Bab 30: 29th Adversary: Suspicions
After the fight between Miko and Sora came to an end, Momo returned the landscape to how it was before. When everything returned to normal, Sora fell to his knees obviously exhausted.
"As I thought, Fourth Tempo is really pushing it. I should stick to Third Tempo for the time being."
He mumbled under his breath. He looked up and saw Miko still standing tall. He showed barely any signs of exhaustion.
"Seriously, you're something else."
Sora showed a bitter smile.
"I told you. My body is sturdy."
"Ahh~. My wounds hurt."
Sora groaned and laid out on his back.
"Sora, you alive?"
Ace walked up to him and looked down at him with a satisfied grin.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you this beaten up. It fits you."
"Shut up."
"Offensive Sound Magic!"
Momo pounced on him like a hungry beast.
"Ahh?!"
Sora screamed in horror as Momo clung to him and started examining his body.
"Sound Magic, hand it over!"
Momo shouted while groping various parts of his body. It might sound like an envious situation, but Momo looked like she was on the verge of dissecting him.
"Help! Help! Don't just stand there you idiot! Help me!"
Sora shouted at Ace, who was just standing there laughing.
"Calm down, Momo."
That's when Tia picked up Momo by her collar and lifted her off Sora.
"Sorry about that. She's a magic fanatic, so when she encounters something new, she loses herself."
Tia held Momo by her collar. Momo who was as small as a child looked like a dog being restrained by its owner. She was even biting like a dog.
"Something is seriously wrong with you people."
Sora's face was pale.
"You say that now but imagine if it was Alec. I doubt even I could've saved you from being dissected."
Tia spoke while laughing.
"Is offensive Sound Magic really that rare?"
Miko sat down unaffected by the commotion.
"It is."
Momo calmed down and answered him.
"Sound Magic on a whole is considered simple, but that's only because most people can only grasp it in its simplest form. It's a very versatile and powerful magic, but it takes a special type of person to master it."
"Like?"
"Someone who's musically gifted, or can understand the theory of sound to an extremely high level."
Momo turned to Sora.
"Even so, you have incredible fighting sense which makes your sound magic even deadlier. This is the first I've seen anyone in Miko's age group and not from the Royal Clans go toe to toe with him, and damage him to such an extent. Miko can even oneshot a lot of adults, you know. That's impressive."
"I can say the same about Miko."
Ace cut in.
"There's never been anyone our age that could keep up with Sora. Well, outside of us."
"Really? I would never expect that from a star like yourself. I always thought you were just a pretty boy."
"Star?"
Miko asked Momo.
"You didn't know? Sora is an artiste that's currently really popular in the empire. Especially, in the Flameheart's Territory, Lushan, the country of leisure."
Miko started to rack his brain.
"Ah."
That's when he recalled seeing his face in a couple of magazines and remembered hearing a lot of young girls talking about him.
"I remember now. My sister is a fan of yours."
"Yup. That's our Sora, a big superstar with lots of female fans."
Ace started stepping on Sora's wounds.
"I'm so proud."
"Ow, ow, ow! My haters are trying to kill me!"
"Who's your hater?! I'm far more handsome than you!"
Ace started stomping on his wounds.
"I'm surprised. All three of you are strong while being famous in your individual circles."
Miko said.
"We were taught by our late guardian years before. We still practice what he teaches us even now that we're busier than before."
Hina answered.
"Late guardian? What's his name?"
"….Klick."
Hina answered with some hesitation.
"Never heard of him, but he should be quite something if he can train you three."
"....."
Momo on the other hand was silently thinking about something.
"Can I ask a question?"
She approached the trio.
"Were all of you born outside of the empire?"
"No. Just Ace and I. Hina was born and raised in Gael."
Sora answered.
(So it's as I expected…)
"How long ago did you guys come here?"
"I was 9, so around 8 years ago."
"And you're not blood-related?"
"No. We were all adopted by Klick and raised together.
"Were you and Ace born in the same place?"
"None of us are from the same country….Why do you ask?"
"I was just trying to figure out why you're all so talented."
