Chapter 60. Kai is in danger. (I)
Earlier that day
"Kai, Kai..." they cheered for the young girl.
"The Champion of Water is born..."
"A Supreme, this is not good." A young man with mahogany-brown hair and chestnut eyes bit his fingers nervously.
As others left to get gifts for the soon-to-be Supreme, he too left, but for an entirely different reason.
Under the glare of the afternoon sun, he walked through the streets, trying to hide his unease.
"I heard the flower shop’s little girl has awakened as a Supreme..."
"That can’t be. Supremes aren’t pebbles lying around everywhere..."
He turned to a group talking about the incident that had happened minutes ago.
"I must hurry before the Vulcan Kingdom hears of this first..." He turned into an alleyway, dried leaves littering the stone floor.
Rustle!
He jumped in fright at the sound, his fist instantly covered in stone, like a petrified gauntlet, glowing with a subtle brown hue from his residue mana.
Poised for attack, he turned, fist clenched, only to see a sparrow playing in a pile of dry leaves.
"You gave me a fright..." His shoulders slumped in relief, the stone gauntlet breaking into clusters of brown dots of energy.
He scanned his surroundings once more before heading deeper into the alleyway.
After walking for a minute or two, he halted in front of an inconspicuous building, no different from the numerous ones he had passed by.
He crouched down, pressing his hand against the second stone brick at the base of the building.
The stone brick broke into a cluster of brown dots of light upon contact.
Hidden behind it was a telephone, neat and pristine, untouched by dust.
He turned the dial as he ran his eyes around, praying no one saw him.
"Report..." A voice came through.
"A Supreme confirmed in Pryrewood. Kai, the daughter of a commoner." He relayed, his voice low, his eyes still alert for anyone tailing him.
The voice at the other end remained silent, seemingly musing over the report.
"Eliminate her..."
"What...?" His pupils dilated in disbelief.
Not out of pity for the girl, but out of disbelief that the task had fallen on him.
"...That will be a problem. She will surely be guarded. It will be impossible to kill her unnoticed." His logic was sound, but he didn’t say it because of its soundness. He said it out of cowardice, the sweat beading on his brow evident.
"Crow will aid you..."
"But... it will still be an impossible mission considering the security here..." He lied through his teeth. The security wasn’t that tight, not to mention his abilities.
He was a skilled Third Resonance Earth mage, specially trained in espionage and assassination, not to mention his natural talent for combat.
He was powerful enough to get through ten men even if they all ganged up on him.
His defense impenetrable, his offense unpredictable.
He was thus nicknamed the Snapping Turtle.
"...Turtle, this is for the Dominus Kingdom, for the safety of your family and friends here. You must bring honor to the Dominus Kingdom. If that girl is allowed to grow, the Dominus Kingdom will surely fall to Vulcan..." the voice persuaded.
It seemed he knew of the cowardly nature of his comrade.
"I hear..." He blinked in reluctance.
"For the Dominus Kingdom."
"For the Dominus Kingdom..." he echoed before hanging up, his hands sweating with anxiety.
"I will leave this place after this mission. The stress will be the end of me..." He conjured a stone brick to hide the telephone before stepping away, his steps uneven.
...
"Ren, when do we do it?" Turtle asked an elderly man with copper-red hair.
From a glance, one might think he was an Earth mage due to the almost brownish nature of his hair, yet the little constructs of crows made of flames dancing around the around him said otherwise.
Not to mention, upon closer look, one cannot miss it’s red hue.
"Grandpa Ren, make more, make more!" the kids around him cheered as they watched the spectacle.
They always came to play with him by the riverside, just like today.
He would sit atop a stone and create abstracts out of fire to entertain the kids.
His abilities were suspicious for a civilian, but after thorough investigations, the authorities didn’t find anything wrong with his particulars.
Everything checked out, not to mention he had been staying here for the past ten years, a few years before the war.
Under normal circumstances, he should have been dispatched to the war, but due to a lung disease, he was excused, leaving him to live a peaceful life in the county as Grandpa Ren.
"This should be a one-man job. Why am I included..." He paused, remembering the nature of the person he was talking to. "You..."
"No, it’s not what you are thinking. I didn’t drag you into it... I heard the Thunder Princess is around. I wouldn’t want to risk meeting her, that’s why I requested your help..." Turtle quickly explained, shaking his hands in denial.
Though he had only heard of the Thunder Princess’s presence after involving him.
Not that Crow would ever find out.
Reality had bailed him out; if not, Crow would never have agreed to help him.
"Isn’t she basically a cripple?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"No. New reports show that she is still the same force she was seven years ago... They even say we should stay clear of her and her son after an incident at the Unbloodied Valley."
"Sigh..." Crow rubbed his temple in annoyance.
"Let’s head out tonight. If the Thunder Princess is involved, they will surely be at the Count’s manor."
"Thank you..." Turtle rubbed his hands together in gratitude. His chances of success had increased exponentially, at least that was what he believed.
...
Night fell.
The silver moon bathed the night in its brilliance, stars twinkling as they shared in its glory.
Crow and Turtle joined the crowd that had followed Alaric and his group to the manor, all stopped several meters away by the soldiers.
They all watched as Kai and her group walked into the manor.
The VIPs no longer visible, everyone turned back, Crow and Turtle seemingly doing the same.
An hour later, they stood at an unguarded part of the manor’s fenced wall.
"Make it quick. The little girl has separated from Raika..."
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A/N
10 golden tickets = 1 extra Chapter.
100 power stones = 1 extra Chapter.
Goal: G: 4/10
P: 48/100
Almost half way there.