. I'm sure we can prepare ourselves in time." The mysterious man began to threaten. What did he mean, we? Was he dragging me into this business, or did he have partners? I couldn't pick up on the presence of anyone else, but he could have just used whatever he was doing to himself, make it seem like he had no Soul-Source at all. Everything about him was a little unsettling.

The Lizeodan seemed to be getting more frustrated. Apparently, he had undergone no formal study of AOS; he primarily relied on his Bent, which was more than likely a physical one. He stood no chance against a practiced AOS practitioner. This scene was starting to get a little sad,

"Stop playing with your food and just eat already," I said, directing my words towards the Mysterious Man.

"You vicious bitch! If I'm going to die, I'll take you with me!!" Shockwaves exploded off the Lizeodan's body, knocking me away. I gathered myself, twisting in the air and landing softly on my feet not too far away from where I was flung. However, the Mysterious Man seemed stable in the same position as before; he hadn't moved. The Lizeodan's body was now at least a foot taller than before, and he doubled in girth. He was at least 8ft tall, covered in Spikes. His Physical Bent must involve physical transformations, which was relatively rare.

The Lizeodan's muscles tensed as the added gravity no longer seemed to affect him. He leaped forward, shooting past the man, and headed straight for me. I folded my arms and smirked unconcerned.

"You're so stupid."

I said with disappointment. The Lizeodan looked behind himself to see The Masked Man, grabbing hold of his tail, as he remained suspended in mid-air. I let out a sigh,

"His Bent is Gravity; it is very oppressive. It doesn't matter how big or physically strong you are; he can manipulate the battlefield to his liking. Even someone with a Student level of understanding with a Gravity BENT would be an annoying opponent for any AOS Practitioner. Not to mention, most Physical Bents are worthless against it."

This Lizeodan didn't look like an AOS practitioner at all; he seemed to rely entirely on his rare physical Bent and advanced tech. He was easy prey. He continued to roar in vain. He could do nothing but float there helplessly as the Masked Man held on to his tail. The Lizeodan turned to look at him and shouted,

"So what!!? Your gravity can't kill me; I'll wear you down and rip your head off!!!"

Such a disappointment. I really thought he had at least a bit of brain inside that noggin of his, but he turned out to just be a meathead. Gravity could kill him, and it would be a painful death. Even if the Mysterious Man's understanding wasn't high enough to use the more deadly applications, he had a 3 eyed Quqe Mask. There was no way that one of those eyes didn't have some offensive Bent in them.

"It would be too messy, anyway. Like I said. I don't want to leave a trace." The Senohoi responded as his voice became rather grim. A dark outline radiated off of his body. A sickly black cloud oozed off his skin,

"Return to Nothing." He said almost in a whisper as the black clouds shot off his body and engulfed The Lizeodan. I could hear the muffled screams of the massive creature inside of that black cloud. The screams lasted only for a few moments until the masked man waved his hands, and the cloud swept around to scoop up the other three that were unconscious on the ground. Their bodies weren't nearly as rigid as the Lizeodan's and provided no resistance, as they disappeared in an instant.

I didn't see any AOS symbols being formed, no catalyst device. Just a wave of his hand. It must have been another Bent, darkness, a scarce variant. One I've never even heard of. Was that his, or did it come from his Quqe? Whatever it was, he was dangerous, that was dangerous. He stared at the spot where the other three he had killed were; he stood there for a while, silently. Suddenly he took off his mask and turned to face me.

"Woo.. glad that's over, right?" He said as he ruffled his hair with a big goofy grin. Now that I was getting a good look at him, he was a pretty boy through and through. He also looked far too innocent to do what he just did. Before I could say anything, he spoke,

"So, do you know what that guy's name was?"

"Him? No, I know of his cousin and his aunt." I responded. It was natural that he was curious; after all, it would be best for him to know what he was dealing with if this came to light. Before he asked, I began to answer,

"His cousin is Sizuru Galdent Jr, the Aunt is Lady Hilali Galdent. She's the owner of a local Lending Company with some shady ties."

"They aren't tied with the Black Market, are they?" He asked immediately. That was an astute observation. Giving those high-tech goggles, they no doubt got them from the Black Market. Lucky for him, I had already asked and answered these questions myself a while back,

"Yes, but she's not a big enough player for them to really care what happens to her group."