"Oh, coincidence or fate I guess. Besides we all worked hard to become what we are now."
"….I see."
Momo smiled.
"That's really incredible."
After saying that, she walked away for a bit and started to think.
(This seems fishy. These three are all geniuses in different fields, and possess abnormal strength for their ages. There's no way that it's a coincidence they were raised by the same person. This has to be planned. Someone gathered them together.)
Ace was a famous pro gamer with a cheat-like ability called Boost Player. Sora was a rising superstar that's hailed as a music prodigy; he also mastered Sound Magic to the level he can fight someone like Miko on equal footing. And lastly, Hina is a famous novelist and comic artist, who's acquired prominent fame as a genius.
(All three of them were below the age of 20, and they were all raised by the same person. What kind of twist of fate was that?)
The more Momo thought about it the more she was certain these three were gathered for their talents.
(But what for?)
She asked herself.
(Could it be that their guardian was gathering them to accomplish some kind of goal, but died before it could happen?)
She recalled the name that Hina mentioned earlier.
Klick.
(I don't know anyone by that name. Then could it be that they're not someone famous? Or maybe it's just an alias?)
Momo started to ask numerous questions at once.
"Hey, Hina."
That's when Miko called out Hina.
"What kind of person was Klick?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"He was someone who raised you right? Since we're all friends, I wanted to see if I could learn more about you. I mean, you all know about me. I thought it would only be fair."
"?!"
The moment he said that, it was like a bomb went off in Momo's head.
(Miko!)
She looked at Miko with shock. She knew Miko was thinking the same thing she was and decided to see how much he could figure out.
(He gave a legit reason for wanting to know more about them. If they reject it would hurt their relationship and it would also seem like they have something to hide.)
"What you said makes sense. Also, we do know more about you than you know about us."
Hina smiled.
"Besides, it looks like you're starting to consider me your friend, so I don't mind."
"I did say I didn't dislike being around you. I thought that spoke for itself."
Miko shrugged. This caused Hina to laugh a bit.
"Klick was a kind and strong person. He was also Sora's adoptive grandfather. He was smart, funny, and really wise. He was someone I really looked up to and respected."
"I ask how he died?"
"T-That's…"
Hina looked sad and troubled. This was a genuinely sad expression, rather than the fake one she would put on when messing with him. Miko knew he was overstepping his boundaries.
(My relationship with Hina was still too shallow.)
"Ah, never mind. I don't need to know if just remembering it will make you upset. I'm sorry I brought up some bad memories."
He quickly said.
"You don't need to apologize. I promise I'll tell you eventually."
"....."
Tia watched their entire exchange with a smile on her face. She had been so quiet that she was completely forgotten; just like she wanted. Her eyes locked on Hina's every move, every breath, every change of expression. A grin crawled onto her face.
"Things seem to be getting interesting."
Meanwhile in Gael. Nebulous's Righthand, NoFace, was inside his office. He was sitting behind a desk. He was scanning through the papers on the desk.
"…Losing both Igor and Adu at the same time has cost us more than I thought. The other top gangs can't generate enough to cover both of their income just yet. If we force the issue it could lead to a collapse of some kind….Ace's battle has birthed some discourse among the other crime bosses too. They're asking why Ace was left alone when he decided to leave the crime world. They're complaining there's blatant favoritism."
(Well, that is understandable.)
The tv turned on, but as usual, the screen was blank. Nebulous's computerized voice echoed in the room.
(If it was anybody else, they would've been punished.)
"Should I ignore them?"
(…That could be risky. They might not be stupid enough to bare their fangs against us, so they'll bare them against Ace instead.)
"Then, should we punish him before they do?"
(That's also risky. If we punish Ace we must punish all three siblings…If weac do that we might upset "him".)
"That's true. We don't want to agitate him as much as possible and destroy Nebulous."
(.....)
"What's wrong?"
(He just contacted me.)
"So he's awake?"
(Seems like it.)
"What did he say?"
(….No one is above our law.)
"Then…"
(Nebulous will carry out the punishment.)
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone