At the amazingly beautiful park in Dhara’s center, Zoey, her face obscured by a black-and-white panda mask, admired the park. Although it wasn’t that populated due to the weather and the fact that two well-known, highly dangerous criminals were openly relaxing on the park’s bench, it was still quite nice to see. It was still a shock to see that the magji world still had some good things about it. If you remove the shitty people, magji could be used for beautiful things like this.
The very heart of Dhara could be said to be this public expanse, shimmering with the echoes of magji artistry. This public expanse shimmered with the echoes of magji artistry. Ornate fountains pulsed with streams of colored water propelled by unseen magical forces. Miniature birds, crafted from shimmering magji energy, flitted through the air, their chirps a whimsical counterpoint to the distant city hum. Even the cobblestone walkways seemed to shimmer with a faint internal glow.
Scattered throughout the park were works of art, each frozen in a pose that captured the essence of their contribution. A towering figure of S-Grade magjistar Anika, the founder of Dhara, stood with arms outstretched, symbolizing the city's embrace of magji. Nearby, a playful sculpture of Scholar Lin, renowned for his work in crafting Dhara, depicted him surrounded by floating boulders of incredible size. Zoey couldn't help but wonder why the hell couldn’t magji be focused more on this stuff.
Then she remembered. Oh yeah, the daemons. From what Zoey could remember, things like this don’t help kill daemons, which is the sole purpose of magjistars. Actually, if there were no more daemons, would the magjistars just disband and stop developing magji techniques for fighting? Then she laughed. Of course not. They’d just develop them away from daemons and toward magjistars.
Zoey might not be a straight-A student, but even she could see the signs from the numerous history classes she’s taken. And most magjistars seem kind of backward in general, like they haven’t evolved alongside non-magji people because they have magji. Or, for whatever reason, they have terrible attitudes toward non-magji people. It didn’t really matter to Zoey in the end, though. She was going to merge all three of the worlds together eventually. Magjistars, Daemons, and Humans. Even if she had to drag them all kicking and screaming. World Peace seemed like a fantastic, impossible goal for her to strive for as long as she had the Box. If, for whatever reason, the box leaves her, she can just try to live a normal life.
"Do we really need her alive, Panda?" Tiffany, her voice tinged with a disturbingly playful sweetness, tilted her head at Zoey. Her polar bear mask did little to hide the glint of malice in her eyes as she glanced at the tied-up Amelia Patil.
“I’m not going to kill someone who, as far as I know, done nothing wrong. All Roy said was to take care of her. There are plenty of ways to do that without killing her.” Zoey responded.
“I can kill her.” Tiffany offered leisurely.
“No.” Zoey rejected her instantly.
“Awh…” Tiffany silently sheathed the sword she was pulling out. “So why the heck are we just relaxing out in the open for anyone to find us? Shouldn’t we be burying her in a hole or hiding her somewhere they would never find her right now? We got a big, big, big! Bounty on our heads right now. Haven’t you read the paper?” Tiffany excitedly shoved the newspaper in Zoey’s face.
Zoey silently watched and read the newspaper, almost touching her eyelashes. Her booty looked nice in this video… Whoever Sammy Heights is, she recorded from a great angle. It really showed off Zoey’s good sides, even with her mask on.
“I did pretty awesome, right? Can’t take your eyes off me, can you?” Tiffany proudly boasted. “I wouldn’t even mind if you fell in love with me right now and just decided to make out with me on this park bench right now.” Tiffany closed her eyes and puckered her soft plump lips.
“I want to have a little more fun before we leave,” Zoey said, pushing the newspaper at Tiffany’s approaching lips.
“Booo…” Tiffany tossed the newspaper behind her as she playfully kicked her legs back and forth on the bench. “Well, it shouldn’t be long before they come find us.” Tiffany smiled.
“I can’t wait.” Zoey was shaking.
