‘Urgh! Wrong… wrong… it’s all wrong…’
Wearing a black and gold uniform, a young woman of slightly tanned skin, amber eyes, and straight long black hair confidently strode her way inside a small office—an expression that revealed no emotion behind it. She closed the door immediately after her entrance, and secretly locked it behind her. At the other end of the room, a more mature woman revised a tower of papers behind a wooden desk. She had short black hair, round glasses, and a neat office suit—her attention quickly caught by the unexpected guest.
“Lieutenant?” she said, fixing her glasses before lowering the page in her hand. “You never show yourself without permission, is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I need you to tell me something… Yeon.”
“As long as it’s not confidential. Go ahead.”
“Sovereign… who is he?”
“He is your boss.”
‘Urk! No… this… this didn’t happen! She was… she was… where…’
“Is that really all?” asked the lieutenant, prompting Yeon to lean forward on her desk.
“Why not go straight to the point, lieutenant. If you have something important to tell me…”
Yeon was interrupted with a shocking response from Lionheart, as she extended her arm towards her while a cluster of crimson particles formed around it—creating the well-known spectral gear. Yeon stared down the barrel of the lieutenant’s pistol while offering no reaction, her eyes as stoic and composed as usual. Lionheart’s however, glared furiously at her from the other side of the desk.
‘No… she wouldn’t… this isn’t… why am I…’
“You know who he is…” the lieutenant told Yeon, placing her index finger on the gun’s trigger. “You protected him… from me…”
“What are you trying to accomplish here, lieutenant?”
“I don’t care… You know what he did… he… he killed my mother…”
‘…!’
“The people I loved… I… I was only a little girl, and he… he turned my father into a monster!”
“…” Standing from her sit, Yeon closed her eyes while sighing deeply—meeting Lionheart’s furious gaze with a serene gaze. “He insisted in gifting you that gear,” she told the girl. “He gave you Bloodhound, Lucy. He is not who you think he is.”
“He took everything from me! Why! What did I do to deserve losing everything!”
‘…’
“Lieutenant, you don’t—”
‘…!’
A banging sound ricochet off every wall of the small office, and Yeon collapsed into the floor in a mere instant—taken down by the supernatural force of a crimson bullet that pierced her throat. A string of smoke emanated from the barrel of Lionheart’s pistol, and the veins of its black armored body glowed brightly with excitement. Just like the lieutenant herself, the spectral gear rejoiced at the sight of an agonizing Yeon, watching her as she drowned slowly in a crimson puddle. With the right hand of the man she louted beyond words dealt with, Lionheart turned around towards the office’s door to make her exit, locking the door from the other side on her leave.
‘Lionheart… Lionheart…!’
Kingdom of Heildin, Remote Village: 937, January 12th, Saturday, 1:00 PM.
“Hup! Hya!”
Surrounded by the beautiful greenery of a vast forest, Gal Frey, fourth and last student of Ninigi—the knight once known as the champion, performed her usual training among the trees of a remote village hidden within. Drops of sweat spurt from her face with the sharp motions of the girl’s attacks, thrusting and swinging her feet to implement powerful kicks that split the air like sharp blades.
The silence of the forest allowed her mind to focus solely on her exercises, leaving her determined gaze to be lost on empty space. Her muscles hurt, and her head spun with dizziness, yet the young redhead refused to leave her spot. She practiced for hours without end, distracting her thoughts from the gladean knight that had raised her from childhood, and taught her everything she knew about the world.
“Gal!” a voice called out to her—one she chose to ignore to continue her training.
“…”
“Not this again…” with a frustrated growl, Maulik stepped in front of one of the girl’s attacks, and raise one of his arms to block her heavy kick—their impact bouncing off every trunk of the trees that surrounded them. “Enough,” he told her. “I won’t be picking you up if you collapse again.”
“Then don’t,” she replied firmly, turning away from him to start kicking the air once again.
“You are starting to piss me off, Gal.” the hybrid stepped in front of her for a second time—their furious gazes meeting from up close. “Just because master is…”
“He is not dead!” snapped the redhead.
“I didn’t say that…” Maulik shook one hand in front of his face while lowering his brows. “Didn’t you hear what Bloodhound said?”
“What do they know…” Gal’s voice softened, as she averted her eyes from the other hybrid.
He sighed at the girl’s change of attitude, almost relieved to see her relax for once. However, her sad and concerned stare towards the ground still left much to be desired. Gal’s behavior shifted abruptly after King’s defeat at the Deadlands, her usual chirpy self no longer enjoyed bothering him with sparring matches or deprecating jokes. She barely touched her food, and would spend most of her days practicing her kicks within the forest with unbreakable diligence.
Maulik in the other hand, chose to hide himself from the world just like his master used to do. Meditation became his everyday activity, with the usual training sessions to honed his powerful punches. He had barely seen Gal in the past few days despite living together, a fact he chose to neglect no longer.
“He’ll be fine, Gal.” Maulik told her with a smile, gently patting the girl in her shoulder with one hand. “If there is someone out there that we shouldn’t worry so much about is him. He is the legendary champion, remember? What do you think he would say in moments like this?”
“…Gal, stop. I’m meditating. We can play hide and seek another day?”
“Ah, well… not really… that only happened when you bothered him too much.” The hybrid rubbed his forehead with one hand. “Also, aren’t you too old to be playing games like that?”
The girl frowned in disagreement, folding her arms before a scoff. “Hmph! Aren’t you too old to be reading your kiddie picture books?”
“They are comics!”
“…”
“… hahah…” Maulik chuckled while shaking his head slowly. “Just cheer up a little. He would hate to see you down like this. Him… and miss Atalanta too…”
“She hasn’t come back either…”
“I know… I know… let’s believe in her too, alright? She is The Golden Lightning after all. We’ll show them both how strong we can become without their help. Gal!”
“Ah!” the girl flinched at Maulik’s sudden yell.
“Let’s train together tomorrow, just another friendly spar between the two of us!”
Not wanting to sulk forever, while putting her trust in the man she revered as a legendary warrior, respected as a teacher, and loved like the father she never had, Gal revealed her pearly whites with a confident smirk before replying to the hybrid’s request. “Hm! Gigi won’t be here to stop me this time, and when he comes back, I’ll tell him how I beat you into the dust, Maulik! Then he’ll kick you out of the house, and I will become his only student!”
“…”
“What?”
Maulik sighed while dropping his head, continuing with a relieved chuckle quickly after. “Nothing… let’s head back home. Tea?”
“Eww, yours sucks!”
“Why are you so mean to me?”
END OF CHAPTER
