章 498: CH. 522: Paths
Meanwhile, inside the dungeon, Ryuu performed a couple of stretching exercises before she hopped on the bed.
"Tomorrow is the last day of the training month..."
"You don't look happy about it," Grayfia asked with a soft smile. She had taken over the duty of watching over Ryuu after she started her training on the 100th floor. Her close friendship with Astraea played a big part in the voluntary service. "Aren't you excited to be leaving for a new world?"
"I am happy to meet Master Asahi more often. And the new world is almost like a different era. It's just…" Ryuu hugged her knees. "I won't be able to hunt together with you."
Grayfia smiled at her confession. Asahi made an honest woman out of Ryuu by putting a collar around her neck. "I'm not going anywhere. Remember, you're marrying my husband."
Ryuu looked up before her eyes stopped on Grayfia's belly.
"You'll have it too, someday." Grayfia's smile stretched into a teasing grin. "A cute little elven girl, maybe a boy."
Ryuu's ears turned red. "I-It's too soon. We haven't even done t-t-that."
"When will you do it then?"
Ryuu buried her face in her knees. "It's up to Asahi…"
Grayfia rubbed Ryuu's hair. "You're such a cute girl." She turned to face the gray-haired woman, who had suddenly appeared in the room. "Aimi, you look rough."
Aimi sighed. "Training those hotheaded youths was tough. They hate me for beating them up every day… even if it was for their own good."
"Don't fret over it. The training month is over. You can freely go solo monster hunting starting tomorrow." Grayfia tried to cheer up Aimi. "You can be more in touch with My Lord."
"I heard your talk about children…" Aimi sat down beside Ryuu with a brooding look. "It made me think more about my future. Asahi-sama is nearly a god with his current abilities… shouldn't I also decide my area of expertise?"
Ryuu scratched the back of her head. "Aimi can be the… goddess of shadows."
Ryuu's experience in gods and divinities was fairly limited. Still, it didn't stop her from voicing her thoughts. Aimi was known to maneuver through the battlefield, clad in the black aura of her diva. To any ordinary, she would appear like a goddess of shadows or perhaps death.
"I somehow don't like the air of that title." Aimi knitted her brows tightly. "I will be the darkness that encroaches upon my beloved's enemies, then suffocates them within its deathly grasp… I like the sound of that."
Grayfia and Ryuu shared a wide-eyed gaze. Aimi's chuuni outburst caught them off guard.
'Separation from My Lord is taking a toll on her.'
Aimi pumped her fist. "Yes, that is my path. For it to become reality, I must raise my darkness element skill rank."
(You can do it by choosing a new race.)
Aimi's eyes opened at Klyscha's suggestion. "Like Yuriko?"
(Yes. This one is the Demonic Panther! Agility and darkness magic are its strong suit. You will also get panther ears and a cat-like tail…)
Aimi recalled the cat girl in Loki's Familia, and her lips curved into a bright grin. "More toys to entertain Asahi-sama. Klyscha-sama, turn me now."
(Don't be in a rush. The process will take a day or two. You should finish what you came here for.)
"Ah, I came here for… bringing Ryuu back." Aimi patted Ryuu's shoulder and touched Grayfia's thighs. "Ryuu, rest up. Asahi-sama has a challenge for you tomorrow."
"Okay."
Ryuu already knew about the challenge from Grayfia. Aimi didn't have to come here.
'Perhaps it was fate for me to enlighten her or Klyscha-sama planned it.'
(I didn't.)
***
Silence pervaded the entire Blizzard Group headquarters. Fubuki, the leader, leaned her face into her knuckle and gazed outside. Her subordinates observed her from a distance, worried sick of their leader.
"She has been there since morning…" Eyelashes whispered to Mountain Ape. "Some big issue is weighing on her mind."
The big man scratched his head. "What could it be? Did that guy try to bully her again?"
Eyelashes clenched his fist. "He should know about Fubuki-sama's sister."
