Chapter 52: Fate' Response
Taking a seat on a chair next to Effie, I looked around, focusing on the ten strangers mulling about the room.
'Who the hell are they? Retainers, maybe?' I thought as Regis manifested beside me, his spectral form earning a brief glance from the group. After a moment, their attention returned to their conversations as if dismissing him entirely.
Turning his head toward them, he caught their attention for a moment once more. However, they quickly returned to their idle chit-chat.
"Fancy crowd" Regis commented sarcastically as he approached Effie and sprawled out in front of her legs with a satisfied hum.
Effie eyed the wolf with an amused smile but then leaned down and whispered into my ear, "I take it you don't know these guys either?"
"Yeah. Are they from the camp, or…?"
She shook her head, her expression tinged with a bit of unease. "No. Apparently, they left the castle and were recruited by Caster…" She trailed off, shooting a wary glance at the strangers before continuing on, "…to join the cohort."
If I hadn't held myself back, my eyes would have shot out of their sockets. Even so, my expression must have given me away because Effie shot me a sympathetic look.
"What? But… this wasn't supposed to happen" I whispered, glancing at the ten of them.
Each one of them was young and well-built. They wore chainmail or iron-plated armor, except for one, who sported armor made of teal scales with multiple belts running along the joints of the limbs.
Frowning, I shifted my attention to Nephis. Her hair was shorter now, and she was speaking with Caster and the one wearing the scaled armor, though the one wearing the scaled armor didn't talk, instead he only nodded and of shook his head.
Standing up, I ignored Effie's questioning gaze and made my way to the back of the room, where Cassie now stood alone. Kai had wandered off and was speaking with two of the strangers wearing iron plated armor.
Hearing my footsteps, Cassie turned her head and blinked a few times. I stepped closer to her, glancing back to ensure no one was nearby.
"Hey, can you explain what's going on here?"
She raised an eyebrow and nodded. "You mean the hunters? Well, they're close friends of Caster and decided to join the cohort to help us."
Then her gaze dropped, and her voice softened. "Why are you asking? Are you suspicious of them?"
"Yeah," I admitted. "The cohort was only supposed to consist of Sunny, Neph, Kai, Effie, and Caster… and now, these guys decided to join out of nowhere"
My gaze flickered back to Caster, who was locked in a one way conversation with the man in the scaled armor, while Nephis idly studied a map with an unreadable expression on her face.
Turning back to Cassie, I concealed the small area around us with a flick of my wrist. Inside the barrier, I screamed as loud as I could. Cassie let out a startled yelp, but no one outside the dome even glanced in our direction, completely oblivious to the noise i had just made.
"Wha—what was that for?" she stammered, staring in my direction in shock.
"It's fine," I reassured her. "The dome blocks out all sound. No one can hear us."
Still bewildered, she nodded, waiting for me to explain.
I sat beside her, leaning back and observing the strangers warily. "So, don't you think it's suspicious that Caster just decided to bring these people here?"
Cassie's face twisted into an expression of pure disdain. "Of course, it's suspicious. He just showed up with them and said they should join the cohort. Nephis tried to refuse, but it would've looked bad."
She clenched her fists, her voice growing tight with frustration. "He coerced Effie and Kai into agreeing, and I didn't have much of a choice either. So now they're officially part of the cohort."
Looking at the blind seer, I leaned back in the chair and massaged my temples.
'Ten complete strangers. This was never mentioned in the novel. They did go on an expedition, but it was only supposed to be Effie, Cassie, and Nephis.'
Covering my mouth with one hand, I leaned forward in thought.
'Is this something fate is pulling? Are they here to throw me off or something?'
'But why now? It's already been a while, and there haven't been any truly massive changes—just a few smaller ones, but those were still things mentioned in the novel.'
Like how the horrors from the deep came. Originally, it was supposed to be just one, but now there were three in this new timeline.
'Does that mean fate is trying to get things back on track? Still, that doesn't explain why these randoms decided to show up out of nowhere.'
Feeling a headache coming on, I turned to Cassie. "So, what do you make of this?"
Shaking her head, she replied incredulously, "I really don't know. But I'm sure they'll try to pull something during the expedition."
Chuckling, I seconded that, "That's a given."
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly. "I'll dismiss the barrier now" I said, releasing the concealment around us.
'Regis must think this is weird too. I should talk it over with—'
Turning my attention to him, my train of thought screeched to a halt. There he was, sprawled on the chair I had previously occupied, his head resting comfortably on Effie's thighs.
His tail wagged lazily as she stroked his fur, her fingers rhythmically scratching behind his ears.
My mouth hung slightly open.
'Seriously?'
Blood threatened to boil as I stared at him. 'That fool is just enjoying himself while all this is going on?'
[HEEEYYY!] I sent over the link as loudly as I could.
Regis startled, his head snapping up, eyes darting around in alarm.
>>What? Did those scoundrels attack?<< he growled, baring his teeth at the strangers. >>I was just starting to get into it.<<
[You were into it from the beginning! How could you possibly relax when we might be facing a disaster?]
His gaze shifted to me, deadpan and unimpressed.
>>Are you serious? What's the problem? We can easily take these guys down. There's no way you're really scared of a bunch of no-names.<<
I facepalmed with an audible clap, the sound drawing odd looks from Cassie and a few of the strangers, or no-names as he put it.
[You know, we may be dealing with a crisis orchestrated by fate itself, and you're just here getting—]
My exasperation peaked as I realized he'd gone back to getting pets, his eyes half-lidded in bliss. [You bastard, when did you even get the chance?]
Regis didn't even bother answering, leaning further into Effie's touch, his tail wagging even faster now.
My hands balled into fists, but before I could follow through on the impulse, a sharp voice cut through the room, stopping me in my tracks.
Nephis's clear tone carried over the low hum of conversation. "We'll head out at dawn tomorrow. Caster, ensure the new recruits are briefed on the plan."
The room fell silent as all eyes turned to her. She stood by the map, her shorter hair framing her face as her gaze swept over the gathered group.
There was no questioning her authority—her voice carried the weight of command, and even the strangers seemed to understand it.
Caster nodded, his expression firm as he addressed the newcomers. "You heard her. Be prepared. As you heard her, we will be embarking on an expedition to the Slayer's Rest."
Regis lifted his head slightly, watching the exchange with mild interest.
Cursing under my breath i turned to him, [Your lucky i'll need you for this.]
>>Relax, partner. I've got your back—pets or no pets.<<
His smug tone only added fuel to the fire. I pinched the bridge of my nose, already dreading what tomorrow would bring.
'And i don't even have the time to make a new ability, i was just about to make a bankai, Damn you Fate!'
A/N: Hello readers, i have some relatively bad news, next week i won't be able to write, i have to study for exams and the whole week is packed to the brim.
So i will have to go on a small hiatus from writing, i know this may be a bit annoying but i hope you guys understand.
But be sure that through this week i'll have plenyt of time to think up of some new ideas for this fic, like adding new OC's and other such things.
Anyway while i'm gone pelase send some comments since they really do inspire me to write, also if any of you guys are interested you can give me ideas for the fic.
Still thank you guys for all the support, i appreciate it to no end, and do send comments, I wanna interact with you guys!!!
Sincerely...
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