Not from the cold winter air but excitement. She was going to see Dhara at its best. It’s strongest magjistars, all headed toward her. Well, and Tiffany… But mostly her! As long as she prevented Amelia from being rescued, she could take her time properly having fun with Dhara’s best.
“You prevent Amelia from being rescued. I will handle whoever comes to save her.” Zoey stated their plan, locking eyes with Tiffany.
Tiffany felt a shiver as she saw Panda’s look. It wasn’t a cold shiver, but her instincts guided her to stay out of the way. Tiffany wanted to fight alongside Panda, but seeing her like this kind of excited her in a different way… Maybe watching Panda let loose wouldn’t be so bad. Who knew she was into something like this?
“Okaii!” Tiffany happily replied, following orders like a good girl.
“Good.” Zoey smiled.
Tiffany blushed as she mistakenly heard Panda call her a good girl. Just as she was about to turn to Panda and give her a great big hug, unfortunately, a whole bunch of people decided to ruin their amazing date. She sighed with her arms still outstretched while Panda stood up with her boxing gloves, a fearsome aura coming from her body. As Panda walked toward the newcomers, Tiffany placed her sword across Amelia’s throat and eagerly looked forward to the beatdown Panda was about to give them. That hug she was about to give Panda could’ve made her fall in love with her!
More and more people showed up in the park. They came from all sides, fully prepared for war. Some would think it was a bit of an overkill for just two criminals, but Zoey couldn’t be happier that she couldn’t even count how many magjistars were around her right now. It only took a quick glance before she found who was the person she needed to speak to.
The others surrounded her in a circle while three people came forward. Two women and a man. Obviously, Zoey didn’t recognize any of them. She wasn’t from this OM branch. It’d be crazy if she did recognize them. Hopefully, they were the strongest here.
“Release Amelia Patil, and I can promise you that no harm will befall either of you.” The silver-haired lady stated. Spine straight, eyes hard, and confident posture. She was ready for a battle.
“One hundred million cavons, and you can have her.” Zoey suddenly thought of a good excuse.
“So, you never had any intention of negotiating in the first place.” A redhead with fire-colored hair stepped forward, his hands suddenly combusting into flames.
“Don’t tell me you’re too poor to afford it?” Inner Zoey mockingly looked at the three.
“I’m not even worth one hundred million cavons, and I run this city. Don’t play games with me. What do you want?” Silver lady didn’t find any amusement in this whatsoever.
“The truth is, I'm just here to have fun. I don’t really care about that lady back there. I’m here for you, you, you, you, you, and everyone else.” Zoey pointed at them all.
“So she’s insane. Great. Powerful and crazy—what a combo…” Sand swirled around the lady with a turban on her head.
“Are you really suicidal?” Silver lady asked one last time.
“I doubt I’m going to die here. Unless you guys have an S-Grade magjistar hiding somewhere.” Inner Zoey shrugged.
As Zoey's words hung in the air, tension crackled like electricity around them. The silver-haired woman exchanged a meaningful glance with her companions before stepping forward, her expression a mixture of resolve and caution. “My name is Elena Vasquez. I will no longer spare you the option of surrendering. Prepare to die.”
"Call me Yimeh. We don't need an S-Grade magjistar to deal with people like you," Flame Boy retorted, his voice arrogant.
"We have the combined strength of the Organization of Magjistars behind us, and we will not hesitate to use it to bring you to justice. And the dead have no need for names, but since they introduced themselves, I am Layla." Sand Woman reminded her.
Zoey curled her lips into a smirk behind her mask, unfazed by Layla’s proclamation. "Justice… You know, I really don’t like that word," she remarked, her tone defiant. "But let’s see what you got. I don’t mind if you come at me all at once or one at a time.” With a swift motion, Zoey signaled to Tiffany, who tightened her grip on her sword, readying herself for any rescue attempts. The tension in the air thickened as the two sides braced for conflict, each aware of the stakes at hand.
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