Asahi Marikawa, the new S-Class Hero, took over the media with his recent interview. His soaring popularity made little sense to Eyelashes.
All the subordinates in black suits created a circle of murmurs. The door creaked open, and Lily walked inside with slow steps.
"The store I work at almost got robbed by some monster. This city is getting crazier. Fubuki-sama is our last hope." Lily stretched her arms behind her back. "Are you all playing some men's exclusive game? Why are you shoo—"
Eyelashes covered her mouth with a cloth and explained Fubuki's condition to Lily. It was the first time they saw Fubuki looking this down.
"C-Could it be…" Lily stammered, blushing. "No no no. No man can capture Fubuki-sama's heart of ice."
Eyelashes joined Mountain Ape in scratching heads, their confusion reaching unprecedented heights.
Just then, an invisible force ripped out the window before Fubuki and tore open the walls as if they were sheets of paper.
Fubuki got up from her chair and stared at the woman floating on the other side of the window. "Why are you here?"
Tatsumaki raised a brow at Fubuki's temper. Something happened to Fubuki behind her back. The restless feeling she sensed through their psychic bond wasn't any false alarm.
"Why are you sulking?" Tatsumaki glanced at the people huddling behind Fubuki. "Grow up from your useless factions. They are nothing but a burden to you."
Tatsumaki nodded, feeling like she gave enough 'wisdom' to her little sister. She turned around and flew away without bothering to explain anything.
"I'll not give up on my faction," Fubuki said, gritting her teeth. "I'll carve my own path to help you."
The Devil himself would help her in achieving her goal. A being who could mess around with the timeline like nothing. She'd gain strength under his guidance, even if it meant dealing with his deadly pranks every day.
'I'll be the hero to save my sister.'
Lily threw herself at Fubuki's back. "Fubuki-sama's Onee-san is scary."
"Of course she is." Eyelashes agreed with a nod. "Tatsumaki-sama is the strongest Esper period."
Fubuki couldn't help but smile a little. Her subordinates were still the same as ever. They didn't need to know about her deal with Asahi or the fact she saw the destruction of City-A.
"Fubuki-sama is back." Mountain Ape poured a glass of alcohol and passed it to Fubuki. "Gulp down all your troubles."
"Oi, no drinks on duty." Lily snatched the bottle before Mountain Ape poured another glass. "Hmph, little rascals have no shame."
Fubuki didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Lily called a grown up a little rascal even though she was a fourteen-year-old using pads to puff her chest.
Fubuki picked up the glass and took a sip. The sharp taste made her wide awake. "Listen, Blizzard Group. I have something to say."
She captured everyone's attention with a few words, inciting a calm.
"From now on, we're not working to bully the B-Class." Fubuki raised her fist wrapped in a green aura and smacked it on the table, shattering it to splinters. "I want each and everyone of you to work as hard as possible. We're aiming for the top of A-Class."
Fubuki threw a glance across the room. Gobsmacked faces were everywhere. "Leave if you don't want to acknowledge Asahi Marikawa as your new leader."
She wouldn't force anyone to serve a different leader. After all, everyone joined the faction for their loyalty to her and her only. It'd be cruel to ask them to serve someone else.
"Fubuki-sama, I have a question." Lily raised her hand. "What will change after he takes the leader's position?"
"You will answer to me, and I will answer to him. Nothing will change in our group structure."
"Oh, that's good. I'll just ignore him and follow Fubuki-sama."
Lily admired Fubuki-sama, enough to put a brassiere over her flat chest to look more mature in order to appear like Fubuki. A minor change in leadership meant nothing to her.
"I will also follow Fubuki-sama!"
"We'll rise to A-Class!"
Eyelashes and Mountain Ape also showed their support, and the rest followed.
Nobody left the room.
Fubuki smiled. "You're dismissed for the day. Come tomorrow, you will all be part of the… New Blizzard Group."
"..."
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