"Good, that would have been… inconvenient if her connections were deep." Only inconvenient? Either he was a lot more than I thought, or he was putting up a front. Either way, it was impressive because if he was faking it, I couldn't see past his lies.

"How do you know so much about them anyway?" He asked me curiously. That was a fair question. I had no reason to deny him an explanation,

"They've been eyeing me for a while. I needed to know who was after me, to better avoid them."

"Why are they so interested in you?" He asked. What a curious boy.

"The same reason you're eyeing me. I'm beautiful and talented," I said, flipping my hair over my shoulder with a smile.

"Fair enough. Guessing Sizuru had his eyes on you, he’s a spoiled brat, and the rest is history. Alright… So let's get down to business, shall we? What are you going to give me for a reward?"

He said to me shamelessly. I should have known he wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart. I would have been better off handling them myself.

"A reward for what? No one told you to butt in. I didn't need your help."

"Sure, you didn't." He responded glibly, the cocky asshole.

"I didn't need your help!" I retorted back.

"Sure, you didn't."

"I didn't!!! Stop saying that!!!" I finally lost my patience with him. He smiled at me and then threw up his hands,

"Alright, fine, sure. Let's say you didn't." Clever… smart little ass. I let out a sigh placing my right hand on my hip.

"You think you're cute, don't you?"

"Kind of?" He said, giving a bright smile that I hated to admit looked good on him. I rolled my eyes, and he continued,

"Regardless of whether you needed me to step in or not. You can't deny that I helped you. Think about it. If the Galdents get wind of this, which they will, I'll make sure of it, their attention will be drawn to me. So you'll have some peace of mind at least for a little while."

I reluctantly nodded my head in agreement. He made a good point. But I wasn't going to be taken for a ride,

"Alright, that's true… but I also shared information with you. That's plenty of compensation. So what do you want? It can't be anything crazy." I told him with my arms folded. He stood there, lost in thought, for a few moments and then started to walk towards me. He was only a couple feet away now, and he stood about 8in taller than me, about 6'3. He was well built, and he had a certain allure to him that I couldn't understand. I guess what they said about that species was true if he was one of them. He leaned in with those dark purple pools staring daggers at me,

"How about a kiss?" he asked with no reservation.

"No…" I responded flatly.

"A date?"

"No…"

"Contact Information?"

"No…"

"Alright, alright, I get it, geez! How about your name then?" He asked as he pulled his face back away from my own. I folded my arms while raising an eyebrow,

"Aonani…" I said flatly again.

"Well, hello, Aonani, I'm Zachary. See ya around." He said without pushing to ask my last name. He walked past me and started to head back into the darkness at the back of the alley. Before he took more than a couple of steps, I asked,

"That's it? That's all you want?"

"I mean, yeah. That's all you're willing to give me, so I'll take it. I'm sure I'll see you around. The Top-level isn’t that big. Even if you don't live up here, being 'beautiful and talented,' I'm sure you at least work up here somewhere. With this Galdent nonsense, we’re bound to meet again. See ya." He said as he continued to walk off.

I stared at his back as he slowly walked away. Finding a Senohoi, especially an agreeable one, was rare. He seemed nice enough, and being out here on my own was a little taxing. So maybe,

"Zac!!" I shouted out to him.

"Nani?!" He said as he stopped, turning to face me.

I brought up my left wrist, making a motion over the crystal bangle. The bangle lit up, and a beam of aqua green light traveled towards the crystal hanging around Zac's neck. I guess that was his assistant, never seen one so small before.

"That's my Contact Frequency, and I'm free in 30 hours."

I watched Zac look at his crystal and then looked back at me with a smile on his face.

"Then I'll see you in 30 hours. Oh, but ah, wear shoes. I'm not that into feet." He snickered.

"Asshole," I responded,

"Ice queen." He retorted. I shook my head; the man had a sharp tongue. There was no point in continuing this playful banter. I turned around to leave myself, but he called out to me this time before I could go.

"Hey, Nani, why change your mind?"

What did make me change my mind? He was kind enough; he didn't persist when it wasn't wanted. He seemed competent and, dare I say reliable, he knew a few of my secrets, and I knew a bit of his, but if I'm honest with myself,

"Why? Well, I think you're pretty. Hehehe." I answered before leaving the alley after ensuring that the invisible wall he had created earlier was gone. As I was leaving the alley, I heard his quieting voice,

"Damn, got nothing for that one."

He seems like he'll be fun. I wonder how long it'll last? It will have to end, eventually.

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